2020 Housing Comps - 2 bedroom

Each year we pick a benchmark property to compare the cost of living difference between owning a condo and renting an apartment in our general area. As I mentioned in my previous posts (2019 Housing Comps, and Housing Comps - 2 bedroom), we have been hypothetically using my old apartment complex that I used to live in as a benchmark property for many years.

Last year, I was finally able to get a quote for rent for a unit in our actual complex. Since I like to talk full disclosure, the rent for these two places, one year ago was $1,700 and $1,875 a month, with the pricier unit closer to our actual living conditions. Both of these units are owned by private individuals, have no AC, are on the top floor, and have a no pets policy. I've also been flat out honest that I would not rent in this association for various reasons:

• Parking is not ideal. No carports, or garages, or assigned spaces. We get two passes, and while we can always get parking in our complex and have never had to street park, sometimes its far if you get home late.
• There are no amenities (pool, gym, etc)
• There is no AC in the units. It's all portable ones or small wall units and rentals just don't bother with them.
• Rental units also have no upgrades and are stuck with original infrastructure, including backwards windows which are not efficient and do nothing for sounds, so higher utility bills and lots of neighbor noise.  

You might ask why we would OWN a place we wouldn't rent:

Well, quite frankly, it is within our budget and will ultimately makes us enough $$$ to afford a detached home down the line, and we picked an ideal location right next to the tot lot for our kid. He can play while I cook and I can watch, see and hear him play with his neighbor friends while i'm prepping dinner.

Also, as the OWNERS we can modify the floor plan to suit our needs (AKA built ins for more space, tearing out closets, fixing flooring, replacing appliances, etc.)... and we can improve the property with new doors and windows for security, more comfortable temps and less noise from neighbors....

All of that combined makes the short commute to my work (15 minutes, no freeways), proximity to a public park (We have direct access via a residential staircase), etc worth it.

Even more so, when I hated our bathroom shower even after re-surfacing the tub, we replaced it and now Hubs doesn't have to duck to shower at a full 6 foot 5 (find an apartment that will do that), and I can soak in a deeper tub at the end of a long day.

2020 Housing Comps
Being a natural "shopper" I did browse the internet again in search for comparable housing situations, and again landed on the same decision to keep this apartment complex we have been using as our comparable unit. Now, this apartment is not in the city we live in, but it is commutable distance to all of our jobs and I have actually lived there and would rent in this area again, so I think that makes for a valid comparison tool. I also think using the same association as a benchmark for all these years really does sink in how much housing costs have risen.

In 2017 when we "moved" from the 1 bedroom to the 2 bedroom we "rented" for $2,061. In January of 2018, the rent went down to $2,015, and we decided to "lock in" a 2 year lease and kept figures the same for both 2018 and 2019. For 2020, surprise, surprise, rent has risen again. We always pick the smallest 2 bedroom floor plan and the cheapest priced unit despite the fact that these often are on the 3rd floor overlooking major roads.

We don't include electric bills below since we'd have to pay for those at either place and both units had electric stoves, but my HOA fee includes water, gas, and trash so those will be listed in the apartment costs. Security and Pet deposits were already paid in hypothetical 2017 ($400.00 + Pet Deposit $400.00), and these are refundable if you live there for 2 years, so if we ever "move apartments" we get this cash back. We will also assume the Washer and Dryer we "hypothetically bought" in 2012 (7.5 years old), will continue to function, thus eliminating the need for the coin operated laundry rooms at the apartment complex.

I'm keeping the mock utility bills the same as last year, when I upped them to factor in 3 people living there versus just me and pricing from 9 years ago.

Costs Associated with Apartment: Monthly:

• Trash: $20 a month
• Water: $100 a month
• Gas: $50 a month
• Rent: $2,120 a month
• Renters Insurance: $15 a month
• Pet Rent: $35 a month

Total: $2,340.00 x 12 months = $28,080

Costs Associated with our condo: Monthly:

• Mortgage: $764.00
• HOA: $367.50
• Property Taxes: $288.00 
• Homeowners & Earthquake Insurance: $51

Total: $1,470.50 x 12 months = $17,646.00

Owning my condo is $10,434.00 cheaper than renting, and that's before the $3,000 in equity I gain through just making the minimum payments on our loan.

How is my mortgage so cheap for a high cost of living area? 
Well, I bought a dump of a condo at near the bottom of the market 11 years ago, renovated it, and held onto it for 8 years before I SOLD IT.  We then turned around and dropped $160,000 from the sale of the first place and used it as our down payment to help us buy our new fixer-upper... to keep the costs down. So this has been smart decisions for the past 11 years.

We are living and renovating it bit by bit and doing what we can ourselves while also paying others for their expertise since we have a four year old along for the ride. We have spent a lot more on repairs and remodel since we bought the unit, but I cover those in our periodic mortgage updates as we journey to get out of the hole, and into profit on this purchase.

2019 housing Comps - 2 bedroom

Each year we pick a benchmark property to compare the cost of living difference between owning and renting an apartment in our general area. As I mentioned in my last post, we have been hypothetically using my old apartment complex for our base numbers for 2018, and a number of years (See Housing Comps - 2 bedroom).

Being a natural "shopper" I browse the internet each year in search for comparable housing situations just in case something better comes our way.

The current hypothetical unit from last year is now renting for $2015- $2,125 a month, plus a $35 pet rent. Thankfully our dog is not on the restricted breeds list. Now, this apartment is not in the city we live in, but it is commutable distance to all of our jobs and its been a deal for a while year after year. But I pulled some local numbers too from the city we currently live in:

• Option B (closest distance wise to our current home) $2,161 + $50 pet rent 
• ($600 security, $500 pet deposit)
• Option C: $2,035 - 2510 + $50 pet rent 
• ($600 security, plus $500 pet deposit)
• Option D: $2,030 + $50 pet rent 
• ($500 security, $500 pet deposit)

Additionally, I actually found two units available for rent in our complex. Since I like to talk full disclosure, the rent for these two places was $1,700 and $1,875 a month, with the pricier unit closer to our actual living conditions than the cheaper one. Both of these units are owned by private individuals, have no AC, are on the top floor, and have a no pets policy. I'm going to be honest here.... we would not actually rent here.

• Parking is not ideal. No carports, or garages
• There are no amenities (pool, gym, etc)
• There is no AC
• Rental units have no upgrades and are stuck with original infrastructure, including backwards windows which are not efficient and do nothing for sounds. 

You might ask why we would OWN a place we wouldn't rent:

• It is within our budget and will ultimately makes us enough $$$ to afford a detached home. 
• As the OWNERS we can modify the floor plan to suit our needs (AKA built ins for more space, tearing out closets, fixing flooring, replacing appliances, etc.)... and we can improve the property like doors and windows for security, more comfortable temps and less noise from neighbors.... 

All of that combined makes the short commute to my work, proximity to a public park, etc worth it.

• Even more so, when I hated our bathroom shower even after re-surfacing the tub, we replaced it (blog to come on that project). Hubs doesn't have to duck to shower now at a full 6 foot 5 (find an apartment that will do that), and I can soak in a deeper tub at the end of a long day.
• another big thing was our windows and doors were horrible (backwards with jams on the doors that didn't seal properly). The front door didn't actually close well in the jam, and the previous landlord wouldn't even fix the heater... The house was cold, the sound from the neighbors was horrible.... so we did something about it. New windows not only provided temperature regulation, but now I can't hear the kids running around outside, and our home is well insulated now and not freezing in winter, or hot in the summer since they also reflect the heat from coming into our home...

When I hear the renter horror stories from those who deal with an individual landlord, I want to run for the hills and to the nearest apartment complex. So with that all being said, no we wouldn't rent here, but I wanted to include those numbers as a reference point because even those rates are higher than last year.

To make a long story shorter, we are going to keep using my "old" apartment as a baseline for our comparison. The $2,015 unit was right along a major 4 lane road, the other 2 "open units" were for $2,125.00, but i'm using the cheapest option there for our base.

Costs Associated with Apartment 

We don't include electric bills below since we'd have to pay for those at either place and both units had Electric stoves, but my HOA fee includes water, gas, and trash so those will be listed in the apartment costs. 

Security and Pet deposits were already paid in hypothetical 2017 ($400.00 + Pet Deposit $400.00), and these are refundable if you live there for 2 years, so if we ever "move apartments" we get this cash back. We will also assume the Washer and Dryer we "hypothetically bought" in

I also slightly increased the utility bills. My first estimate was for 1 person, based on 8+ years ago pricing... and we are a family of three. My numbers will likely be much lower than in reality, but I needed to adjust them somewhat.

We will also assume our now 6 year old washer and dryer (that we hypothetically purchased at the beginning of in 2012) will continue to function, thus eliminating the need for the coin operated laundry rooms at the apartment complex.

Monthly:

• Trash: $20 a month
• Water: $100 a month
• Gas: $50 a month
• Rent: $2,015 a month
• Renters Insurance: $15 a month
• Pet Rent: $35 a month

Total: $2,235.00 x 12 months = $26,820.00

Costs Associated with Apartment 

Monthly:

• Mortgage: $764.00
• HOA: $367.50
• Property Taxes: $285.00 
• Homeowners & Earthquake Insurance: $51

Total: $1,467.50 x 12 months = $17,610.00

Owning my condo is $9,210.00 cheaper than renting, and that's before the almost $3,000 in equity I gain through just making the minimum on my payments.

• How is my mortgage so cheap for a high cost of living area? Well, I bought a dump of a condo at near the bottom of the market 10 years ago, renovated it, and held onto it for 8 years before I SOLD IT.  We then turned around and dropped $160,000 from the sale of the first place and used it as our down payment to help us buy our new fixer-upper. So we are living and renovating it bit by bit and doing what we can ourselves while also paying others for their expertise since we have a three year old along for the ride.

We have spent a lot more on repairs and remodel since we bought the unit, but I promise, updates will follow. 

2018 living in our condo savings

I'm a firm believer that owning property is a good financial move if your planning to stay in one place for 8-10 years... and I wanted to prove it to myself. When I first bought my original condo at 23, I made a point to compare and track the different costs between renting, and owning... and I was shocked to find how much we saved by owning our residence.

So, each year we review how much it would cost us to rent a similar sized apartment, verses living in our condo. It's been awhile since I have updated our blog, but we have diligently collected our research and tracked our expenses despite failing as usual to actually post content on this space.

For 2018, we relied on our 2017 "apartment cost summary," which included a few things:

• I picked an apartment in a different city... however it was the same commute distance to our jobs. AND it WAS the city our day care is in, and it was a complex I used to live in so I was familiar with the "would I really live there" mentality. 

We "hypothetically" got a 2 bedroom there for $1905 ($400 deposit)  + $35 in pet rent ($400 deposit)

• The security deposit is full refundable if you live there at least 2 years... and we'd got a garage to make up for the modifications with some storage.
• We also assumed our "6 year old washer and dryer" (that we hypothetically purchased at the beginning of in 2012) would continue to function, thus eliminating the need for the coin operated laundry rooms at the apartment complex. 

Costs Associated with Apartment for 2018
We don't include electric bills below since we'd have to pay for those at either place, but my HOA fee includes water, gas, and trash so those will be listed in the apartment costs (the trash, water, gas amounts are based on actual #s from like 10 years ago, so I admit, they are low balled and not fully accurate)... and we assumed that our rent wouldn't go up for the 18 months this place was used as a benchmark.

Initial costs: 

• Deposit: $400.00 (18 month / 24 months for it to be refunded - paid in 2017) 
• Pet Deposit: $400.00 (18 month / 24 months for it to be refunded -  paid in 2017)

Monthly:
Trash: $15 a month
Water: $60 a month
Gas: $35 a month
Rent: $1,905 a month
Renters Insurance: $11.00 a month
Pet Rent: $35 a month

Hypothetical Annual Expenses: $24,732.00

Costs Associated with OWNING our Condo
Since we are still in the major "repairs and upgrades" mode to our condo, we are tracking all improvement expenses separately. Don't worry, they are contributing to our "in the hole" amount, but we don't want to count these costs TWICE in our housing expenses, so this is just basic operating costs. I figure in an apartment, I wouldn't be living with part of my house having no flooring... so those costs aren't listed here since that's a choice I'm making while we live AND renovate it at the same time. 

Monthly Mortgage: $764.00 (we round up $0.14 a month)
Monthly HOA: $350.00 - $367.50 (we had an increase in fees 1/2 way through the year)

• Mortgage: $9,169.00
• HOA: $4,305.00
• Insurance: $612.00 (Earthquake and Homeowners)
• Property Taxes: $3,418.67

TOTAL: $17,504.67

That means it was $7,227.33 CHEAPER to own our condo THAN rent an apartment... and that's with me skewing numbers in favor of RENTING...

I haven't blogged it yet, but that was what it cost us to put in a NEW shower/tub combo when we realized re-surfacing was not the solution! That's crazy!

Housing Comps - 2 bedroom

Since we now live in our 2 bedroom condo, I did some digging in the area in an attempt to find a comparable rental unit to use for the second half of the year and moving forward.

If I stay in the city we live in now and try and get our same neighborhood, a pet friendly 2 bedroom is going to run us around $2,000 - $2,100 a month (even checking through craigslist)... and i'm not sure i'd pick on of those places to actually live in.

So, I checked in on my old apartment complex from pre 1 bedroom condo time.

Yes, it's in a different city... but within the same commute distance to our jobs. AND its in the city our day care is in, making a move there, pretty darn practical. It's where we would live if we weren't living here most likely since hubs likes to leave these decisions to me.

I can get a 2 bedroom there for $1905 ($400 deposit)  + $35 in pet rent ($400 deposit) making it the cheapest option -- and it would be closer to daycare... I can say in all honesty, we'd move to a city that wouldn't lengthen our commute, if it saved us on rent, and i'd rather be in an apartment, then rent from a land lord, especially with a kid in tow to make sure things got fixed on time.

So we have a comparable rental unit we will use for math! Plus it helps that I know about the area and what is and is not included in rent and that the security deposit is full refundable if you live there at least 2 years... plus we'd get a garage.

We will also assume our now 5 year old washer and dryer (that we hypothetically purchased at the beginning of in 2012) will continue to function, thus eliminating the need for the coin operated laundry rooms at the apartment complex. 

Costs Associated with Apartment for 6 months 2017
We don't include electric bills below since we'd have to pay for those at either place, but my HOA fee includes water, gas, and trash so those will be listed in the apartment costs.
Initial costs: 

• Deposit: $400.00 
• Pet Deposit: $400.00

Monthly: $2,061.00

• Trash: $15 a month
• Water: $60 a month
• Gas: $35 a month
• Rent: $1,905 a month
• Renters Insurance: $11.00 a month
• Pet Rent: $35 a month

6 Month Total with security deposits: $13,166.00

Costs Associated with New Condo for 6 months 2017

Monthly: $1,439.94

• Mortgage: $763.86
• HOA: $350.00
• Property Taxes: $280
• Homeowners Insurance:($33.33 a month) $400.00 Year
• Earthquake Insurance: ($12.75 a month) $153.00 Year 

6 Month Total: $8,639.64 (includes Homeowners ins, even though we ran it through escrow this year). 

On a monthly basis, our condo is $621.06 cheaper each month then an apartment without factoring in the security deposits. The apartment would cost us $25,532 over the course of a year, the condo $17,279.28... giving us the wiggle room to spend $8,252.72 each year on improvements while STILL saving money, since this doesn't factor in the tax write offs or the equity we will gain in the property by paying off the mortgage.

A note to new readers:

If your wondering how our mortgage is so low, its because we put $164,000 down from the sale of our first condo. I bought a fixer upper 8 years ago as a bank owned foreclosure and lived in it and made it our home through marriage, pets and our toddler. If your new to the blog, you can read the full financials on that property (including all the purchase, remodel and sale history here in our re-cap post). Our decision to buy this new condo, is in part because of the smart decisions we made about our first condo.

Two Bedroom Condo Sale Specs

If your just catching along with our house buying and selling story, you'll want to check out the re-cap post on our 1 bedroom condo. 

Now, we pick up where that post left off and talk about our purchase. 

Our starting profit from the sale of our condo was $181,691.35. 

From there, we purchased a 2 bedroom condo in the same complex.

• Down payment $164,000 (From the sale of our first place)
• Inspection: $300
• Admin/Origination charges: $899
• Processing Fees: $495
• Appraisal: $410
• Flood Cert: $11
• County taxes: $46.78
• Endorsement Fee: $25
• Recording Grant Deed: $9
• Recording Trust Deed: $57
• Notary Fee: $175
• Messenger fee" $25
• Archiving fee: $80
• E-Document fee: $100
• Escrow fee: $798
• Lenders title insurance: $357
• Sub escrow Fee: $37.50
• Recording fees: $150
• Home Owners Insurance: $400
• Prepaid Interest $140.24
• HOA Dues (June) $93.33
• HOA Dues (July) $350
• HOA Processing Fee: $50
• Lender Credits +$6.40
• Seller Credits +$1,200

Money spend to move into the new bedroom: $167,834.96.... 

Remaining Profit after both transactions: $13,856.40

Then we moved in and started the remodel... (yup, after the boxes were out of the u-haul, we ripped out our mater room closet the same day)... Here's what we have spent so far on the remodel.  

• Washer/Dryer/Fridge - Delivery and Install: $2,037.61
• Dryer Hoses: $17.26
• Stove/Microwave - Delivery and Install: $982.82
• Stove plug: $32.31
• Reverse Osmosis System: $233.53
• Stove Outlet Labor: $40.00
• TV Mount for Living room: $135.00
• USPS Change of Address: $1.00
• Bathroom shower rod, curtain, hooks, tub fixtures: $234.47

Current Profit remaining: $10,142.40

We are only just beginning... and i'm sure we will go in the red before we hit the green again, just like the last place... but some things shouldn't wait to be fixed in this place, so we are quoting our and fixing things one at a time. 

• Our current project is the bathroom... 
• We are simultaneously getting window quotes approved by our HOA since that's a "we have to pay" someone to do it job and can't do it ourselves. (We have 2 quotes we are waiting to hear back from. Home Depot and an independent contractor from a trusted friend since the guy who did my windows last time isn't available). 
• We are getting tons of quotes for jobs so we can see how our budget will stretch, including flooring, electrical, etc. We already priced out AC options and decided to table that for the end since the bottom unit is much cooler without the hot attic above us already. A few well placed fans and we are managing these 100 plus degree days. 
• Heat on the other hand, that needs to be quoted for repairs still. 
• Then, we are re-doing all the jenky electrical. We thought this would be a SCB DIY project, but the bottom floor means dry wall work (unlike our other unit where he could simply get in the attic and do the can lights and fans....) and he knows his limits. Plus we want to add and move outlets and knock out a wall... so, were paying someone and he's buying parts from work with his discount. We'll get it done in 2 days instead of a month plus and we won't worry about our toddler electrocuting himself... or us setting the place on fire (there was a reason our stove outlet was removed and replaced within a week of living here....)

So like I said, we'll hit the red sooner rather than later and we'll slowly crawl out of the hole from there. 

Single bedroom Condo Sale Specs

We're a numbers crunching club over here... so i'm sure your interested in the sale of our property and how we managed to buy a new one.

First off, these are the FINAL show pictures of our one bedroom. Our realtor paid for someone who specifically takes real estate photos -- if you want your home to essentially sell in 36 hours and nail it out in a champ with one open house, this folks is the way to go... If your in orange county and the surrounding areas and you need a real estate photographer, I highly recommend Antis Photography. I know the owner, she took these herself and she's amazing.

Now, if you want to remember what this place looked like 8 years ago when I bought it, you can check out that post:


BEFORE PICTURES

Back in March, we updated everyone on our current Mortgage payment and everything we had spent on the condo up until that point. So, if you would like to reference all the money we dumped into that unit in the almost 8 years we held onto it, check out the post: March '17 Mortgage Update.

After spending $7,057.08 on a down payment and closing costs, I initially dropped $17,672.29 in remodel costs, leaving me $24,729.37 in the hole on day one. Between then and December of 2016, I manged to turn a profit of $3,274.84 on the property without factoring in equity.

How'd we do that? 

Government buying incentives (Thanks Obama for that $8K), savings we recorded from itemizing our housing expenses on our taxes (this was just the difference we got by itemizing instead of the standard deduction -- yup, did my taxes twice those years so I could track just what we got above basic deductions), and by using a comparable rental unit to factor in the costs we would have paid to rent instead of just paying our mortgage and repairs to the place. If we were under, we deducted that amount from the "hole" as savings since we would have spent the money to have a roof over our heads.

• If you recall, I purchased the condo for $120,000 at "near" the bottom of the market when the housing industry crashed. It was a bank owned foreclosure in bad condition. Over the years we made modifications to the property and tracked all of our expenses and compared them to what we would have paid if we rented. We also factored in when we paid additional amounts of principle as expenses to make it a true apples to oranges comparison. If we spent money, we recorded it as an expense.

With all that in mind, we were UP $3,274.84 at the start of 2017 BEFORE factoring in any equity.

Below are the costs associated with the property in 2017 that weren't factored in to our March statement:

• Wall texture/Dry wall patching in Kitchen: $300.00
• 2 months expenses on a storage unit for staging: $325.00
• Electrical and bathroom GFI updates to sell: $99.27
• Professional cleaning: $145.00
• Paint, moving boxes and materials: $375.60
• Uhaul fees: $118.93

We sold our Condo for $280,000.00. 

Below, are the actual fees associated with the sale:

• HOA Document Transfer Fee: $529.00
• 5% Commission:$14,000.00
• Mortgage Balance Pay off :$83,509.22
• Interest on loan up till pay off: $214.49
• Statement Recording fee to pay off loan: $30.00
• Recording Fee: $9.00
• Re-conveyance Fee: $45.00
• VA Loan Non-Allowable: $1,000.00 (We may get some of this back)*
• Hazard Fee: $74.95
• Title Insurance: $717.00
• Sub Escrow Fee: $62.50 
• Transfer Tax fee: $308.00
• Notary: $15.00
• Escrow Fee: $835.00
• Processing Fee: $275.00
• Wire Fees: $70.00
• Messenger/doc fee" $75.00

Credits*:

• Taxes: $105.00 + $34.65

*Our realtor is looking into an itemized statement, because I should have had a pro rated HOA fee and an itemized list of VA fees I was paying for the buyer which was up to $1,000.00... but for now we are rolling going with it...

All in all, after closing costs, we walked away with $179,028.33 in PROFIT.

But it gets even better. Between January and June of this year, we spent $6,936.98 between our mortgage and property taxes. During the selling process, we learned our 1 bedroom unit would have rented for $1600 a month! If we use that as our rent comparable for the year, we would have paid $9,600.00 in rent for 6 months -- saving us $2,663.02 just by being owners...

So that leaves our final walk-away growth was $181,691.35

It was hard to say good bye to my first true home, but it was also the right time to do it.

We sold it to a single mom who is a Navy Vet. Buying our place cuts her commute in half each day and we finally have a room for our son. She is also a chef so our kitchen is a dream come true. She never expected to find a kitchen like that in a condo.

It's bitter sweet to say good bye --- especially since we are walking into another fixer upper, but this unit is in way better shape then the last one and we have set aside $35,000 to help us make improvements.

Some of the money is what was left over from the sale that we didn't use to cover closing costs or our VERY LARGE down payment. (I'll do a separate post on our purchase with the numbers.)

The other amount came from SCB's parents. They have given us a most generous gift to aid us in the home purchasing process so we did not need to use our emergency fund to put down any earnest money.

While we didn't need the funds to purchase or use towards a down payment in the end, they are happy to see us spend the money on improvements and appliances.

They offered us the gift a year ago actually, and we told them we would accept it when the time was right. I wanted to make sure we could afford to purchase without the gift so the gift would be there to either help with repairs, or to allow us to get the right home if  the market continued to rise in price... (which it totally did -- at the end of fall '16 we figured we'd buy a unit in our complex for $290k to maybe $300k -- not $324k... but we never dreamed we'd get $280k for a 1 bedroom without a garage!)

Any who, we accepted their gift because it's a no strings attached gift. We can choose to pay it back, or keep the money. When they do their estate, its just listed that we received the money. If we pay it back, it gets an updated that we paid it back.

They have done this in the past with their other children when they were making large financial changes. Some paid it back, others have kept it and were blessed to receive it. Over the course of the year prior to us taking the gift, they have ensured me to the ends of the earth that it is not a loan and it will never be mentioned again and I believe them.

I won't let money ruin family, so take my advice -- never borrow money from family but gifts, when they are truly gifts, are blessings. It's taken me a lot of growing up and letting go to be in a position to say, "okay, I'll accept your help" and it feels good to let my in-laws help us out in this way. It's something I never imaged a parent would do for me.

We do hope to pay back their loan over time, but it won't be an initial priority since our cars are starting to show age and we are still paying $900 a month for daycare. If we have a second child, repayment will be delayed, but we have been truly discussing the 1 and done methodology.

So there you have it folks!

February '17 Mortgage Update

Principle paid down: $714.70
Interest: $268.28
Loan Balance: $85,352.96

The pay-off date is now September 2030.

We plan to continuing to pay an extra $313 a month to get used to paying a larger mortgage before we move, and to pay it off quicker since this is our only debt.

In order to move, we are hoping to have at least $150,000 of equity to use as our down payment to allow us to afford our high cost of living area which is close to both our jobs and we both don't want to commute anymore than we do.

If we sold our place today, we'd walk away with $149,647.04... (assuming our place is worth $250K and we pay 6% closing costs). 

Getting the Keys...

It took me $7,057.08 to get the keys to my condo and then I spent another $17,672.29 to remodel and repair it... In short, I was -$24,729.37 in the hole on day one...

• In 2009 I got the First Time Home buyer's Credit giving me $8,000.00. I also got to write off some of the property tax I paid in addition to taking the standard deduction. This gave me an extra $90.10... but then I had to pay an Electrician $95.00 to fix an outlet... I also got a refund from my botched tile job that gave us another $1,265.00.
• In 2010 I saved $1,087.00 on my federal taxes and $461.00 on my State taxes from itemizing my homeowners expenses. (This is what I received ABOVE what I would have gotten back with just the standard deduction).
• In 2011 I spent $12.97 at home depot and $72.29 on a kitchen door. When we subtract those costs from what we saved by living in our condo instead of renting, we came out ahead $494.04 (See Mortgage Update + Condo Costs December '11 for that break down.) We also received a small $70 refund check from over paid closing costs. We didn't Itemize our taxes in 2011.
• In 2012 we finished our Kitchen/Laundry door which cost us $103.24.. We also replaced both our glass slider doors which cost us $2,957.00... and repaired our dryer for $81.42....It ended up being $3,383.47 cheaper to OWN our condo than to rent an apartment on a monthly basis, (See Housing Costs 2012 for the break down) so even after we subtract the windows and other minor repairs, we still came out ahead $241.81 by owning our condo instead of renting...
• In 2013 we got $52.53 back from challenging my property taxes in 2012. I also refinanced our condo, costing us $447.00 up front for our home appraisal... but we got a check back at closing for $747.20 and a check from my old escrow account for $489.74... We also got to skip a mortgage payment too! In addition, they automatically lowered my property tax value, giving us a check for $86.77.. and we saved $5,191.81 by NOT renting a place (see Housing Comps 2013)!! Additionally we ITEMIZED our taxes in 2013, saving $702.45 on a federal taxes and $503.74 on our State Taxes. (Again, this is difference we saved by itemizing our taxes, instead of taking the standard deduction -- which we could only do because we owned our condo).
• In 2014 we did a few home repairs totaling $976.00... but even with those factored in, we still saved $3,119.04 living here instead of renting an apartment (See Housing Costs 2014 ) For 2014 we spent $14,172.96 to live in our condo, instead of $17,292 to live in an apartment. We also saved an additional $377 by itemizing and writing off our property taxes and interests.
• In 2015 we started to aggressively pay down our mortgage again. We also spent $359.26 to fix a few things around the house. Even with the additional mortgage payments, we still saved $1,045.74 by staying in our condo instead of renting (See Housing Costs 2015, which shows an apartment would have been $20,856 a year!)
• In 2016 we itemized our taxes again and got to write off our interest and property tax. It was these two expenditures that put us over the threshold to make itemizing the way to go, saving us $950.00 more than if we had claimed the standard deduction. Despite playing extra on our mortgage and $581 in minor repairs and a new front door lock, we still saved $1,986.55 over renting (see our 2016 housing update for the break down).

All of that "math" leaves us $3,274.84 in the green before we even talk about equity! Like the wise always say, if your going to be in the same place for a while. It's hard to believe October will mark 8 years I've lived in this place!

2016 Mortgage Update

2017 Principle paid down: $8,757.86
Interest: $3,417.54
Loan Balance: $86,780.44

The pay-off date is now April 2033. June 2031.

Continuing to pay an extra $313 a month is really helping us move closer to our goal of moving in June of 2020 (our original 5 year deadline)

In order to move, we are hoping to have at least $150,000 of equity to use as our down payment to allow us to keep a smaller mortgage despite our high cost of living area.

If we sold our place today, we'd walk away with $138,819.89... (assuming our place is worth $240K and we pay 6% closing costs). 

Getting the Keys...

It took me $7,057.08 to get the keys to my condo and then I spent another $17,672.29 to remodel and repair it... In short, I was -$24,729.37 in the hole on day one...

• In 2009 I got the First Time Home buyer's Credit giving me $8,000.00. I also got to write off some of the property tax I paid in addition to taking the standard deduction. This gave me an extra $90.10... but then I had to pay an Electrician $95.00 to fix an outlet... I also got a refund from my botched tile job that gave us another $1,265.00.
• In 2010 I saved $1,087.00 on my federal taxes and $461.00 on my State taxes from itemizing my homeowners expenses. (This is what I received ABOVE what I would have gotten back with just the standard deduction).
• In 2011 I spent $12.97 at home depot and $72.29 on a kitchen door. When we subtract those costs from what we saved by living in our condo instead of renting, we came out ahead $494.04 (See Mortgage Update + Condo Costs December '11 for that break down.) We also received a small $70 refund check from over paid closing costs. We didn't Itemize our taxes in 2011.
• In 2012 we finished our Kitchen/Laundry door which cost us $103.24.. We also replaced both our glass slider doors which cost us $2,957.00... and repaired our dryer for $81.42....It ended up being $3,383.47 cheaper to OWN our condo than to rent an apartment on a monthly basis, (See Housing Costs 2012 for the break down) so even after we subtract the windows and other minor repairs, we still came out ahead $241.81 by owning our condo instead of renting...
• In 2013 we got $52.53 back from challenging my property taxes in 2012. I also refinanced our condo, costing us $447.00 up front for our home appraisal... but we got a check back at closing for $747.20 and a check from my old escrow account for $489.74... We also got to skip a mortgage payment too! In addition, they automatically lowered my property tax value, giving us a check for $86.77.. and we saved $5,191.81 by NOT renting a place (see Housing Comps 2013)!! Additionally we ITEMIZED our taxes in 2013, saving $702.45 on a federal taxes and $503.74 on our State Taxes. (Again, this is difference we saved by itemizing our taxes, instead of taking the standard deduction -- which we could only do because we owned our condo).
• In 2014 we did a few home repairs totaling $976.00... but even with those factored in, we still saved $3,119.04 living here instead of renting an apartment (See Housing Costs 2014 ) For 2014 we spent $14,172.96 to live in our condo, instead of $17,292 to live in an apartment. We also saved an additional $377 by itemizing and writing off our property taxes and interests.
• In 2015 we started to aggressively pay down our mortgage again. We also spent $359.26 to fix a few things around the house. Even with the additional mortgage payments, we still saved $1,045.74 by staying in our condo instead of renting (See Housing Costs 2015, which shows an apartment would have been $20,856 a year!)

We haven't done our taxes for the year yet, and since I didn't look up housing costs for 2016 with our little guy on the way, we will just use last years numbers and assume a good 2 year lease locked us in for that price.

2016 Housing Costs: $18,869.45, Saving us $1,986.55!

• Earthquake Insurance: $153.00
• Homeowners Insurance: $333.00
• HOA: $4,150.00
• Mortgage / Property Tax / Additional Principle: $13,651.85
• House repairs/Fixes/New Front door lock: $581.60

All of that "math" leaves us $2,325.69 in the green before we even talk about equity a mere 7.25 years later! Like the wise always say, if your going to be in the same place for 5-7 years, buying makes since!

Housing Comps 2015

Each November I take some time to look at the prices for apartments in the local area to see what rental units are going for since we would be renting a place had I not purchased our condo. 

It's hard to believe its been 5 years now, but I was really shocked to see how much apartments have gone up. I remember splitting a 2 bedroom place for $1,400 and now you'd be lucky to find a one bedroom for that price. Makes me really glad we decided to buy and not rent, especially with our baby on the way... but it also makes me wonder about how much longer I will "keep track" like I have been because we honestly couldn't afford these rates and be able to survive.  

Complex A: 

• 726 square feet. $1,480-1580 a month. $300 Deposit. 
• $50 a month in pet rent, $500 pet security deposit. 

Complex B:

• 780 square feet. $1,582.00 a month. $600 Deposit. 
• $50 a month in pet rent, $500 pet security deposit.

The original comp apartment:

• 672 square feet. $1,530 a month. $400 Deposit (already paid)
• $35 a month in pet rent, $400 security deposit (already paid)

In terms of livability, Complex A and B have more square footage then the original comp apartment and are closer to my condo's actual size... but the comp apartment does have a one car garage that we could toss a few boxes in for storage so I think it still evens out since the pricier complex B apartment has a garage... If we moved and got the rock bottom price for Complex A, we would be saving $35 a month and we wouldn't need to worry about the security deposits because ours would be refunded if we move from the current comp apartment since we have stayed so long.
I think the hassle of moving while pregnant would have us end up staying in the original comp apartment. Last year our unit rented for $1,285.00 and this year that unit rents for $1,530.00 a month. (A 19% price increase.) We will also assume our now 3 year old washer and dryer (that we hypothetically purchased at the beginning of in 2012) will continue to function in 2015.

Costs Associated with Apartment for 2015We don't include electric bills below since we'd have to pay for those at either place, but my HOA fee includes water, gas, and trash so those will be listed in the apartment costs.
Monthly: $1,738.00, Annual: $20,856.00

• Trash: $15 a month
• Water: $60 a month
• Gas: $35 a month
• Rent: $1,582 a month
• Renters Insurance: $11.00 a month
• Pet Rent: $35 a month

Costs Associated with Condo for 2015
If we make any additional principle payments to our mortgage, we count it as an expense. Monthly: $1,112 | Annual: $13,344.00

• Mortgage: $771.99 a month (P&I + Property Taxes)
• HOA: $295.00 a month.
• Earthquake and Homeowners Insurance $530.00 ($45 a month)

Our condo on average, saves us $626.00 a month!
I really don't know how we would afford to live in this area if we had to rent an apartment, especially with a baby on the way. I honestly don't think I'll "write off" any apartment savings anymore when I look at how much our condo has saved us because the figures are getting so far apart from one another.

December Mortgage Update

Principle paid down: $334.88
Interest: $335.08
Additional Principle: $0.19
New Balance: $106,891.71

The pay off date is June 2033. 

If I continue to pay the minimum on my loan, we will end up paying a total of $69,410.24 in interest over the course of our entire loan. 

Before our refinance, we would have paid $116,404.23 in interest.

Getting the Keys...

It took me $7,057.08 to get the keys to my condo and then I spent another $17,672.29 to remodel and repair it... In short, I was -$24,729.37 in the hole on day one...

• In 2009 I got the First Time Home buyer's Credit giving us $8,000.00. I also got to write off some of the property tax I paid in addition to taking the standard deduction. This gave us an extra $90.10... but then I had to pay an Electrician $95.00 to fix an outlet... We also got a refund from my botched tile job that gave us another $1,265.00.
• In 2010 I saved $1,087.00 on my federal taxes and $461.00 on my State taxes from itemizing my homeowners expenses. (This is what I received ABOVE what I would have gotten back with just the standard deduction).
• In 2011 I spent $12.97 at home depot and $72.29 on a kitchen door. When we subtract those costs from what we saved by living in our condo instead of renting, we came out ahead $494.04 (See Mortgage Update + Condo Costs December '11 for that break down.) We also received a small $70 refund check from over paid closing costs. We didn't Itemize our taxes in 2011.
• In 2012 we finished our Kitchen/Laundry door which cost us $103.24.. We also replaced both our glass slider doors which cost us $2,957.00... and repaired our dryer for $81.42....It ended up being $3,383.47 cheaper to OWN our condo than to rent an apartment on a monthly basis, (See Housing Costs 2012 for the break down) so even after we subtract the windows and other minor repairs, we still came out ahead $241.81 by owning our condo instead of renting...
• In 2013 we got $52.53 back from challenging my property taxes in 2012. I also refinanced our condo, costing us $447.00 up front for our home appraisal... but we got a check back at closing for $747.20 and a check from my old escrow account for $489.74... We also got to skip a mortgage payment too! In addition, they automatically lowered my property tax value, giving us a check for $86.77.. and we saved $5,191.81 by NOT renting a place (see Housing Comps 2013)!! Additionally we ITEMIZED our taxes in 2013, saving $702.45 on a federal taxes and $503.74 on our State Taxes. (This is what we would have owed had we not had our property to write off).

All of that "math" leaves us $5,788.18 in the hole. If we assume our home is worth at least what we paid for it ($120k), we have $13,108.29 in equity...

Leaving us a profit of $7,320.11 after 5 yrs & 3 months!

Even though we broke even at the end of 2013, I still want to keep track of how much money our condo is saving us each year, especially since we are hoping to stay a few more years. For 2014, we will again assume our monthly mortgage payments are going to be a wash since it's cheaper to OWN our home then to RENT an apartment. (Check out Housing Comps 2014 for how we figured that one out). For 2014 we spent $14,172.96 to live in our condo, instead of $17,292 to live in the apartment.

• Mortgage: $7,980.33 (P&I)
• Extra Mortgage Principle: $15.09
• HOA: $3,390.00
• Property Taxes: $611.80 + $669.66
• Homeowners + Earthquake Insurance: $530.00
• Small Home Repairs/Improvements: $976.00
• $6.44 fix something under the sink
• $53.91 New front door deadbolt
• $87.10 Bathroom Faucet + Tp Holder
• $47.35 (Bathroom Fan)
• $155.20 (Attic Foil)
• $626.00 (Paint, Can Lights, Electrical, Ceiling Fan)

 For a total savings of: $3,119.04 (Again, so glad we bought our little home!)

Mortgage Update October '14

Principle paid down: $332.80
Interest: $3337.16
Additional Principle: $0.19
New Balance: $107,560.80

The pay off date is June 2033. 

If I continue to pay the minimum on my loan, we will end up paying a total of $69,410.24 in interest over the course of our entire loan. 

Before our refinance, we would have paid $116,404.23 in interest.

Getting the Keys...

It took me $7,057.08 to get the keys to my condo and then I spent another $17,672.29 to remodel and repair it... In short, I was -$24,729.37 in the hole on day one...

• In 2009 I got the First Time Home buyer's Credit giving us $8,000.00. I also got to write off some of the property tax I paid in addition to taking the standard deduction. This gave us an extra $90.10... but then I had to pay an Electrician $95.00 to fix an outlet... We also got a refund from my botched tile job that gave us another $1,265.00.
• In 2010 I saved $1,087.00 on my federal taxes and $461.00 on my State taxes from itemizing my homeowners expenses. (This is what I received ABOVE what I would have gotten back with just the standard deduction).
• In 2011 I spent $12.97 at home depot and $72.29 on a kitchen door. When we subtract those costs from what we saved by living in our condo instead of renting, we came out ahead $494.04 (See Mortgage Update + Condo Costs December '11 for that break down.) We also received a small $70 refund check from over paid closing costs. We didn't Itemize our taxes in 2011.
• In 2012 we finished our Kitchen/Laundry door which cost us $103.24.. We also replaced both our glass slider doors which cost us $2,957.00... and repaired our dryer for $81.42....It ended up being $3,383.47 cheaper to OWN our condo than to rent an apartment on a monthly basis, (See Housing Costs 2012 for the break down) so even after we subtract the windows and other minor repairs, we still came out ahead $241.81 by owning our condo instead of renting...
• In 2013 we got $52.53 back from challenging my property taxes in 2012. I also refinanced our condo, costing us $447.00 up front for our home appraisal... but we got a check back at closing for $747.20 and a check from my old escrow account for $489.74... We also got to skip a mortgage payment too! In addition, they automatically lowered my property tax value, giving us a check for $86.77.. and we saved $5,191.81 by NOT renting a place (see Housing Comps 2013)!! Additionally we ITEMIZED our taxes in 2013, saving $702.45 on a federal taxes and $503.74 on our State Taxes. (This is what we would have owed had we not had our property to write off).

All of that "math" leaves us $5,788.18 in the hole. If we assume our home is worth at least what we paid for it ($120k), we have $12,439.20 in equity...

Leaving us a profit of $6,651.02 after 5 yrs & 1 months!

Even though we broke even at the end of 2013, I still want to keep track of how much money our condo is saving us each year, especially since we are hoping to stay a few more years. For 2014, we will again assume our monthly mortgage payments are going to be a wash since it's cheaper to OWN our home then to RENT an apartment. (Check out Housing Comps 2014 for how we figured that one out). For 2014 we have spent $11,743.71 to live in our condo, instead of $14,410.00 to live in the apartment.

• Mortgage: $7,106.39 (P&I)
• Extra Mortgage Principle: $14.52
• HOA: $2,505.00
• Property Taxes: $611.80
• Homeowners + Earthquake Insurance: $530.00
• Small Home Repairs/Improvements: $976.00
• $6.44 fix something under the sink
• $53.91 New front door deadbolt
• $87.10 Bathroom Faucet + Tp Holder
• $47.35 (Bathroom Fan)
• $155.20 (Attic Foil)
• $626.00 (Paint, Can Lights, Electrical, Ceiling Fan)

So far we have saved $2,666.26 by owning our condo and not renting an apartment in 2014.

Current Housing Market:
One-Bedrooms 

• Asking $220,000
• Listed August 27, 2014
• Sold: $220,000 (January 2014)

Two-Bedrooms

• Asking $239,900
• Listed 4/9/14 - $274,000
• Price Change 5/5/14 - $264,900
• Price Change 6/3/14 - $269,900
• Price Change 7/31/14 - $259,900
• Price Change 8/27/14 - $249,900
• Price Change 9/22/14 - $239,900
• Asking $248,000
• Listed 4/22/14 - $280,000
• De-listed 5/1/14
• Price Change - $272,000
• Listed 8/23/14 - $264,000
• Price Changed 248,000
• Asking $250,000
• Listed 8/19/14 - $250,000
• Asking $278,000
• Listed 5/8/14 - $265,000
• De-listed 6/18/14
• Re-listed 8/27/14 $278,000
• Sold - $228,000 (April 2014) | $241,000 (July 2014) | $245,000 (May 2014) | $255,000  (September 2014)| $265,000 (September 2014) | 278,000 (July 2014)

Based on the current market, I think my unit would sell for a little north of $200k as a 1 bedroom in awesome condition. I think $220,000 might be a stretch, but my unit is nicer than the current one bedroom on the market... even with all our "baby modifications." Two bedrooms have been sold from $228,000 -  $278,000 depending on condition over the last 6 months.