When buying a new place, there might be some costs that you may have not realized or have forgotten about. A new place is an exciting time, but being prepared is very important. Luckily we rented a house before we bought, so we had a general idea of what things would cost. Our total monthly home payment is less than $1,000, and that includes our monthly mortgage payment, home insurance and property taxes.
Total Monthly Housing Costs:
Mortgage Payment
This is the actual payment for your mortgage every month.This can of course vary as houses are never the same. I would prefer to keep my mortgage less than 20% of our take home pay, and right now our mortgage is around 5% of our monthly take home pay (both our main jobs and all side hustles). Much different than how it used to be!
Property Taxes
Property taxes can vary widely depending on your home and where you live. Can be anywhere from less than a hundred dollars per month, into the thousands. This is something that we have really been looking into for our next house, as different cities can have very different tax rates on homes. A home with the same value can have property taxes of $2,000 in one city but $6,000 in another city. That is a big difference each month for your monthly home payment!
Home Insurance
Home insurance is also another cost that needs to be thought about when buying a home. Home insurance is very important, and all mortgage companies will require you to show proof of home insurance before you buy. Shop around and make sure to get the best value!
Maintenance and Miscellaneous
Maintenance can include many things. Average cost of home repaid. Some say to save 1.5% of your home’s total value every year. This can then be used for routine maintenance or replacements such as a gas furnace replacement. Maintenance can also include mowing your lawn.
We outsource this and have someone else do this, but plan on changing that after this summer. We spend around $100 per month on lawn upkeep. Not too bad, but also a cost that we want to eliminate soon once we have more time. Mowing the lawn in 100 degree heat and high humidity does not sound like fun after working for 12 hours a day!
How much are your total monthly housing costs?
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