How's your house?

[MrsStubble]

1.  1200 sq ft
2.  2 adults and a dog ( and I hope a kid in the future in a couple years)
3.  Own
4.  Mortgage/taxes/ins:  1600 (15 yr fixed)/110/40
5.  180k
6.  Would love to move somewhere else, but well prob stay here for another 5 years at least.  The perk is its very close to our current jobs, the downside is its not the greatest location in terms of personal safety.  (Ah nothing is as naive as a first time homebuyer)

[Roland of Gilead]

1) 5000sqft with 1500sqft attached garage
2) 2 adults
3) Own
4) $2000 (Mortgage/taxes/ins - 10 year loan)
5) $90K
6) Selling in 2 years to become homeless rubber tramps

[Ms Prosperity]

1.  How many sqft is your home?
Not sure of exact dimensions, but it's a small, 3 bedroom cottage

2.  How many live in your home?

Two adults, 3 children, 2 dogs and 2 cats

3.  Do you own or rent?   

We own outright

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month?
We don't spend anything on rent or mortgage. We pay rates $250 per quarter. $96 per month on insurance which is house, contents and car combined

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any?

We paid for our house in cash.

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future?
We love this house, and would be happy to stay put. However, if the opportunity arose to purchase some farmland, we'd do that too. We'd either keep living here and use the farm, or move to the farm. But we definitely plan to stay in this town.

[little_owl]

I will preface this by saying that we love our home, know that we could downsize, but it really is an awesome oasis.  We also agree with MMM that we will spend quite a bit of time here, so it needs to be pretty great.

1.  How many sqft is your home? 3,600

2.  How many live in your home? 2

3.  Do you own or rent? Own

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month? $4k

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any? $455k

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future?  Staying for at least 20 years.

[Zikoris]

1. 600
2. 2
3. Rent
4. $732 - includes all utilities, and is in a location that my boyfriend and I can both walk to work and nearly everywhere else, so we don't need a car, or even transit passes or bikes.
5. N/A
6. We've been here 2 years and have no intention of moving anytime soon, but after we hit retirement who the hell knows where we'll end up.

[starbuck]

1.  How many sqft is your home? 1,700 sq feet, 4 bedrooms/2 bath, with a small barn that houses a novice woodworking shop

2.  How many live in your home? 2 adults, 1 elderly cranky dog, 1 young spunky cat

3.  Do you own or rent?  'own'

4.  What do you spend on mortgage/taxes/insurance per month? $1100 mortgage+$375 taxes = $1475

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any? $177,000 (78% LTV)

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future? Staying put for at least 5-7 years. We'll be having kids soon, and so who knows what happens then. We love this house though, so it'd have to be a hard sell to get me to leave this house. We had our wedding in our backyard!

Lot size is 1/3 of an acre, but much of it is overshadowed by a very very wonderfully old elm tree. All my attempts at growing vegetables end in heartbreak. So, window sill herbs it is!

[2527]

1. Sq ft:  About 2000 plus a finished basement
2.  2 Adults and 2 Kids
3.  Own
4.  Mort:  $1100, Tax:  $500, HOA:  $160
5.  $242,000 @3.75%
6.  Very ambivalent about this.  It is a very nice townhouse, and certainly big enough, although zero back yard, in a great school district.  It nearly the smallest housing in the area and it is not perceived well by others in the area.  Unfortunately, much of the housing in the area is huge and $600-800,000 and I don't feel like doing that even though it is affordable to us.   

[ghatko]

I have felt pretty embarrassed about the size of our house, but now I feel better about posting since at least a few others have posted larger ones :) This house was a pre-MMM purchase, and I have thought about downsizing since I started reading MMM, but so far we are planning on staying put. We got a really good deal on the house when we bought it, and we love having a retreat in the city. We also need to put a lot of effort into updating the house before I would consider trying to sell it.

• 3,200 sq ft plus unfinished basement on a 2.5 acre lot in the city
• 2 adults, 1 toddler, 1 cat
• Own
• Mortgage, Insurance & Property Tax: $2750/month (that includes our regular mortgage payment which is well over the minimum)
• ~$59k
• We will probably stay until our kid(s) finish high school.

[ruthiegirl]

1.  900 Sq Ft

2.  2 adults, 4 children

3.  rent

4.  $895

5.  n/a

6.  We plan to live here for 1 year, save a down payment and buy a house in the same area. 

[GoStumpy]

1.  1130sq ft

2.  2 of us, DINK couple :)

3.  BOTH!  I purchased a mobile home with a mortgage, and I rent the pad.

4.  Pad rent is $410/mo, Mortgage is $882/mo, taxes etc included.

5.  Balance is $44k

6.  Staying for at least 5 years, piling up cash when the mortgage is paid off, possibility exists to keep saving and buy a home on freehold land with cash!

[Mechanista]

1.  How many sqft is your home?

About 2400 sq feet with 1100 sq foot garage/shop area. 1/4 acre lot.

2.  How many live in your home?

Two Adults, one child, one more child to arrive soon.

3.  Do you own or rent?

Own.

4.  What do you spend on mortgage/taxes/insurance per month?

About $1200, but of course we pay more. Most months we are able to pay around $4000 total.

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any?

About $200k. Current estimated value is around $270k. We just purchased last October.

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future?

We are both still young (Late 20s), so I see a move somewhere in our future. However, we purchased this home with the intention of raising our two kids here, so we won't be leaving anytime soon.

[mindaugas]

1.  1624 total (about 1300 finished). 2br, 1.5bath townhome.

2.  2 adults, one child with another on the way

3.  Own, purchased at $124k @ 3.75% Nov 2011. First home.

4.  $952 (includes HOA, PIM, Mortg)

5.  About $116k

6.  Actually doing a lot of remodeling/upgrades in hopes of selling due to new child coming. New flooring, new kitchen, remodeled bathroom. If we don't sell we'll refi into conventional to drop PIM and finish out the basement. After remodel we think the home will be in the $150k range. Total remodel cost so far is only $4400.

[Dumb blonde]

1.  110m2 (1184 sq ft)

2.  5, me, hubby and 3 teenagers

3.  rent   

4.  rent = 780 EUR/month

5.  n/a

6.  we are staying in our current rental until prices fall down enough, then we plan to buy something of similar size. If our landlord (a large financial institute) decides to sell we might buy our rental. We live in the Netherlands where real estate is ridicously expensive and affordable rentals are hard to find.

[Kevin Aster Tin Obin]

Fun topic

[Villanelle]

1.  About 1500 sqft, plus a small unfinished basement

2.  Two

3.  We rent, though we do own a home that right now is a rental.   

4.  Our rent is 1750 Euro, which is about $2260.  However, as part of my husband's compensation, our rent, up to a max amount of 1950Eu, I think is paid for.  It is a stupid system because there is basically no incentive to economize (unless you consider saving federal dollars sufficient incentive, which for most, it it not).  So a 1950 Eu house would cost us the same as our 1750 Eu house.  It also drives up rentals to Americans to obscene levels.  German friends tell me that I pay at least 25% more than a German, and often it is 50% more.

5.  N/A

6.  This is a 2-3 year job for Husband, and then we will be on to the next adventure. 

[bobmicro]

1.  2200 square feet

2.  2

3.  own

4.  $0/month mortgage, $500/month taxes, $60/month insurance

5.  No mortgage

6.  Staying forever

[PantsOnFire]

1.  2500 sq. ft. or something like that

2.  3, maybe 4 in a year or two

3.  Own

4.  $2150

5.  $322k

6.  Staying here forever

[myDogIsFI]

1.  How many sqft is your home?

About 2000

2.  How many live in your home?

2ish (we have a part time room mate who rents the guest room)

3.  Do you own or rent?

Own

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month?

PITI + HOA = $2700

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any?

$330k

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future?

Move in the next few years.  Hopefully stay in the same neighborhood but get an extra bedroom for the same sq ft or smaller.

[MakingSenseofCents]

1.  How many sqft is your home? - 1,200, but we have a finished basement, so 2,400 sq. ft of living space.

2.  How many live in your home? 2 - plus we rent a room to my sister. So, 3 altogether.

3.  Do you own or rent?   Own.

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month? $960 per month.

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any? A little over $100K

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future? We plan on buying and moving into our forever home soon.

[BlackRat]

I'm at uni, I just asked my landlord about some stuff for this thread though (he also lives here)

1.  How many sqft is your home? - 3000ft (3 bedrooms + study), additionally, my caravan is ~144ft

2.  How many live in your home?
8, currently... When I moved in there were 4 people. Six months ago there were 5 (one in each bedroom, one in the study, me in my caravan, since then 3 people have had their partners move in, one couple will be moving out in a couple of months - luckily we all get along (I use the kitchen inside about half the time, my landlord has an ensuite, otherwise the kitchen/laundry/bathroom/toilet/loungeroom all have to be shared).

3.  Do you own or rent? 
Own my caravan

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month?
$75/week rent (incl bills) - so just over 300/month

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any?
My landlord owns about half of its current value - its appreciated a lot since then according to what he told me

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future?
I'll leave once my I get my degree - I'll really miss it though.

[Ozstache]

1.  How many sqft is your home? 1900

2.  How many live in your home? 3, possibly 4 soon (returning fledgling, not new chick!)

3.  Do you own or rent?   Own

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month? $0. A loan subsidy I get pays for rates/insurance/maintenance

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any? $0. Loan is kept alive using an offset account with slightly higher balance to allow loan subsidy to continue.

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future? Stay

[pom]

1.  How many sqft is your home? 540 sqf

2.  How many live in your home? 2

3.  Do you own or rent?   rent

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month?  1600 euros ($2100) not very mustachian but Paris is expensive and I don't want to commute.

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any?

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future? We will likely move once we have kids

[stevesteve]

1.  How many sqft is your home?
1,000 sqft
2.  How many live in your home?
2
3.  Do you own or rent?   
Own
4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month?
700/200/100 = just under $1,000.
5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any?
$125,000
6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future?
For a while.  It's a small, space inefficient, expensive house bought for the location.  I don't regret it at all since it's basically a low rent ($600/month in interest, taxes, and insurance) equity store.  It will rent for $1,500 so that's another option.

[kt]

1.  440 sqft + communal space

2.  just me in my space, 8 total in house

3.  rent

4.  £410 for rent and all bills

5.  n/a

6.  I've looked around and for my situation, working from home, this seems the best option. I could move somewhere cheaper but it would be considerably smaller (less than half this size). I imagine being here for another 12-18 months.

[Carrie]

1.  2250 sf - 4BR/3BA

2.  5 people

3.  own

4.  $760/180/80

5.  $90k (value of @240ish)

6.  Thinking we'll stay until kids are done with high school, so, 17 more years.  Expect to have it paid off within 5.  When we move I hope it will be to a smaller custom home that we build ourselves and pay cash for because we'll be FI.

[teacherman]

1.  How many sqft is your home? 1788, w/ 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths, after renovations we will add about 700 square feet and 2 bedrooms and 1 bath.

2.  How many live in your home? 2 adults, 1 high school foreign exchange student

3.  Do you own or rent?  Own--mortgaged

4.  What do you spend on mortgage/taxes/insurance per month? PITI is $1756/mo for 30 year mortgage.

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any? Just bought it with 10% down

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future? We just bought the house and are planning on staying put for the foreseeable future. We are planning on paying off the mortgage in 10 years, and doing lots of remodeling.

[ChiStache]

1.  How many sqft is your home? 1,150 (plus small basement apartment)

2.  How many live in your home? 2 for now, hope to grow our family soon

3.  Do you own or rent? Own

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month? $2,500 (about $1,800 of which is covered by tenant of basement apartment)

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any? $293,000

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future?  Hopefully staying for a long time

[bellanca18]

1. 980 sq ft

2. 3

3. Own. Sold our large home, used equity to build.

4. Paid for! Insurance $550 yr./taxes 190 yr.

5. Staying

[MelodysMustache]

1.  How many sqft is your home? 1450

2.  How many live in your home? Two people, one dog, one cat

3.  Do you own or rent?   Own

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month? about $2070

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any? about $250,000 @ 2.875 15 year fixed

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future?  Not sure.  I may move to a lower cost area when I am done working in my current profession

[geekette]

1. Sq ft. - about 2100

2. How many - 2 plus 3 cats

3. Own outright

4. Taxes/Insurance - yearly, about $2100 taxes, $800 insurance, $500 HOA, so around $300/month

5. No mortgage, worth around $230k

6.  Staying, although I occasionally eye older, smaller ranch houses in our area, especially after watching too many home improvement shows.

[zinethstache]

1.  2200sf

2.  2

3.  own   

4.  862/325/46

5.  value 340k 184k owed with 100k heloc (used to buy rental)

6.  We will stay until its value passes 400k, at that point we will sell to buy another rental (large duplex, we will live in 1/2) At the current mortgage/HELOC it makes more sense to stay, but as it increases in value we will take advantage of that. We paid a pittance long ago and fixed it up and are maintaining it in prime condition to sell.

[Mark31]

It would be fantastic if someone wanted to summarise and chart these numbers!

But anyway here goes:
1.  How many sqft is your home?
100 sq m (1,076 sq ft) + similar under house space, suitable for parking cars, bikes, timber, a workshop and hanging up washing on wet days, but is not habitable.

2.  How many live in your home?
Two adults, two children, and it's plenty large enough.

3.  Do you own or rent?   
Owned outright

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month?
$200 rates per month, insurance maybe $120, but that includes contents. Recent natural disasters in the state have raised insurance premiums.

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any?
Nil.

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future?
No, but the layout is poor, and squeezing in 5 people would be tricky. Could be cheaper to move than remodel.

[Roses]

1.  1400 sf, not including basement & garage

2.  2 adults, 1 kid, 1 cat

3.  Own

4.  $2050 all included

5.  350K

6.  Probably moving in a few years

[rockstache]

1.  Just under 650 sq. ft. not including basement

2.  2 adults

3.  Rent from 91 yr. old grandmother who owns the house and lives in separate apartment upstairs

4.  $600 per month plus electric & gas (water included)

5.  N/A

6.  Will live here as long as grandma is alive....after that my father and uncle will sell the place and we will be looking to move to a lower COLA.

[pachnik]

1.  about 825 square feet

2.  2 adults

3.  rental building

4.  $1,125.00 per month (includes heat and 2 underground parking spots)

5.  n/a

6.  planning on staying until retired and then going to look into a co-op

[SMP]

1.  How many sqft is your home?
1,600 sqft
2.  How many live in your home?
2 adults & 1 cat
3.  Do you own or rent?   
Own
4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month?
800€
5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any?
<170,000€
6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future?
We plan on staying here for the nextdecades.

[chasesfish]

1.  How many sqft is your home?
2400
2.  How many live in your home?
2
3.  Do you own or rent?   
Own
4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month?
200/200/75 ($200 is my interest, its on a six year loan, but I only consider the interest expense my cost)
5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any?
$114,000
6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future?
I would prefer to move to a smaller house closer to the office, but the underlying land cost is prohibitively expensive.  We love dogs and a fenced in yard is non-negotiable.

[ritchie70]

1 - 2200 square feet or so.

2 - 2 adults, 1 infant, 1 cat, and 1 adult (22) son who has a room and sleeps here once every 2 - 3 weeks.

3 - own.

4 - $1,470 mortgage per month, plus $6,500 annual tax and i'm not sure on the insurance.

5 - $290,000 (roughly) + $50,000 HELOC

6 - Would like to move to something smaller and one story, or at least a first floor with two bedrooms, but between mortgage and HELOC we are either barely even or a little upside down. I didn't include HELOC payment on #4 because the money wasn't actually used for this house; the house just secures it.

[markmywords]

1.  2150 sq. ft.
2.  1
3.  Own (about 45% of it)
4.  $1068  ($968 +100 extra on principle)
5.  $105,800
6.  Yes, stay.

[aj_yooper]

1. 2500 sq ft
2. 2 adults
3.  own
4.  $650 (insurance + taxes)
5.  0
6.  stay

[Skydog]

1.  How many sqft is your home? 900, 1800 counting finished basement

2.  How many live in your home? Me + cat and 3 dogs

3.  Do you own or rent?   Own

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month? $1200 counting HOA

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any? $180K

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future? Who knows, but it's a very walkable. bike-able location, so I'm happy here for the time being.

[Gin]

1. 2400 sf
2. 2 adults, 2 kids, 1 dog
3. Own
4. No mortgage!!  Taxes 4k a year; $950 insurance a year; $500 HOA a yr.
5. 0
6. We will stay here until kids finish school.

[NinetyFour]

Main house:

1. 725 sq ft
2. single renter in it now
3. I "own" it
4. mortgage + homeowners + prop tax $1272
5. owe $236,000 (recently appraised for $295,000
6. I'm beginning to wonder if I should sell it within the next few years.  The original part of it was built in 1898.  Ugh.

Separate dwelling on same property:

1.  625 sq ft
2.  I live (alone) in it.  No pets.
3. I "own" it.
4. The payment is above.
5. same as above
6. Same as above, but the dwelling I live in was very recently renovated.

[kodokan]

1.  How many sqft is your home? 4,200. I know, I know, punch me now, but we bought into an excelling school boundary and it was the only way to get a large lot so we haven't got neighbors goldfish bowling through our windows

2.  How many live in your home? 2 adults, 2 kids, 2 rats

3.  Do you own or rent?   Own

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month? $1400/ $350/ $100, plus HOA $160

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any? $185K - 15 yr mortgage at 3%, paying it down rapidly and want rid in 5-7 years rather than the 14 it still has to run

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future? We're only here for the school district, so are staying here for 10 years to get the kids through school, then hubby can retire and we'll downsize into something low-maintenance and city center-ish, or an RV.

[Jack]

• 1500 sq. ft.
• 2 adults, 1 cat
• own
• $700/month including taxes/insurance
• ~$85K @ 5.25% (we didn't have a chance to refinance because of lack of steady employment), plus ~$20k in down-payment grants that will be forgiven in about 6 years
• We plan to stay for at least the 6 years required for the loan forgiveness, then we might move to a better school district (or maybe another city) but keep this house as a rental property.

[NinetyFour]

Main house:

1. 725 sq ft
2. single renter in it now
3. I "own" it
4. mortgage + homeowners + prop tax $1272
5. owe $236,000 (recently appraised for $295,000
6. I'm beginning to wonder if I should sell it within the next few years.  The original part of it was built in 1898.  Ugh.

Separate dwelling on same property:

1.  625 sq ft
2.  I live (alone) in it.  No pets.
3. I "own" it.
4. The payment is above.
5. same as above
6. Same as above, but the dwelling I live in was very recently renovated.

Forgot to say that my loan is at 4.375%.  Recently refied it down from 6.5%--yikes!  Missed out on the really low rates because the refi process was long and drawn out.  :(

[steveo]

1.  2500 sqft
2.  5 people, 2 adults and 3 kids from 2-12
3.  Own. It is worth about 800k but my in-laws own 1/4 of the house. Therefore our equity is more like 600k.
4.  I think we spend about 300-500 per month on maintaining the house including taxes/insurance/bills etc.
5.  We owe about $195,000 on the house. We pay $2.600 per fortnight into the loan and are looking to pay the mortgage off in 3 years time.
6.  I'm not sure. I don't think we need this big a house but its not a huge house. We definitely won't be upsizing the house. If anything we will downsize.

[Khan]

1.  How many sqft is your home?
1750 sqft
2.  How many live in your home?
3, myself and married couple roommates
3.  Do you own or rent?   
Own, I bought the house knowing I could capture the roommates and actually reduce my housing expenses below apartment living costs barring upkeep
4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month?
1150$/month for mortgage/taxes/insurance, 130$ for HOA(get a pool out of that deal at least)
5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any?
214k, just bought it ~2 months ago, and didn't put anything down(no PMI due to GI program
6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future?
I'm hoping I can keep the roommates for at least 2 years, as I think we get along great, and justifying 800$/month for a master bedroom for 2 is a better deal then 500$ for somebody that i have to vet. Whenever they move out, I don't know what my plans are for housing. To capture capital gains(if any[fingers crossed]) and downsize, or to find another roommate, probably the latter. Laziness, you know

[epowers]

1.  How many sqft is your home? 2112 sqft + full basement (4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, but there is also a not 5th bedroom in the basement)

2.  How many live in your home? 2 adults, 2 house rabbits

3.  Do you own or rent?   Own

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month? $1026.82/ $340.65/ $81.33 + extra principal

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any? $91,385 - 15 yr mortgage at 3.875%

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future? We're staying for now, but after finishing our basement, we realize that if there was a bathroom down there, we wouldn't need the rest of the house.  Our house is probably too big to make a good rental around here.  We'd love to retire somewhere smaller and with lower property taxes/cost of living, but we are reluctant to move to a different community. 

7. What is the size of  your lot/garden? Our lot is just under 1/4 acre.  Our main vegetable garden is about 150 sqft.

8. Where do you park?  We have a 2.5 car garage attached to our house.  It holds 2 cars, a bicycle+trailer, lawnmower, snowblower, "workshop" with various power and hand tools, sports equipment, and hay (for the rabbits).  Our frequent overnight guests park on the driveway.

[devan 11]

1.  How many sqft is your home?

2500 ft^2

2.  How many live in your home?

2

3.  Do you own or rent?

Own 

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month?

$200

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any?

$0

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future?

Move in ten years.

  I bought this house as a fixer-upper, paid it off, and have nearly financed my retirement by not having house payments.  What I have saved by not having house or rent payments has saved me the cost of the house several times over.  This is my first best financial decision.
   In 2008, We were hit with a major flood, and DIYed ourselves back with no debt.  I don't want to work on this house any more.  I am ready for a fresh start on a home, rather than work around some other person's designs.