Rant: Home ownership

[mikechamp]

I live in a like 800 sf house kind of in this hipster area. .... Plus energy and gas bills never add up to more than 150.

I don't know all the particulars, but that's a really large bill for that small a home.

[mikechamp]

Our current house was built in 1955. I was advised to buy the water and sewer line insurance, due to the vintage of our home. I'm so glad we did. We had our sewer line collapse and we ended up with water in our basement, about ankle deep. If we had not purchased the insurance it would have cost us $10,000 out of pocket to repair the line. Instead we only had to pay a $1,500 deductible and then of course we had been paying the premiums. Stuff like this never gets factored into the homeownership equation.

Yes, it does. P+I+T+I stands for principal, interest, taxes and insurance. That's the very basic equation underwriters use when determining if you can afford the mortgage payment in question.

The sad thing is that equation doesn't include utility costs, which are nearly impossible to eliminate (even in a net-zero home). The utility costs have been found to be so significant that they are the 2nd most common reason for foreclosure (behind not being able to afford the mortgage payment).

[haltz]

I live in a like 800 sf house kind of in this hipster area. .... Plus energy and gas bills never add up to more than 150.

I don't know all the particulars, but that's a really large bill for that small a home.

Mine get close to $300 during the dead of summer and winter and my place is 1,300 sf.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

I live in a like 800 sf house kind of in this hipster area. .... Plus energy and gas bills never add up to more than 150.

I don't know all the particulars, but that's a really large bill for that small a home.

Really, for electricity and natural gas combined in the dead of winter or dog days of summer? The average total is probably about $100 but the spikes in the summer/winter get up there. Previous houses I'd have ~$200+ just for electricity during the summer in a 1500 sf house. Perhaps our prices are too high in general.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Our current house was built in 1955. I was advised to buy the water and sewer line insurance, due to the vintage of our home. I'm so glad we did. We had our sewer line collapse and we ended up with water in our basement, about ankle deep. If we had not purchased the insurance it would have cost us $10,000 out of pocket to repair the line. Instead we only had to pay a $1,500 deductible and then of course we had been paying the premiums. Stuff like this never gets factored into the homeownership equation.

Yes, it does. P+I+T+I stands for principal, interest, taxes and insurance. That's the very basic equation underwriters use when determining if you can afford the mortgage payment in question.

Wait, principal and interest is essentially what you're paying on the loan, a set amount each month. Taxes are determined by the property value/local/state laws and can easily be calculated to be a monthly payment. Insurance is a premium that can be made into a monthly payment. If those are the 4 things they calculate to determine if you can afford a mortgage payment, how is unscheduled maintenance factored into the homeownership equation?

[mikechamp]

Our current house was built in 1955. I was advised to buy the water and sewer line insurance, due to the vintage of our home. I'm so glad we did. We had our sewer line collapse and we ended up with water in our basement, about ankle deep. If we had not purchased the insurance it would have cost us $10,000 out of pocket to repair the line. Instead we only had to pay a $1,500 deductible and then of course we had been paying the premiums. Stuff like this never gets factored into the homeownership equation.

Yes, it does. P+I+T+I stands for principal, interest, taxes and insurance. That's the very basic equation underwriters use when determining if you can afford the mortgage payment in question.

Wait, principal and interest is essentially what you're paying on the loan, a set amount each month. Taxes are determined by the property value/local/state laws and can easily be calculated to be a monthly payment. Insurance is a premium that can be made into a monthly payment. If those are the 4 things they calculate to determine if you can afford a mortgage payment, how is unscheduled maintenance factored into the homeownership equation?

I interpreted pioneer98's post to read that insurance wasn't factored into the homeownership equation. It is.

Unscheduled maintenance is not.

[mikechamp]

I'm just thinking about my situation: 3,400 finished s.f., built 8-10 years ago (started in 2004; finished in 2006) by a lousy builder. (We're the 2nd owner.) No retrofits or upgrades have occurred. Our bill combines electricity & natural gas. Natural gas furnace & water heater; electric stove, oven and standard AC.

I don't believe I've ever paid more than $270 in one month, and the lowest I've paid is around $135. Been living in the house 2 yrs, 11 months.

[jim]

Just found out that the city will be sending an inspector, and we have a galvanized pipe running to the heater, so it's going to run us another $120 or so to replace that I'll bet.

I hate it.

[pioneer98]

Our current house was built in 1955. I was advised to buy the water and sewer line insurance, due to the vintage of our home. I'm so glad we did. We had our sewer line collapse and we ended up with water in our basement, about ankle deep. If we had not purchased the insurance it would have cost us $10,000 out of pocket to repair the line. Instead we only had to pay a $1,500 deductible and then of course we had been paying the premiums. Stuff like this never gets factored into the homeownership equation.

Yes, it does. P+I+T+I stands for principal, interest, taxes and insurance. That's the very basic equation underwriters use when determining if you can afford the mortgage payment in question.

Wait, principal and interest is essentially what you're paying on the loan, a set amount each month. Taxes are determined by the property value/local/state laws and can easily be calculated to be a monthly payment. Insurance is a premium that can be made into a monthly payment. If those are the 4 things they calculate to determine if you can afford a mortgage payment, how is unscheduled maintenance factored into the homeownership equation?

I interpreted pioneer98's post to read that insurance wasn't factored into the homeownership equation. It is.

Unscheduled maintenance is not.

You are right, it is the unscheduled maintenance that is the main thing, but the insurance was actually the water line/sewer line insurance we bought. Not everyone buys that. It is not part of our normal homeowner's insurnace. My homeowner's insurance would not have covered this. It was extra insurance we bought through the water company. And we did it because we were advised a number of homes in this area built in that timeframe had subpar sewer lines installed. Look around our neighborhood and you will see where they had to tear into the street in front of a number of homes to replace the sewer line.

[haltz]

I'm just thinking about my situation: 3,400 finished s.f., built 8-10 years ago (started in 2004; finished in 2006) by a lousy builder. (We're the 2nd owner.) No retrofits or upgrades have occurred. Our bill combines electricity & natural gas. Natural gas furnace & water heater; electric stove, oven and standard AC.

I don't believe I've ever paid more than $270 in one month, and the lowest I've paid is around $135. Been living in the house 2 yrs, 11 months.

That's about what my bills look like at less than half the square footage. But I have old windows and my house was built in 1924.

edit - plus I live in the downstairs portion of a two-family unit and I've always felt like I'm helping to heat or cool the upstairs. I really don't know what I'm talking about, but it seems like my utility bills are too high.