How Much Does It Cost To Live In Houston? (day care, loan)

[DOUGLAS ANDREW]

I am considering moving to Houston. While the biggest financial consderation is the cost of a home I was wondering about the cost of everything else. I have a wife and baby and were aiming to buy a home for about 200k. I guess my question would be best answered by someone with similar circumstances. About how much yearly income (after deductions) would one need to live on (ball park)?

[Mr. Football]

Depends on how much debt you're carrying and whether or not you have a stay at home mom or if you need daycare. Daycare is quite expensive.

Let's assume you carry no debt (lucky you). You're looking at roughly $1500-$1600 monthly mortgate (assuming an 80/15/5 30 year fixed...15 years on the other loan with 5% down payment).

I'd say that you need to bring in at least $6000-$7000/month to cover all of the usual expenses.

[DOUGLAS ANDREW]

It is our preference that my wife stays at home to look after baby. We pay $750.oo a month for full time day care at a school right now - how does that compare? Was the 6k-7k after or before deductions/taxes?

[jlocc619]

Douglas,

Remember that Houston has an extremely high property tax rate (in certain areas). I am building a $250k home and my property taxes alone are going to be about $730/month. A MONTH! My wife won't be working either, so I need to bring in at least $7k/month (before taxes) to live comfortably.

[Master Shake]

Yes, Houston does have a high property tax rate (~3.5% - 4.0%) -- but keep in mind that there is no state income tax. Not that this will be equal, but depending on which state you are coming from, it will definately help.

[Visitor2007]

Originally Posted by Master Shake

Yes, Houston does have a high property tax rate (~3.5% - 4.0%) --

I thought that it's only slightly higher than 3% and, certain areas, without MUD tax, it's only around 2.75%.

3.5% to 4.0% is high....with a 4.0% for a house of 200K, it will be 8K a year translating to about $750 per month for property tax only??

[Master Shake]

You can get the 4.0% depending on the MUD tax(es) and/or of you get any of the "special" assessments. I had a nice bump of $768 :-( for a "special" assessment this year -- no idea what that means. Also, the 3.5 - 4.0 does not include any homestead exemptions. If you can get under 3.0% in a new area, please let me know which area/builder.

Additionally, I was going by what some of the various new builders have listed on their general information package. At least two had MUD rates that were close to 0.75%! It pays to read the fine print. :-)

[Visitor2007]

How much is the homestead exemption? Is 3.5% to 4.0% really the norm??

[Master Shake]

Originally Posted by Visitor2007

How much is the homestead exemption? Is 3.5% to 4.0% really the norm??

I just checked my 2006 rate. It was 3.4861%, spread across 10 different categories. The biggest category is Cypress ISD, whcih is 1.654% by itself (in 2005, it was 1.800%). The MUD was only 0.72%, but the new notice/appraisal stated that it will go to 0.89% for 2007. As I said earlier, these rates will vary depending on which area you buy in -- and if you end up in a MUD, which is the case for most new houses not in Houston proper. Some of the newer builders are quoting total taxes up to 4.0% (before homestead) on their information sheets.

As a side note, I am also appealing the recent appraisal hike -- which is higher than what two other larger houses on the same block just sold for (different topic).

[kmansmom]

In realtor.com I have seen homes that are about 25 yrs old, have all the same space and most ammenities as these new homes but are about 100K cheaper. What would the taxes be on this type of home? Do you know? I'[m from out of state and this is new to me.