rojo wrote:
Howdy wrote:437k in 2009, southern California. Paid 20% down. Combined income $85k.
Really? Whate are the taxes out there?
So you have a 350k mortgage on 85k in income? The mortgage payment on that is $2k a month. Then you have taxes. In the two places I've most recently lived which have huge taxes (Ithaca and Baltimore), you'd be paying another 1k a month basically in property taxes (2-3%).
So you'd be paying a minimum of $36,000 a year just for the taxes/morgage.
Throw in a few repairs and we're at $40k.
The take home pay for someone making 85k a year is just 60k.
So that leaves you 25k for all of your other expenses for the year. So you are spending just 2k a month on expenses as a couple? Good for you. You are both only spending $30 a day. Very frugal.
a few other details since there is some speculation here:
I had the majority of my down payment from inheritance, as a grandparent died. I purchased the house from the in-laws, and it was built by my wife's great-uncle. It's a 4bd, 2ba, on a 1/2 acre in OC. In regards to repairs, I have done the majority of them, and am in the process of a seismic retrofit. It's relatively easy as long as you have the tools and materials, of which I have both. most materials were given to me free from a contractor friend. In the first 9 months, i re-wired the house, re-plumbed the house, took several rooms down to the studs and rebuilt them, rebuilt the kitchen and 1 bathroom (and have since done a 90% restoration on the smaller bath), and have done a few other things. I did this while my wife was pregnant with round 1 and we now have a second with a third on the way. My employment is inconsistent, but I'm a man of faith, and God provides every step of the way. some of you may not want to hear that, but it's the truth--I could not have bought the house at 27 under the circumstances without His help. but you're right Rojo--we live a frugal life right now.