Housing costs

How much do you pay for housing per month

  • 0-$499

    Votes: 18 8.0%
  • $500-$999

    Votes: 47 20.8%
  • $1000-$1499

    Votes: 61 27.0%
  • $1500-$1999

    Votes: 37 16.4%
  • $2000-$2499

    Votes: 26 11.5%
  • $2500-$2999

    Votes: 18 8.0%
  • $3000-$3499

    Votes: 14 6.2%
  • $3500-$3999

    Votes: 1 0.4%
  • Over $4000

    Votes: 4 1.8%

  • Total voters
    226
This is a 4-year old story but it probably is still very true. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fo...es-middle-class-taxpayers-all-of-51month/amp/

I'm sure there are a lot of people who do benefit significantly. When I was married and our income and mortgage were twice what my current income and mortgage are, we certainly benefited tremendously. Now it helps me a little, but not much. What does help me is a 3-bedroom apartment in our neighborhood rents for $1,800ish and my mortgage is $1,250.

Yeah, there still isn't a calculator since the senate and house plans differ, but I'll probably not come out ahead since I can no longer use head of household rates.
We make more than $50,000 a year so IDK exactly how much per month it is for us in particular--haven't calculated those numbers myself.

In 2016 our itemized amount was $26,146 (includes mortgage interest, state and local taxes {which state will be higher for 2017 due to a income tax rate increase that was retroactive to Jan 1st 2017}, property tax {which 2017 is higher because our property tax is higher this year than last year}, PMI {which we did get completely rid of this year by refing so 2017 numbers will be different on that}, personal property tax from our vehicles {not the fees just the tax and this does decrease year after year as our vehicles are valued at less-mine is already at the minimum amount due to its age} and student loan interest {which already sucks that you can only take a max of $2,500 no matter how many people in the household pay student loans though the interest amount we pay does get less each year as we are closer to paying them all off}.

Standard deduction is currently $12,600.

Now the thing that wouldn't kill us is that they would double the standard deduction to $25,200 but it would still cost us more. If they were only increasing rather than doubling it would be a larger impact.

Now this is mostly because of us being only a few years into our mortgage. Naturally as time goes on the amount of interest we pay will lessen and the deduction wouldn't be as advantagous because it's possible we would just meet the current Standard deduction rate {all depends on year to year with factors such as property tax amount, income tax levels, etc}.
 
It makes a pretty big difference to us.

When we moved into our house we paid 3 months worth of mortgage interest but it wasn't enough to allow us to itemize and take the mortgage interest as a tax deduction.

The next year we were able to itemize and it made a difference since we could count other things that require itemization to be able to be counted.

Correct and my husband figured it out it would cost us at least $1,000 more in taxes.

I agree...itemizing saves us a lot too...but that's not gonna be the element that destroys families on tax bills - it's that combined with the loss of exemptions...doubling the standard deduction is about equal to 4 exemptions you take (if you are a family of 4 with 2 kids)...so if you have more kids, you're gonna get destroyed...if you have 4 people, but you itemize, you'll also get destroyed...if you have 1-2 person families that don't itemize or barely get above itemization level, you'll make out...

I'm hoping the tax bill goes the way of all the other bills this year, b/c it's an awful deal for the family middle class...seniors will probably make out, since they have such small family units...rich will make out...poor will make out...but if you work and have a family of 3+ and support yourself independently (ie - you don't qualify for any government subsidizing programs right now), you're gonna have a nice tax raise coming...
 
mortgage on our place, including municipal taxes sis around $2500/month..BC Canada
 
I agree...itemizing saves us a lot too...but that's not gonna be the element that destroys families on tax bills - it's that combined with the loss of exemptions...doubling the standard deduction is about equal to 4 exemptions you take (if you are a family of 4 with 2 kids)...so if you have more kids, you're gonna get destroyed...if you have 4 people, but you itemize, you'll also get destroyed...if you have 1-2 person families that don't itemize or barely get above itemization level, you'll make out...

I'm hoping the tax bill goes the way of all the other bills this year, b/c it's an awful deal for the family middle class...seniors will probably make out, since they have such small family units...rich will make out...poor will make out...but if you work and have a family of 3+ and support yourself independently (ie - you don't qualify for any government subsidizing programs right now), you're gonna have a nice tax raise coming...

You're absolutely correct, and nobody ever mentions the loss of personal exemptions in both the House and Senate bills. Our family of 3 would lose $12,450 (3 x $4150, 2018 PE allowance) of personal exemptions. $13,000 (2018 SD for MFJ) + $12,450 = $25,450. Republicans are offering $24,000 for standard deduction in lieu of the combination (SD + PE), so my family will pay more in taxes from the get-go. Under their plan, we'll pay federal taxes on property taxes + state income tax + medical expenses + ... If you have children you pay more taxes. If you have a medical condition that's expensive, you pay more taxes. If you have a mortgage, you pay more in taxes. If you have student loans, you pay more in taxes. If you're planning to adopt, you'll pay more in taxes. If you pay state income taxes, you pay more in taxes. So you have to ask, who is getting all the extra money you're going to be paying in taxes?

Back to OP's topic, we pay 30% of gross income for PITI, Denver region, on our 15 yr 2.875% mortgage. Before we re-fi'd it was closer to 20%, but payments are higher for the shorter term mortgage even though the interest rate is lower. I see it as forced savings since our principal is dropping quickly.
 
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The mortgage deduction is not really all that IMO. It really benefits the upper middle class.

In addition, if the proposed tax reform gets passed, the standard deduction doubles which means even fewer people will itemize.

Condos have condo fees as well to consider.

I've owned since I was 25, but the case for homeownership isn't that clear imo. Look at states like CT. My parents sold their house in a very nice NYC suburb in 1998 for $1.475 million. That house is on the market today for $1.4 million (still in very good condition on a fantastic lot with an updated kitchen in a town with excellent schools) and has been sitting forever.

My mortgage payment (including taxes and insurance) takes up 17% of my gross income. Higher than I like, but I'm a single mom, so only one income:(

Condo fees are the killer. $300 a month easy

I looked at a place and put an offer in a few months ago (it went for way more than I was willing to pay). On the market for $130,000 went for $165,000
 
My city has a very high cost of living. That's a bummer, but it's a nice place to live.

I don't love my *city*. Mostly jaded and sick of it, having grown up here.

But I love my area. I can't imagine living anywhere very different. I tried to move to South Florida,

Bugs. Hot. Bugs. Bugs. Hot. NOPE
 
Condo fees are the killer. $300 a month easy

Yes! I just heard someone the other day saying a condo they might buy has $450 mo HOA fees! And I've seen the condo community. Other than a pool to maintain and a bit of landscaping, there isn't that much to the place.
 


Yes! I just heard someone the other day saying a condo they might buy has $450 mo HOA fees! And I've seen the condo community. Other than a pool to maintain and a bit of landscaping, there isn't that much to the place.

We have several condo developments here, that the HOA is in the $800-1000/ month range
 
We have several condo developments here, that the HOA is in the $800-1000/ month range

Crazy...but it's why we avoided condos and actually looked at HOA fees when we bought our townhome...we only pay $82/month (and increases are limited to the CPI increase every year - that was a great bylaw for this community:)) + $275/annual for the pool...we passed on a lot of communities that had $300+/month HOAs (and no limits to yearly increases)...we don't get a lot, but trash, outside lighting, lawn mowing/landscaping/community tree removal, community pest control (we live next to a lake - this one is crucial), parking lot upkeep, and snow removal is all we need (and the pool:))...
 
We have several condo developments here, that the HOA is in the $800-1000/ month range

:thud: I cannot even imagine! Dh & I owned a townhouse at the beginning of our marriage and the monthly HOA was only $50 (no pool) and we thought that seemed high lol.
 
We're in an HOA that's $50 WITH a pool and clubhouse :laughing: When we first bought our house it was at $45 which was what it was at forever. People don't believe me when I say it's just $50. And it's a very fair HOA. A few years ago we needed a new fence that we shared with the clubhouse. They didn't hesitate to pay their half. Was such an easy process.
 
With zero down payment at 4% interest on a 30 year mortgage, you'd be saving $50 by buying that condo.

If you can come up with 10% down, you'd save $150 a month over what you are paying in rent. And that isn't including the savings on your income taxes.

DS and DIL just went through that. They've been married 1 1/2 years, and lived together for 4, rent was killing them, and they said "we'll never be able to afford a house". They sat down with a realtor and a mortgage broker and discovered they couldn't afford NOT to buy. They went from a 2 bedroom 2 bath 1,000 square foot condo for $850 a month rent, to a 3 bedroom, 1 bath 1,100 square foot house for a payment of $650 a month, and again, not counting the savings they will get on their income tax with the mortgage deduction.

Did you add in the condo fee?
 
Did you add in the condo fee?
I did not. No way to know what it is, they seem to vary wildly as to what serves the fee covers. Checking online the average is $200 a month which seems high for this area.
And of course, you could be paying for many of those same services as a home owner too on top of a mortgage (garbage, sewer, water, gardener) so that may end up being a wash between a condo and a house.
 
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I did not. No way to know what it is, they seem to vary wildly as to what serves the fee covers. Checking online the average is $200 a month which seems high for this area.
And of course, you could be paying for many of those same services as a home owner too on top of a mortgage (garbage, sewer, water, gardener) so that may end up being a wash between a condo and a house.
My mom owned a condo very briefly before she died. The condo fee was different from one unit to the next. I think it was based on whether or not your unit had a driveway space since those needed extra snow removal. Hers was around $180. My brother lives in a condo and his is ridiculous. Around $250 a month. That's high for around here. And then they assess them extra when they have to repair the parking lot.
 
I did not. No way to know what it is, they seem to vary wildly as to what serves the fee covers. Checking online the average is $200 a month which seems high for this area.
And of course, you could be paying for many of those same services as a home owner too on top of a mortgage (garbage, sewer, water, gardener) so that may end up being a wash between a condo and a house.

I've seen some pretty high ones in this area (DC/Md/Va). Depends on the services provided. In a detached home you can mow your own grass, shovel the snow, etc. We looked at 1-2 bedroom units for my son about 2 years ago. As stated, varies widely.
 
We live in New York (Long Island) and pay 27% of our net income for our mortgage. It would be like 16% of our gross.
 
I've seen some pretty high ones in this area (DC/Md/Va). Depends on the services provided. In a detached home you can mow your own grass, shovel the snow, etc. We looked at 1-2 bedroom units for my son about 2 years ago. As stated, varies widely.
No snow here. But that is a cost that you would have to pay with as a homeowner as well, so kind of wash there too. As for a detached home, some of more restrictive HOAs here do all the landscaping, and exterior painting, and you are not allowed to put in your own plants, or pick what color you want your house to be. Even have one large subdivision here that requires all cars to be parked INSIDE the garage at night. No cars allowed in the street or even in your driveway.
 
. And then they assess them extra when they have to repair the parking lot.

I think they cracked down on that with new developments here. The developer is supposed to set the HOA fees so they cover all possible repairs and then buy insurance to cover any shortfall if they get it wrong.
 

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