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How much of your monthly income is spent on your mortgage

  • FU poor boy. I own my own home!

    Votes: 24 14%
  • 70%

    Votes: 1 1%
  • 60%

    Votes: 0 0%
  • 50%

    Votes: 10 6%
  • 40%

    Votes: 18 11%
  • 30%

    Votes: 36 21%
  • 20%

    Votes: 78 46%
  • I to am a poor boy and rent...

    Votes: 5 3%
81 - 100 of 112 Posts
Jayl13 said:
Tim, I am at 42% of my income for my house (not my wife's)
Buy the house brother, your running behind and down here the longer you wait the harder it will be.
Im making about 15 grand a month on my house in equity so I am making it work FOR me.
Now the baja is paid off and all repair work and engines and all the rest were out of pocket.

All I can say is BUY something quick, You wait and that house you fall in love with that you might have to stretch to get will be unattainable in 2-3 months!
My house has gone up 40 grand in 3 months (neighbor with same house down street just sold so I know)
Good luck
J
my daughters house in punta gorda (west coast) has more than doubled in 2 years . even with getting hit with a hurricane. i'm not sure they could afford to buy that same house today. i can't beleive the bubble hasn't burst yet.
 
tcob said:
i can't beleive the bubble hasn't burst yet.
With the prices of homes around here , I have no idea how young people an afford them. One development after another and starting in the "Low 300's". Not only that , but they all have a new SUV and a BMW in the driveway :confused: :confused:
 
I am jumping in on this one late but want to put in
my 2 cents. Have you ever considered building
your own home by acting as your own General
Contractor and doing some of the work yourself?
I already can hear it now..."no way can I build my
own home!" Take it from a builder...it is not that
hard. Its all about finding good subcontractors,
planning, scheduling and holding your subs accountable.
Don't pay until you are 100% satisfied with the job
and the job is 100% complete. Hold out 10% for
30 days after the job is complete as you will overlook
or find defects. It is alot easier getting them back to
complete the punch list when you are sitting on 10%
of their money. You can go to Barnes & Noble, they
have several good books on being your own General
and building your own home. I would advise to buy
your land now and get that paid for while you search
for a house plan. Get the house plan nailed down
and go to Kinko's and run off a buch of copies and
go out and get 3 bids for each job and get your
paperwork together and go visit the banker. The
bank will like to see your lot paid for in full and all
the work you have done before coming to see him.

The bank will have your plans appraised so you will
need some detailed written down on the plans you
give to the bank. They will be looking for some of
the following things: ext. finish (brick/stone/vinyl siding),
flooring (wood/tile/carpet), cabinets - mfg and grade,
plumbing fixtures, counter top materials, fire place
hearth material (granite/marble/tile) and the amount
of windows and ext doors. For the most part these
items listed will effect the amount that your house
will be appraised at on a square foot basis. Obviously
you have to figure in location, total square feet, basement, slap or crawspace and what other homes
are selling for in your same neighborhood.

I am going to give you an example of my last home
that I built for my family....

Borrowed amount = 280,000.00
square footage = 3050 finished (1 1/2 story)
full basement with 9 foot ceilings (unfinished but
ready to frame-in and floor wood web floor trusses
used so all the hvac, electrical and plumbing are
above ceiling level. No need for drop ceilings. A
very good resale value for anyone wanting more
room and you can finish it out and not pay taxes
on it too. 2360 sq feet in the basement ready to
finish.
1600 sq feet of 3/4 inch t&g hardwood floors.
all bathrooms tiled.
tiled master show with kohler rain head and 6 body jets.
all kohler designer plumbing fixtures including master
bath jacussi jetted tup with inline heater.
entire front brick / remaining house is cedar shake
3 car garrage
cherry cabinets throughout
granite countertops and island in kitchen
stainless steel appliances by Dacor.
custom oak stairway
over 25,000.00 dollars in ext windows and doors
(builder cost)
9 feet ceilings in kitchen, dining room and master area
19 feet ( 2 story) ceilings in foyer and great room
vaulted ceiling in family room with custom fireplace
including granite hearth and surround and custom
made mantle with columns.
all interior trim custom cut out of poplar
custom wood arched openings above master jetted tub
and entry to master hallway and entry to kitchen
from garrage
2 hi eff. furnace and ac systems. one for each level.
over 90 can lights
2 shonbek chandaliers - 1 foyer and 1 dining room.
oversized back patio - poured concrete 20' by 14'


Now I did the following work myself:
1) obtained bids
2) all scheduling
3) all material ordering
4) all electrical
5) all painting
6) all cleanup and waste removal
7) all paperwork, loan drawns thru title company and
all bill paying (materials and subs)

Final bank appraisal = 398,000.00 $$$$$$$
original load amount = 280.000.00
lot cost = 32,000.00
equity from being your own GC and doing some of
the labor yourself = $86,000.00

Not bad for 9 to 10 months of work. Live in it
2 years and sale without having to pay any capital
gains tax and start all over again! By the time
you build your 4'th one you will be living in it
for the taxes.

Build now and buy the boat later! You may like
it so much you may become a builder!
 
Mopower said:
With the prices of homes around here , I have no idea how young people can afford them.
I can tell you that the run we have seen in real estate is not the first time this has happened in my lifetime. Houses were doubling in value in less than 5 years in the early 70s. Back then you could get a nice single family home for around 30 grand. That was a lot of money back then!

People were saying the same thing to me when I bought my first house during that time, that is I don't know how young people can ever buy a house, how can you afford such a big payment, $250 per month!

I will agree the numbers are really looking huge at just under 300K for the average home in the Baltimore area but that is about 10 times what they sold for 35 years ago.

Put a list together of things that DON'T cost 10 times what they were 35 years ago..................


It will be a very short list, if you can think of anything at all!
 
Difference between 70s and today is people are taking on debt at record levels as a percentage of their income. It is the sum of the total debt, not just the mortgage as Mopower eluded to. Add in modest inflation and higher interest rates and the bubble is going to burst. Not necessarily the housing bubble, but the debt bubble, personal and federally speaking. Debt should only be used for investment purposes, ie home loans and student loan etc. People are using home equity loans to finance living beyond their means. That looks ok now, but let the mix change a little a see what happens. Soon we will be a country of sharecroppers working for foriegners who own everything here. I'll shut up now.

My .02 on that...

BT :cool:
 
Blue Thunder said:
Difference between 70s and today is people are taking on debt at record levels as a percentage of their income. It is the sum of the total debt, not just the mortgage as Mopower eluded to. Add in modest inflation and higher interest rates and the bubble is going to burst. Not necessarily the housing bubble, but the debt bubble, personal and federally speaking. Debt should only be used for investment purposes, ie home loans and student loan etc. People are using home equity loans to finance living beyond their means. That looks ok now, but let the mix change a little a see what happens. Soon we will be a country of sharecroppers working for foriegners who own everything here. I'll shut up now.

My .02 on that...

BT :cool:
I couldn't agree more with your comments. I am involved with financing to consumers. I see credit profiles where the sequence of acquiring credit cards, lines of credit and home equity loans are spaced on the report clearly showing that many consumers are using debt for an income source.

The lax bankruptcy laws have propelled that trend in this country. So many people run up debt and just walk away. Seven years later they dump the debt again!

The ability for consumers to dump obligations is a big problem, too many freeloaders causing the things we all buy costing more than it should!!

I'm off my box now.
 
A not so funny story about home equity loans...My buddy refi'd his house about 6 months ago , got a better rate , pulled $10,000 out of it and is paying slightly less than he did before :) /. Pretty good deal huh :rolleyes: ?
Well after reading the fine print...turns out it's an interest only loan , so for the past 6 months he's been paying aprox $1400 a month and it's ONLY INTEREST. He's paid NOTHING to the principle :angry1: . He's not too pizzed :angry1:.
Finance companies will do anything to get you money and don't seem to care how far in debt they get you.
 
DonMan said:
Right now, I spend 12.8% of my monthly income on my mortgage.
However, in an effort to get back to a more "simple life", I am currently working towards buying a home "very near" the water (about 250 yards) on Possum Kingdom Lake (Texas). I will be paying cash for this home (goodbye savings account). I will then put my current home on the market and pay off all existing bills with the equity. Equity? yes, what did Jeff just say about a house being the best investment you can make ?
At that time I can UPGRADE my boat, no bills, no mortgage, just one fat boat payment...
I don't know if that's true in Michigan right now. Our economy is tanking and home values have dropped. I'm watching a house up for sale in my sub for 358k that has been sitting for months. An identical house sold for 370k 2 years ago. Only difference in houses is the first one is on a cul-de-sac. Glad I don't have to try to sell my own right now.
 
Big difference today vs the 70's is debt ratios. Not too many years ago you could not get a house unless your total debt ratio was under 36%. Payments seemed unaffordable because everybody was so conservative compared to now. Today most are over that. Banks now will allow you to go to a 50 debt ratio with ease on an interest only or an ARM. Nobody has any idea what they can afford. Cant tell you how many people spend every penny to buy and then charge 10 grand for furniture. What does this mean? Nothing if values go up and you plan to sell your house in a few years..... Keep in mind you take home 60% of your gross income. If debt takes up 50% of your gross whats left? Values can not continue to go up because people can not afford to buy houses. If rates go up 1% many people that can afford to buy now will not be able to. Real estate CANT continue to beat inflation. In 3-5 years when these rates adjust and you have to start paying your loan back, fixed rates are 8% and values fell 10% what will happen? Your manageable $2000 mortgage payment will jump to $3000 and with new BK laws you will be screwed...its spelled FORECLOSURE! Recent study I read says the foreclosure rate will be about 37% by 2007. Thats 1 in 3. Then what happens to values??? I know this is not true for all areas but it is for most. Very desirable areas will continue to climb but 95% will drop in the near future.

I still think real estate is the best investment but many people have seen a lot of profit the last few years and think it will continue.
If you get lucky and your house appreciates 100k you have added borrowing power not profit. The profit is made when you sell, if you roll it into another overpriced house you havnt made anything. If you use your equity to buy a boat or a car it is still borrowed money, some day you still need to pay the piper.

By the way sticking with the theme my mortgage and taxes are 15% of my average gross.
 
Mopower said:
A not so funny story about home equity loans...My buddy refi'd his house about 6 months ago , got a better rate , pulled $10,000 out of it and is paying slightly less than he did before :) /. Pretty good deal huh :rolleyes: ?
Well after reading the fine print...turns out it's an interest only loan , so for the past 6 months he's been paying aprox $1400 a month and it's ONLY INTEREST. He's paid NOTHING to the principle :angry1: . He's not too pizzed :angry1:.
Finance companies will do anything to get you money and don't seem to care how far in debt they get you.
Are you saying your buddy didn't understand what he was buying? Interest only loans are disclosed in BOLD print, not hidden in the fine print!

Ignorance is no excuse for doing something like that, there are far too many sources of information about this subject both on-line and in written material. At a minimum your friend should have consulted with someone before he signed the papers.

My guess is he knew exactly what he was doing and felt rates were never going up, wrong, they are just starting to move and will go much higher before they go lower. That $1,400 payment can and will double faster than the people who opt for interest only loans think they will. I feel for anyone with any kind of floating rate loan in this environment.

If this guy is a real buddy you should get him to refi again with a fixed rate. If he can't afford that, tell him to sell now before he goes to foreclosure!
 
Rock Steady said:
What you people are saying about the market, I have to say I see your points, and it only makes sense..

But From what I understand NO one in hundreds of years has ever lost money on Real Estate.... under normal circumstances, baring natural disasters and such... I think this type of investment is strong and safe, and we only have our experience to go by...
very important is the under normal circumstances
but yes people can lose on realestate yes florida is in a boom but this late in the game i would tread these waters carefully every thing gets corrected sooner or later 15 years ago you could'nt give florida realestate away but as people retire from the northeast and take some of the great pensions and equity they have built for years they go to florida where taxes are cheaper
and the overall cost of living is less so now you have a supply and demand boom i personally feel florida is in a realestate bubble (not everywhere but some places)
a famous billionair said once if everybodys doing it now
youre too late (google founders) thats not to say you wont continue to make generous profits now in the realestate market you just need to be careful in these types of markets. i currently live in michigan and fear our years of exellent growth have come to an end
people are overextended and probably paid to much for there homes and now that the auto industries are
struggling i guarntee you will be witness to people
losing in the realestate market with mortage companies
borrowing 100% on homes and people sucking all the equity out the median price needs only to drop slightly
and you have people owing more than a house is worth
again buy a house you can afford preferably something in the 180.000 market in florida these types of homes have more potential for growth contrary to what somebody else posted about here about 500,000 homes
you open yoursef to a greater market and growth potential with a lower priced median home
definitly subcontract your own home if thats possible
good luck and buy that house the big boat will come later
 
I guess the moral of the story is dont buy anything you dont mind getting stuck with the REAL payments on. You may have to wait 10 years to get your money back again. Houses are meant to be a place to live. If you keep making money, keep moving but be prepared to get stuck in one because some day people will get bittin.

For those who remember investing in dot coms in the late 90's it was a sure thing too. They will always go up. Now many people that were ready to retire 5 years ago are still working.
 
SpectreBoy said:
When you say what %, is that for 1 house payment or all three added together?, someone buy this nice home in central Ohio so I can get my % down.........LOL

In Upstate NY Area...
that Raised Ranch in 1997 would have sold for $89k and then $120k in 2001 and now they are on the market for $219k.... I feel bad for the guy that spends $200k on it at 6% and realizes that it might be worth $120k again in 3 years...

What goes up must go down...




http://www.realtor.com/FindHome/Hom...&st=OH&sbint=2&presort=sbint&sid=0598AC837DB8C&snumxlid=1051097626&lnksrc=00002
 
we have seen a major lull in home sales over 400K, nothing is selling. Prices in this area have risen 20+% for the past two years. Obviously that cant continue but I dont believe that prices will plummet, not in this area. We have a very diversified economy approx 30-40% Military. Prices will go flat or down to a reasonable 5% appreciation.

I have a 30 yr fixed on my house and a 5yr Interest only arm on a rental property. I would never have a interest only on a primary residence. my .02
 
HELLO!!

What alot of people forget is when they take a 6 year boat payment and roll it into the house refinance Now its a 30 year boat payment...........

Does anybody on this site have CASH???? Not equity of there house or boat... Just Cash???



I like that saying Revx Cash is king cause you are right...
 
Just check the %. At 29% actually. The money that I invested in the house with the wife had a over 400% return in 5 years. And that was me being really (looking back, really, really, really nice) nice on the price that she refinanced the house for to get my equity out of it. Not to say that will always happen but you can't beat it. I purchased another house within 2 months of our settlement and it has already appraised for more than what I purchased it for and I paid the more for my house than any others had sold for. I have been shopping for a boat for a while but I am still waiting for other things in my life to settle before going there. I may have to soon since my buddy sold his and I will have no outlet any more.

John
 
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