How's your house?

[Theadyn]

In line with the commute thread, got me to thinking, most peoples big expenses are home and transportation (well, those not with full on 'staches ).   ;)    So here goes some questions, might be food for thought for some.



1.  How many sqft is your home?

2.  How many live in your home?

3.  Do you own or rent?   

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

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?



1.  1000 sqft
2.  Just me
3.  Own
4.  $506
5.  $69k to go
6.  Planning on staying, wanting to pay off mortgage and stay here for a long time.

[aaronhann85]

1. 105m2 (around 1100sq ft)
2. Currently 2 people living here but my GF is moving in shortly to make 3
3. I own
4. Minimum mortgage repayment is ~$1000AUD/month, council rates/taxes are about $80/month, insurance is around $40/month.
5. Balance of mortgage is $159k, paid $187,500 in 2007. Valued at $235k in September 2012 yet well down from peak of $260-270k a few years ago.
6. I plan on staying for another 3-5 years at which point I will rent it out for positive cashflow, or sell it if the housing market is in another bubble at the time.

[clutchy]

2174 sq ft.
"own" $237,000 owed @ 3.25%
$1632/mo.

At present We're staying here.  I'd like to live closer to work, but my wife likes where we live.  At some point we'll probably move closer.  We can already rent our place for positive cash flow so moving wouldn't be a huge burden.  It's our first home and I've learned alot about what I do and do not want in a home and now I'm better prepared for better decision next time.

[icefr]

1200 sqft
Just me
Own
$1576/mo.
$240,000 balance, paid off 15% so far in almost 12 months
Plan on staying put until I either get married, get a green card, or change my mind and move back to Canada. At this point, any of those is a viable option in the next 5-7 years and I'll sell at that time if necessary.

[Fuyu]

1.  About 1000 sqft

2.  2

3.  rent

4.  $675/month

5.  N/A

6.  Planning on moving to a smaller and cheaper place when lease ends in July.

[sisca]

1.  2700 square feet
2.  Family of 4
3.  Own
4.  Agressively paying off mortgage, so about $8.000 a month. If we were paying it of like normal people, it would be $700-800.
5.  $300.000

Note: Live in Norway, so wages are in general a lot higher than most americans are used to, as is taxes, prices in general and house prices in particular. A normal house in my city is roughly $1 mill.

[marty998]

77m2
Just me
Own
~$750 interest
$165k left to pay, place is valued at $415k so lots of equity/net worth tied up in there.
Intending to move to someplace bigger and more expensive.

(Do not facepunch me for that last comment, I won't be listening.

[ScienceRules]

1. 932 sqft
2. 3
3. Own
4. $1100
5. $140K
6. Stay for about 10 more years until we have a couple kids or sooner if we move for work/med school.

[Rural]

1. 1900 sqft
2. 2
3. Own
4. $83 in taxes.
5. $11.5K, which we'll pay off when we make our next payment
6. We intend to die in this house. A long time from now. :-)

[ace1224]

1. 1300 sqft
2. Family of 3
3. "Own"
4. 1000
5. $115,000
6. I plan on living here forever

[James]

1.  2700 sq ft
2.  Family of 2 adults, 3 kids, 1 dog, 2 gerbils, 2 frogs, 1 tadpole
3.  Own
4.  $900
5.  Mortgage of $134,000 (80% of value) with second mortgage that will get paid off in the next few months.
6.  We don't love the place, but it works for now. Definitely won't be here forever.

[GuitarStv]

1.  2600 sq ft

2.  Two, soon to be three

3.  Own

4.  Mortgage - about 500$ (we're making regular additional payments though)
     Tax - Under 260$
     Insurance - around 50$

5.  Around 70k remaining, house was valued at over 400k for tax purposes last year.

6.  We're hoping to stay where we are for another 10 - 15 years.

[SMMcP]

1) 1980 sqft
2) Just me
3) Own
4) $261/mo taxes plus $80/mo insurance
5) zero balance on mortgage
6) probably for the rest of my life, but always considering possible changes

[kolorado]

1.  How many sqft is your home? just under 1500

2.  How many live in your home? 5

3.  Do you own or rent?  own

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month? $970(about 20% income)

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any? $170K

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future? Move but we're unsure when. It could be next year if a great job opportunity presents itself in NJ or PA and that is a strong possibility. But it could be 10-15 years from now when DH retires at 50-55. We bought a house as soon as we could after moving here(after looking at 30 places that made the cut of 1000's that fit our criteria in this big city area!). We were paying $980 a month in rent(and soon to go up to $1050). We really love our new home. It's absolutely perfect for raising a family and for all our needs. We love the location, even if it is a 14 mile commute for DH. We're out of the city and that was a must for me. But we sure don't want to stay here forever. We will be downsizing at hubby's retirement to a 1.5 story home about 400 sq ft on the main level. It will almost certainly be on the East Coast somewhere near the beach and close(within half a day's drive)to our families.

[twinge]

1.  How many sqft is your home?  1300 listed (2100ish if you include finished walk-out basement)

2.  How many live in your home?  3 adults, 2 kids

3.  Do you own or rent?   Own

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month?  currently 2100 offset by 700 rental income but refinancing back to a cheaper 30 year low interest rate loan will make that more like 1550 offset by 700.

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any?  268K out of a currently valued 450K

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future? stay awhile, move to small house in a lower COL area when fully FI.

[brewer12345]

1. About 2800 sq ft.

2. 2 adults, 2 kids, 2 dogs, 2 guinea pigs, assorted fish.

3. Own it.

4. $1135 a month for PITI.

5. 203K mortgage balance, with no present plans to pay more than the scheduled payment.

6.  If I don't keel over in the woods when hiking or hunting, I hope they carry me out of this place feet first.

[Zaga]

1.  2500 sqft + ~1500 sqft basement that doesn't "count" because of the ceiling height, 1.1 acres
2.  2 people, 1 small dog, 3 tanks of goldfish
3.  Own
4.  $200 taxes, $67 insurance
5.  $3,400 to go, paying off next month
6.  Staying forever

[chatsc]

-1100sq ft,
- 2 adults, 3 kids....(3 beds,  1 bath)
-own
-500$ biweekly for mort, 280$ for tax, 75$ for  house insurance
-we owe 186K.

-not putting much extra in for now, because only one salary, but that will change in next few years
-dont plan on moving, do plan on putting in another bathroom though.....

[KulshanGirl]

1.  How many sqft is your home? 600 sf

2.  How many live in your home? One adult, one child

3.  Do you own or rent?  Own 

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month? $628/$101/$32 (20 year mortgage, 3.75%)

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any? Just over $102K

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future? I would like to live here forever, but we'll see if we can survive the tween/teen years in a one-bedroom house.  I'd probably rent it out and just move until the small one leaves the nest, if we end up needing more space.  I think we can manage though.

This is a great thread! 

[VexedCoffee]

1.  How many sqft is your home?
600 sqft
2.  How many live in your home?
2 + dog
3.  Do you own or rent?   
Own
4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month?
$460
5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any?
I think about $43,000
6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future?
Going to move within the next couple years. Currently live in the suburbs and want to move into the city so we can be close to our jobs. Need to finish fixing the house up first though.

[BlueMR2]

1.  Not sure, I just can't remember for sure.  Thinking it was either 1200 or 1492 sq ft?  Beats me, either way it's about twice as much house as we need and only has half the garage space I'd like.  :-)
2.  2
3.  Own
4.  ~$200
5.  Paid off.
6.  No plans to move anytime soon, but it's in a suburb and is therefore space constrained, would like to retire to a rural location where I'd have more room for my hobbies (ham radio needs space for antenna towers and playing with cars needs space for parking/garages).

[SwordGuy]

1.  2000sqft.  Was 1800 when we bought it, enclosed a screen porch for more space.
2.  3 people and 3 cats.
3.  Own.
4.  $180/month for property tax.  $90/month for home insurance.
5.  $0.  !!!  woot!
6.  Stay.

[lauren_knows]

1.  1400sqft 1st and 2nd floor, 700sqft semi-finished basement. Mostly use for storage and workout room.
2.  2 adults, 1 child
3.  Own
4.  Mortgage & Taxes is about $1500/mo.
5.  $284k mortgage on roughly $375k value home.
6.  Looking to move to a single family home, from this townhouse, in 2-4 years.

[Dr.Vibrissae]

1. 1120sqft
2. Two people, 2 dogs, 4 cats
3. $873
4. $98,900
5. Move in 4 years or so

[Christiana]

1.  not quite 900 sq ft
2.  5, soon to be 6--but most are under 4 ft tall
3.  Rent
4.  $1150
5.  -
6.  Staying for two more years, then moving.

[aclarridge]

1. 650 sq. ft
2. 2
3. Rent
4. 1600/mo - and we are actually getting a good deal given our location.
5. N/A
6. There will be a move in the next 1-4 years.

[michael]

Wow, lots of owners here. Very cool. Used to own in Mississippi, two and a half years ago :) someday...!

• 1,000 sq ft
• Two - me and my brother (he contributes $800/month)
• Rent
• $1900/month, utilities except Internet/power included
• -
• Maybe two years, depends on work enjoyment and any changes to the (currently nonexistent) love life. I'd really like to own again but this area is cost-restrictive - thinking about Missoula, MT, areas of Colorado, etc

[purpleqgr]

1. 1840 sq ft
2. Two - me and my partner
3. Own
4. ~1650/mo, but throwing anywhere from 3000 - 6000 per month to principal
5. ~155k left
6. Planning to stay for at least 3 years longer, may decide to rent out and purchase a multi family nearer to partner's work. (His current commute is the definition of antimustachian!)

[arebelspy]

1. 400 sq. ft.
2. Two people.
3. Own.
4. 339 PITI, 120 HOA.
5. Approximately 55k.
6. Move in a few years.

Surprised we're the smallest so far (unless I missed one while skimming), yet we were just recently talking about how it's way more space than we need, and we could go down to about 200 sq. ft. or so.

My vote for most badass of the thread:

1.  not quite 900 sq ft
2.  5, soon to be 6--but most are under 4 ft tall

[Gerard]

1.  How many sqft is your home? 960

2.  How many live in your home? 1-3 depending on season

3.  Do you own or rent?   own

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month? 412/110/92

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any? $61K

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

[StarswirlTheMustached]

1.  How many sqft is your home?
~700
2.  How many live in your home?
2 + dog
3.  Do you own or rent?   
rent
4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month?
870$ (utilities and taxes included)

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

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future?
We'll be here for a few years. It's a nice spot, and we're not overpaying for this town. Once we're somewhere we can settle for more than a handful of years, we'll be buying a house.

[twinge]

1. 400 sq. ft.
2. Two people.
3. Own.
4. 339 PITI, 120 HOA.
5. Approximately 55k.
6. Move in a few years.

Surprised we're the smallest so far (unless I missed one while skimming), yet we were just recently talking about how it's way more space than we need, and we could go down to about 200 sq. ft. or so.

I'm with you there. We used to live 3 people in 450 sq ft and thought it was perfect and found we needed less before that when we were just two--300sq ft seemed ideal.  We now have 4 (two different gender and very different aged children--3 and 11) living in 1300 (and renting out the rest) and feels like much too much but it's the only kind of housing stock that also meets our reqs to be within biking distance of job and public transit and in a good school district.

[Joet]

1.  ~1700 ft^2

2.  2+dog+cat

3.  we own slightly more of it than the bank does 

4.  ~2600

5.  ~405k (30@3.375)

6.  definitely not a forever home. looking at moving to SF maybe in a year or 3

[Mrs WW]

Our house is on the west coast of Sweden

1. 176 square meters including a garage that serves as workshop/storage/bike room. Five bedroom (one too many) and 1 1/2 bath. We could definately be happy with 120, we would store less, and use all our space every day. We do like to have separate bedrooms for the kids and an extra room for visiting family, our guest room is occupied at least one night a week.
2. Two adults, two kids
3. We own 15%, the bank the rest.
4. Cost for heating, trash, insurance, electricity, taxes totals less than 3000 dollars a year. Mortgage is not bad
5. I'm not telling, it would not make sense to the price-spoiled american house owners :)
6. We love the neighborhood but want evening sun and dream about living close to the ocean. So, no, not forever but right now its great!

[Barbaebigode]

1- 65mē (700 sq feet)
2- 2 humans, 1 dog
3- rent
4- 1050 BRL (525 dollars). It's kinda cheap for the neighborhood we live in, but our sallaries are in BRL (brazilian currency), not dollars.
6- We're moving to another town in matter of months, but probably the new rent will be the same.

[PGH]

1. 1290 SF (plus a full finished below-ground basement)
2. 3 people, 1 rambunctious terrier
3. own
4. $1195 for P & I (of which less than $180 is interest), $333 for taxes, $50 for insurance
5. About $38k on a value of +/- $300k. Our situation's a little different because we originally bought the house outright but then refinanced to buy our business. The business pays the mortgage each month, but we obviously pay for taxes.
6. We just bought land. We plan on building the house ourselves, and expect it will take about 2 years (given the New England winters).

[NumberCruncher]

1. 400 sq. ft.
2. Two people.
3. Own.
4. 339 PITI, 120 HOA.
5. Approximately 55k.
6. Move in a few years.

Surprised we're the smallest so far (unless I missed one while skimming), yet we were just recently talking about how it's way more space than we need, and we could go down to about 200 sq. ft. or so.

I'm with you there. We used to live 3 people in 450 sq ft and thought it was perfect and found we needed less before that when we were just two--300sq ft seemed ideal.  We now have 4 (two different gender and very different aged children--3 and 11) living in 1300 (and renting out the rest) and feels like much too much but it's the only kind of housing stock that also meets our reqs to be within biking distance of job and public transit and in a good school district.

300 sqft is fine when the layout is nice...we have a huge pillar in our living/dining/kitchen area, and the rest of the space is just kind of awkward in a way that it's pretty hard to fit a decent sized desk anywhere without it feeling cramped. If I didn't *really* want to be able to use my sewing machine again/wasn't in school, it would be fine.

[mensa]

1.  How many sqft is your home? 2000

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? 1075/390/50 Property taxes are outrageous in my city! We are paying down the mortgage at 15k/year extra as well.

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any? $99K owed on 350k value.

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future? I think we'll be looking at an employment move sometime within the next 5 years. We'll likely rent at that time.

[c]

1.  520

2.  2 + 3 cats

3.  Own

4.  $1280

5. $282k

6.  No plans to move as long as I stay in NYC.

[brewer12345]

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month? 1075/390/50 Property taxes are outrageous in my city! We are paying down the mortgage at 15k/year extra as well.

Hahahahahaha!  When I lived in NJ in a middle class town with verty mediocre schoold, the real estate taxes on a 1951 vintage 1900 square foot house on a quarter acre lot were over $8k.  In some of the towns a similar house would have had 11-12k taxes a year.

[adesertsky]

1.  How many sqft is your home? 1260

2.  How many live in your home? dos

3.  Do you own or rent?   own

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month?  oof.  a lot.  1610/520/50 +120 PMI  baaaaaad.  also, property taxes blow in the chicago suburbs.

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any?  $285k

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future?  move after FI to a lower property tax place that doesn't need a 100 foot driveway plowed every time it snows...

[vern]

Just over 1300 sq ft.
Two adults
Own
Taxes are ~120 per month
Zero.  Paid it off a few years back!!!
I hope to stay here forever.

[expatartist]

Interesting thread! What a variety of responses.

We have a place we own - but don't live in it. So, here goes nothin'.

A: Art studio/flat in Sicily

1.  ~400sq feet

2.  Sleeps 2 people

3.  Own! Bought it, sight unseen, off the internet for $10,000 cash. Renovations so far have cost more than that, and there's plenty more to do. It was more an emotional than a terribly smart decision financially.

4.  Small places are cheaper to own and maintain, anywhere you live. Property taxes: ~$100/year, Water fees: ~$100/year,  Rubbish collection fees, ~100/year (all off the top of my head, we're still financially getting organized). Agency management fees, $180/year.

5.  No mortgage.

6.  When we're not there (most of the year), I rent it out to creatives (artists/writers/architects) on a weekly basis (it's not in a town where there are year-round renters), particularly in the spring/summer/autumn months.  The plan is to finish renovations by spring 2016 and sell it - when Italy's capital gains penalty expires. Then we'll buy a place in Palermo where there's actually a year-round rental market. We'd like to live in Palermo eventually, once we're FI.


B: Apartment in Beijing

1. About 550 square feet

2.  2 adults, 2 terrapins.

3.  Rent

4.  Rent is ~$850/month *facepunch*

5.  N/A

6.  We plan to move to another country by the end of the year.

[firefergy]

1.  How many sqft is your home? 3000 sqft

2.  How many live in your home? 5

3.  Do you own or rent? Own

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month? 1760/750/80

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any? 397000

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

[Dibbels81]

I live in Las Vegas and was happily renting a room in a friend's house until 2011 came along and presented a buying opportunity of a lifetime.  The house I bought was built and sold in 2005 for 283K--I bought it in a short sale for 93k.  I did have enough for a 20% downpayment, but I went with a FHA loan.

1.) 1364
2.) 2.  Me+friend/tenant ($500 rent)
3.) Own
4.) Principle+interest+taxes+insurance+PMI=$618 a month
5.) 89K@3.75% fixed 30 year
6.) Staying at least 10 years, more probably.  My house is the shit. 

[orcas50]

1. 2200 sq ft
2. 2 adults, 2 kids
3. own
4. mortgage: $1425 (30 year @3.875%), taxes: $410, insurance $90, total:$1925
5. mortgage balance: $275k (house valued at ~ $600K)
6. We're here for the long haul, we love where we live.

[Tami1982]

1.  How many sqft is your home?  520 sq ft

2.  How many live in your home? 1 adult, 1 dog

3.  Do you own or rent?   Own

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month? $386

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any? $63,000 fixed 30 yr, 3.125%

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future? 5-7 years.  Long enough to pay off the home, then looking into something else while keeping this as a rental.  Could easily rent for $800+ a month.

[marz1982]

3. We own 15%, the bank the rest.

Wise words!

Our situation in New Zealand:

1.  About 2400 square foot?

2.  2 + cat

3.  rent

4.  US$1534 per month

6.  Lease until early next year.  Then might look for a place cheaper and closer to work.  Housing prices too crazy to consider buying right now, unless we move out of the super city :P

[totoro]

1. 4400 square feet - triplex - 9 bed 5 bath 2 gas fireplaces 1 Woodstove each unit with separate washer/dryer
2. 5 adults 4 kids 1 dog
3.  Own
4. rental income covers costs - we don't pay out of pocket
5. Large mortgage with no plan to pay off early because of tax reasons
6. We're staying put

[Emerald]

1.  How many sqft is your home?
1300 sqft

2.  How many live in your home?
1

3.  Do you own or rent?   
Own

4.  What do you spend on rent or mortgage/taxes/insurance per month?
$680 + extra to principal each month

5.  If own, what is the balance or mortgage, if any?
$85,000

6.  Are you intending to stay in current residency or is a move in the future?
Move within 5 years