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Iphones, gym memberships, netflix, starbucks, leased cars, credit cards............all eats into the "budget" leaving less for house buying.
ONE Sixbucks coffee a day is $180 a month, $100 phone bill, netflix/gym $50 a month, $250 a month leased Civic and $500 a month on credit cards is over $1080 a month..........and we haven't gone out to dinner once (yet).
Whew, I lived in NYC for almost 20 years, prior to that was Providence,RI. I have had one - only 1 - Starburned coffee. The price was bad enough but the coffee tasted burned, so never again. Dunkin Donuts or McDonald's coffee when I happened to be away from home; but mostly my coffee was brewed at home and taken in a travel mug wherever I was heading. netflix - nope, never; gym? HAHAHA - there's subway stairs, walking. When I lived in RI, I walked the 1.5 miles to/from work; leased a vehicle - why on earth would you want to basically rent a car and then have to pay more! when you turned it in! Financial foolishness! Maybe you could go out to eat if you weren't leasing a vehicle or buying coffee made with gold! And why do you NEED an iphone? Others work just as well.
But you're fortunate: you don't need the $6K pair of hearing aids, special shoes for a child with a problem, or the health care that goes along with those. And not a sole has mentioned dental care or glasses.
2,500sqft is the standard now? Lol I can't even imagine a house that big unless I had 5 kids, 4 pets, and 3 cars lol I'm plenty happy with half that size.
I’ve read in a number of sources that the average size of single family homes built in recent years in the United States is about 2,500 square feet. So, I was going with that.
I think that this as the reason why most can’t afford a house is as false as the welfare recipients who drive cadillacs. We have none of that stuff, I drive a 2009 Hyundai and he has a 2008 work van and 2006 SUV. I still use my 6S and my honey his 8+. But my health insurance is $700 for me alone, he has $1700 a month alimony for life, and $500 a month for business workers comp and liability. We could never in a million years have afforded a $300,000 home. I barely qualified for the mortgage for the $102,000 house we bought. And then after we bought it we had to come up with $24,000 for the septic, $11,000 for the roof and $25,000 repairs to make it livable and pass inspection. If my partner hadn’t been able to do a lot of the work himself we couldn’t have bought even this place. Our mortgage was $1592 for a $102,000 house, a $300,000 one would have been insurmountable. We never go out cause I’m a huge homebody, and no Starbucks for either of us. And income wise we are doing better than a lot of people. Life is very expensive in this time and place, you do t have to make foolish financial decisions to find a house is out of reach.
Something is crazy here..............
102K house and a $1592 mortgage?!?!?
My first house (decades ago) was a 92K purchase, $908 a month on a FHA 3% down including taxes/insurance/PMI AND it was an 8% mortgage (competitive back then).
My first house (decades ago) was a 92K purchase, $908 a month on a FHA 3% down including taxes/insurance/PMI AND it was an 8% mortgage (competitive back then).
My first house (decades ago) was a 92K purchase, $908 a month on a FHA 3% down including taxes/insurance/PMI AND it was an 8% mortgage (competitive back then).
Property taxes in northern Jersey are among the highest in the nation.
Some people say it’s done to keep the school quality high while others say it is because there is a premium for living near New York City.
Our house was $102,000 and our first mortgage number (we refinanced last year) was $1592 with the taxes and insurances.
Holy crap! I'm at less than $1200, with a 15 year note, original principal of $150k (including escrow for property tax). Homeowner's insurance is about $600/yr., no PMI.
I was just offered a 10 year re-fi at 2.5%, but I can't see much savings after closing costs. At 1.5% it would be worthwhile, but not more.
You must be paying some wicked property tax.
ETA:
Yep, you are, I responded before I saw your last post. That's crazy.
Holy crap! I'm at less than $1200, with a 15 year note, original principal of $150k (including escrow for property tax). Homeowner's insurance is about $600/yr., no PMI.
I was just offered a 10 year re-fi at 2.5%, but I can't see much savings after closing costs. At 1.5% it would be worthwhile, but not more.
You must be paying some wicked property tax.
ETA:
Yep, you are, I responded before I saw your last post. That's crazy.
And as a NJ resident myself, but much closer to the city than the ocnjgirl (she's way down in South Jersey, closer to Philadelphia, and I'm still 45 miles from lower Manhattan), I'm thinking, WOW, only $7000 taxes on a SFH. That's pretty good! It's rare in my neck of the woods that anyone has taxes of less than $10K.
My own taxes are only $4K, but that's on a condo of <1K s.f. (Paid $180K in 2010.)
When I was making $44K in 1999 and was divorced and supporting myself and my daughter, there was no way I would have been able to buy a house. Ten years later, I'd made several promotions, and my salary was over $100K. Obviously, I was not able to save money while raising a child and paying rent in a location commutable to the city, but by then my daughter was finishing high school so I no longer needed to live in the same town as my mother so that she had somewhere to go after school and I would be able to pay a mortgage/taxes/insurance on a condo in a town a little further from the city and it would be less than the rent I was paying for a beat up house in a good town with good schools.
Didn't have a down payment, but I borrowed what I needed from my retirement system for a 3.5% FHA down payment and bought a small condo in a townhouse complex with a payment I'd be able to afford when I retired in a few years.
I think the OP's premise is probably based on assumptions that don't fit everyone's situation. We haven't all led Leave-it-to-Beaver lives that fit neatly into a box.
I think that this as the reason why most can’t afford a house is as false as the welfare recipients who drive cadillacs. We have none of that stuff, I drive a 2009 Hyundai and he has a 2008 work van and 2006 SUV. I still use my 6S and my honey his 8+. But my health insurance is $700 for me alone, he has $1700 a month alimony for life, and $500 a month for business workers comp and liability. We could never in a million years have afforded a $300,000 home. I barely qualified for the mortgage for the $102,000 house we bought. And then after we bought it we had to come up with $24,000 for the septic, $11,000 for the roof and $25,000 repairs to make it livable and pass inspection. If my partner hadn’t been able to do a lot of the work himself we couldn’t have bought even this place. Our mortgage was $1592 for a $102,000 house, a $300,000 one would have been insurmountable. We never go out cause I’m a huge homebody, and no Starbucks for either of us. And income wise we are doing better than a lot of people. Life is very expensive in this time and place, you do t have to make foolish financial decisions to find a house is out of reach.
The people who go on and on about Starbucks crack me up. Starbucks doesn't even exist where I live! I don't know anyone who buys coffee every day.
Property taxes in northern Jersey are among the highest in the nation.
Some people say it’s done to keep the school quality high while others say it is because there is a premium for living near New York City.
I'm in far south Jersey, between Atlantic City and Philly. Taxes are largely dependent on township, though. If we had bought in the township next door that began about 2 miles from our home, the taxes would have been half what we pay.
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