Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New York > Buffalo area
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 08-05-2010, 07:32 PM
 
122 posts, read 350,475 times
Reputation: 36

Advertisements

Just wondering (I know this is a nosey question) but I am wondering what salary (combined if there are 2 income earners in a household or just if there is one income earner and spouse stays home) what salary would make a comfortable living in Buffalo and afford let's say a $200,000 home in the suburbs. thanks in advance!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 08-05-2010, 07:37 PM
 
Location: Charlotte, NC
1,969 posts, read 3,577,935 times
Reputation: 2916
Well, if you want a McMansion in a town like Clarence, then you'll prolly have to earn something like $80,000 combined to live comfortably.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-05-2010, 07:51 PM
 
Location: Buffalo, trying to leave
1,228 posts, read 3,708,092 times
Reputation: 778
Meh, even with having the top 5 taxes in the nation, I bet that if you guys earned $60,000 you could make it, but it might be tight.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-05-2010, 11:00 PM
 
Location: Hamburg, NY
1,350 posts, read 3,528,489 times
Reputation: 1044
If you have good enough credit to get a decent mortgage rate on the $200K home then you'll do fine with $60k+ ........... at 80K+ you'll live like royalty.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-05-2010, 11:15 PM
 
Location: Buffalo
719 posts, read 1,545,334 times
Reputation: 1014
Tough question really. In this $200k house, are there children? If so, how many? Are they daycare age? College tuition age? How comfortable is comfortable? 2010 BMW's to go with $200k house or 2002 Honda's?
There are so many variables. Being "house poor" really sucks, so try not to fall into that trap. I was told I could get a $300k mortgage. I bought a $180k house, 15 yr mortgage and put 20% down. I still don't know that I totally feel comfortable... I don't think my mind will allow it! LOL
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-05-2010, 11:33 PM
 
4,135 posts, read 10,768,208 times
Reputation: 2698
Look at houses in the price range and look up the addresses for what the taxes are. There are town/county in Feb. and School in Oct. If you have a mortgage, they get rolled into the mortgage, usually. [Assume that any new purchase will cause taxes to rise due to a new assessment. ]Clarence makes you pay for your own garbage, I beleive. Add on heat (usually National Fuel) and electric (usually NYSEG out this way) and cable and water and phone............. etc. Then add cars and food and -- if kids, all the kids activities (etc)

If you have $80K income, you are only going to net between $5-6K after taxes takehome. I think that is way low to pay for a mortgage and all -- even just for 2 people.

Being cash poor and winding up on your credit is -- to me -- foolish.

Personally, I would think if you want a $200K home in Clarence, you better be making -- minimum -- $120 gross. Clarence is a lifestyle; it isn't cheap.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-05-2010, 11:47 PM
 
Location: Buffalo
719 posts, read 1,545,334 times
Reputation: 1014
Quote:
Originally Posted by BuffaloTransplant View Post
Look at houses in the price range and look up the addresses for what the taxes are. There are town/county in Feb. and School in Oct. If you have a mortgage, they get rolled into the mortgage, usually. [Assume that any new purchase will cause taxes to rise due to a new assessment. ]Clarence makes you pay for your own garbage, I beleive. Add on heat (usually National Fuel) and electric (usually NYSEG out this way) and cable and water and phone............. etc. Then add cars and food and -- if kids, all the kids activities (etc)

If you have $80K income, you are only going to net between $5-6K after taxes takehome. I think that is way low to pay for a mortgage and all -- even just for 2 people.

Being cash poor and winding up on your credit is -- to me -- foolish.

Personally, I would think if you want a $200K home in Clarence, you better be making -- minimum -- $120 gross. Clarence is a lifestyle; it isn't cheap.


That's more along the lines I was thinking as well.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-06-2010, 07:53 AM
 
744 posts, read 1,758,850 times
Reputation: 526
Depends on the Town and your spending habits. We chose Niagara County because of theloweer housing costs. 30 year old 4br, 2.4 bath colonial for circa $160K. With a nice down payment 15 year mortgage is only $514 plus taxes and insurance - another $3,800 per year (no escrow payment)

I echo the others don't become hoouse rich and cash poor. I've seen many couple do this and it never ends well. Don't buy a house to impress others because they really don't give a rats ass where you live and will not be impressed by it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-06-2010, 08:50 AM
 
Location: Hamburg, NY
1,199 posts, read 2,855,333 times
Reputation: 1169
Quote:
Originally Posted by donbuy View Post
I echo the others don't become hoouse rich and cash poor. I've seen many couple do this and it never ends well. Don't buy a house to impress others because they really don't give a rats ass where you live and will not be impressed by it.
The funny thing is that in many places outside of WNY (Long Island for example where I live) you have no choice but to really stretch your budget in order to afford a home period (let alone one in a desirable area). I know many people that I work with that only make a combined 100K a year and buy a home in a place like Levittown for 320K-350K because that is what they have to do in order to afford their own home. Levittown is a lot like Cheektowaga or Tonawanda, not Clarence or Orchard Park. Even if you wanted to buy a home here in the ghetto you will have shell out a minimum of 200K.

Count yourself lucky that you have such affordable housing in WNY, where if you have a decent job you can live in a safe neighborhood with good schools without breaking the bank. This is a big reason why WNY didn't get hit by the housing bubble. WNY'ers are sensible with their money.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-06-2010, 01:23 PM
 
122 posts, read 350,475 times
Reputation: 36
Quote:
Originally Posted by donbuy View Post

I echo the others don't become hoouse rich and cash poor. I've seen many couple do this and it never ends well. Don't buy a house to impress others because they really don't give a rats ass where you live and will not be impressed by it.
I couldn't agree more with you!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:




Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > New York > Buffalo area
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top