The real cost of owning a home?

[Persian Apple Country]

Can we create a list of the real cost associated with home ownership?

Like:
* Mortgage:
* Closing costs:
* Insurance:
* Strata fees:
* Tax:
* Repairs:
* Hydro
* Gas
* Water
* Waste Management
* Etc:

Or can you point me to a real list without falling in the ''joy of home ownership'' pitch.
PS: even my house was X in 20XX and I budget XX for the whole list. Is a big help.

[zookeeper]

There are way too many variables to give you the list you are looking for.

[Veovis]

Considering renting still has a number of those costs well, simply put your list isn't accurate for a evaluation.

There are benefits and detriments to renting, and owning and for many long term views. For a snap shot view the comparisons can't ever work right.

Home ownership, RRSP's, TFSA's, investments, etc are all long term planning not immediate gain planning.

Planning for 50 or 60 when 25 isn't bad, but it's way easier to say "rent leaves me this much more money."

[kgcayenne]

Strata fees can account for a certain value of mortgage ability do try to get into a single family home. Stratas are only as good as the mistakes of the council of both present and past.

[Veovis]

Strata fees can account for a certain value of mortgage ability do try to get into a single family home. Stratas are only as good as the mistakes of the council of both present and past.

Strata is always great to be avoided. Not truly evil, but often never really any long term value for fees paid. Kinda like a gym membership that you use once a month tops.

[omisimaw]

Your list contains things that apply equally to renting in some circumstances.

Maybe you could define what it is you actually are asking a bit better because the real cost of "owning" is the cost of your purchase....

Moving costs, utility costs, etc etc apply to any move renting or not.

Strata fees and charges are all over the map, some good some not so good, but you want to pay attention to the rules and regulations you will have to abide by and for sure check out the contingency and the age of the building for upcoming major repairs.... otherwise you could find yourself faced with an assessment that will knock your socks off down the road.

Mortgage? Well now that depends on how much of a down payment and again the terms etc.

Closing costs? PPT is the big one and it is a defined % based on cost of the home you buy. Other than that it depends on too many variables.... plus your lawyer charges etc.

But whatever you do do not forget to grab ahold of all the 1st time homeowner grants you can and if it is still around you used to be able to take funds out of an RRSP tax free for the downpayment ... and then you have to pay it back in at X amount per year.

You will probably want to do some landscaping if you get a yard and of course you will need all the tools as well...

So it is as you can see very subjective....

But you will not regret it :)

[Hassel99]

Check out this site, its an amazing rent vs buy calculator that adjusts to your specific situation.


http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0

[jimmy4321]

Ideally if you can rent a reasonable place and put money aside monthly that would be great, but I've never been able to pull that off lol. So i bought and still can't put money aside, but hopefully when i sell i break even in home price, with interest in acct i still lose but wouldn't have saved otherwise.

[fvkasm2x]

I love owning my own house, but holy christ I never thought it would be this expensive.

It almost makes me dislike buying... but not quite

[Glacier]

I love owning my own house, but holy christ I never thought it would be this expensive.

It almost makes me dislike buying... but not quite

I hear ya. I just did a calculation, and figured out that I'd be better off rent a place for $3,000/month than to buy a place for $360,000 (if I sell in 20 years).

[Poindexter]

All depends on the the size of your downpayment relative to the cost of home.

One overlooked thing to consider is transportion costs. Typically a first time buyer will need to move a little out of town to afford something decent. In which case you're adding miles to your vehicle that you wouldn't otherwise be. So consider the commute as well. Adding an extra 20,000 k to your car each year adds up.

Also factor in lifestyle change. One of the costs of owning a single family dwelling is time spent maintaining and or remodeling but sweat equity is a great way to get ahead.

If you're buying into a strata make sure you read a couple years worth of minutes from council meetings. I had a one time charge of 4grand due to roof and deck repairs, originally it was going to be 7grand but people faught it. The result was a contigency fund that got gutted. Town houses are a nice compromise. Worst thing about a condo is no garage for toys, at least with townhomes you get a garage which may also save you in additional storage locker fees.

A peice of advice make sure you don't become mortgage poor with little financial wiggle-room. Stuff happens and you don't want to go further into debt. But as far as I'm concerned if you can afford a home and have a decent down payment it beats renting.

[Captain Awesome]

Can we create a list of the real cost associated with home ownership?

Like:
* Mortgage:
* Closing costs:
* Insurance:
* Strata fees:
* Tax:
* Repairs:
* Hydro
* Gas
* Water
* Waste Management

You've pretty much nailed it. Mortgage insurance also costs you money, but you can avoid it if you put down a sizeable down payment (20%?)

I think for most people it might not be the house that costs a lot of money, but the lifestyle it brings. All of a sudden you need to fill it with furniture (what if some friends spend a night? we need a guest room!), and your backyard needs things too - let's buy a trampoline for the kids and tools for your garage. Don't forget a larger BBQ! All of it adds up.

Also, keep in mind that these costs go up. Our insurance has been creeping up every year like clockwork, utilities and such too. Taxes stayed relatively flat mostly because our assessment value has been going down. But it won't be the case forever.

[Glacier]

You've pretty much nailed it. Mortgage insurance also costs you money, but you can avoid it if you put down a sizeable down payment (20%?)

True, but the mortgage companies will not give you the sweet azz mortgage rates if you put 20% down (ie. don't have mortgage insurance). Also, another big problem is the cost of not making investment money. I'm foregoing $10,000/year in investment income by putting 20% down.

[Captain Awesome]

True, but the mortgage companies will not give you the sweet azz mortgage rates if you put 20% down (ie. don't have mortgage insurance).

Yes, rates stay the same, but if you put down 20%, you won't be paying mortgage insurance. In my case, it's around $100/month. Not a whole lot of money, but $100 is a $100.

Also, another big problem is the cost of not making investment money.

True.

[Glacier]

I asked for the 2.30% mortgage rate (this was before the 1.99%), and they [refused] because I wanted to put 20% down. This is because no one ever gives out their lowest advertised rate unless you put less than 20% down such that you require mortgage insurance.