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Location: Sodo Sopa at The Villas above Kenny' s House.
2,492 posts, read 3,030,800 times
Reputation: 3911
Just to point out something small. The chances of your vehicle being stolen are extremely slim. It's just not that kind of area. Not even in the bad parts. I could probably park my car with the keys in it on the street and it would still be there a month later with the exception of being towed.
I know we've been talking some about various areas but I was thinking you originally stated a much lower budget for housing. I don't remember 400k being the number. If you've got that much to put into a home I'd say go with North Raleigh rather then Garner since you can afford it.
Auto insurance is less...not sure if someone mentioned that. We pay $82 a month, full coverage for two cars, 4 & 5 yr old cars. And 1% of assessed value is the average for property taxes. Otherwise you are pretty close.
Thank you everyone for replying! Sorry I haven't been back in a couple of days. Getting back to work after a vacation is always hard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by twingles
I didn't say don't take comprehensive coverage - I said don't take a deductible. A deductible is your portion of the loss.
Figure 1% of your purchase price for taxes. It will be slightly less, but this will give you an overage to work with. If you buy a $400K house you're looking at $4000/year. Note your tax rate depends which county you are in and if you are city limits or not. There are also areas here where you may end up on a well or a septic system. You also added in $75 for garbage, and that may be included in your water bill (as I noted it is in Cary). But it's fine to have that overage and end up paying less, right?
Sorry, I misunderstood what you meant about the insurance. I suppose I should figure out where city limits are because one area we are considering is North Raleigh.
I'm absolutely looking at this with overages, you're right. I'd rather be prepared for the worst than zero out my savings account buying a house and not being able to afford monthly payments. Too common a scenario around my parts, unfortunately.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BoBromhal
the variances in what you describe - and indeed you are being conservative - will be less than $500/mo. That's less than $6K/year. Determine the viability of your move accordingly.
You might find one item 2X what you're used to (that health insurance could easily be 3x, only because who's to say what "employer-subsidized" means these days?). You should find many of those items < what you've estimated, easily.
It's definitely viable with either 1 NY salary (my husband's) or two NC salary. That's a very good feeling, to know that the majority of what life might bring us is covered, and we could make NC our home.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lancers
Your estimate for car insurance is very high. More like $800 annually for 2 cars if you go with $1K deductible.
I was about to say that I always go 250 or 500 but I'm willing to bet that incidences of theft and collision is much, much lower there. I do have a 6 year old vehicle so I could do a 1k deductible on that or even remove comp/collision completely.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kelly237
If you are in Wake County and not in city limits you will have lower taxes and
may be on a well with no water bill..
Well water is completely foreign to me, I need to research that a bit so I know what its like. Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kimeri
Will you be traveling back to your old state often to visit family? Could add up. Also, maybe having beach/mountains options could give you more or less expensive vacationing.
Um, in the long term, perhaps less in car maintenance? No snow tires, little salt damage, etc. Commuting costs might be different too.
Some people would add in a yard service. Joining a pool -- some neighborhoods have them as part of the HOA, some don't.
Good point, traveling back north. If my husband can keep his job, he would probably need to come up once a month which means flying and renting a car. Yearly or bi-yearly trips in the car to my parents in Florida too.
It's not much but gas is cheaper there. We don't use snow tires, so the most I'd save on in winter is windshield washer fluid maybe and an ice scraper.
Quote:
Originally Posted by danielbmartin
Scientific principle: Ya gotta eat or ya die!
Figure in a cost for foods you buy at a supermarket and restaurant meals.
.
We found that food is the same there as it is here. I know how much we spend already so I've got that one down. But restaurants are slightly cheaper there.
Just to point out something small. The chances of your vehicle being stolen are extremely slim. It's just not that kind of area. Not even in the bad parts. I could probably park my car with the keys in it on the street and it would still be there a month later with the exception of being towed.
I know we've been talking some about various areas but I was thinking you originally stated a much lower budget for housing. I don't remember 400k being the number. If you've got that much to put into a home I'd say go with North Raleigh rather then Garner since you can afford it.
400 wasn't the number because I hadn't looked into cost of living yet. We figured out that we can afford a 400k home on my husband's NY salary alone and my NC salary could go to savings. Or if that doesn't work out, two NC salaries (again, estimating less than I think we could make) in case that falls through and we are able to save less per month, but still be ok financially.
I don't know that we really want to go that high because unless we have 2 acres of land or something, a 400k house in Garner would be too big for us. Not to mention the bathrooms. I don't want more than 2 bathrooms to clean but it seems all the houses are packed with them lol
I'm not stuck on spending the highest amount we can afford to keep up with the Joneses. We like to have a good nest egg in savings, travel, etc so a 300k house is still in the cards.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kelly237
Is this just a budget for housing or
is it meant to cover all expenses..
It seems more housing but then health insurance & car
insurance are included ???
If it is a total budget there are lots of things
that need to be considered that are not on your list...
Cost of living, so all expenses. Some of them are the same whether I'm here or I'm there so I didn't bother posting the list. But I got some great information so I think I'm pretty much set.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,779 posts, read 15,790,796 times
Reputation: 10888
Quote:
Originally Posted by greenie72
so the most I'd save on in winter is windshield washer fluid maybe and an ice scraper.
You will still need an ice scraper around here. I used mine this week - in October! You will also need a snow shovel. While there isn't nearly as much snow here as in New York, there IS still snow, and you don't want to be caught without a shovel on those days.
You will still need an ice scraper around here. I used mine this week - in October! You will also need a snow shovel. While there isn't nearly as much snow here as in New York, there IS still snow, and you don't want to be caught without a shovel on those days.
Ok ok I'll take ONE shovel lol
I have a remote starter in my car so on winter nights, I leave the defroster on high when I shut it off so that when I start it the next day from inside my toasty warm house, I can just wait until it melts.
... I do have a 6 year old vehicle so I could do a 1k deductible on that or even remove comp/collision completely.
I suggest you drop collision coverage after the first three years. The premium for collision is about the same year after year. However, the value of your car decreases year by year. Consequently the maximum payout decreases year by year.
When your car was one year old the insurance company would pay to replace a smashed fender and bumper. When your car is six years old they might choose to declare it "totalled" and pay you the wholesale value. It's a good deal for them, maybe not so much for you.
I suggest you drop collision coverage after the first three years. The premium for collision is about the same year after year. However, the value of your car decreases year by year. Consequently the maximum payout decreases year by year.
When your car was one year old the insurance company would pay to replace a smashed fender and bumper. When your car is six years old they might choose to declare it "totalled" and pay you the wholesale value. It's a good deal for them, maybe not so much for you.
.
I had a five year loan so I didn't have a choice but to keep the comp/collision but when I looked up trade in value on Kelley Blue Book just now, it still says 12k. I know reality will most likely be less but you don't think its worth it to keep on a car that retains that much value? It's a 2009 Honda CR-V. Leather, 4wd, etc.
I'm not sure where else to check on the true payout value of a vehicle.
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