4 ms·

At 3.92% interest rate for 30-years fixed with a 20% downpayment that's about $3,400/mo and at $900k property tax is another $6k/year, insurance is less than $1

At 3.92% interest rate for 30-years fixed with a 20% downpayment that's about $3,400/mo and at $900k property tax is another $6k/year, insurance is less than $100/mo so you net out at less than $4k/mo in PITI. And maintenance you'd hope to check what's wrong with the house before you buy but a new roof costs about $20k so unless you replace a roof a year I doubt you'll be spending over $1000/mo for maintenance, at least I'm not. And 20% is not a sizeable downpayment but the minimum to not have to pay mortgage insurance, a sizeable downpayment is 30%, which in a 30 years fixed means paying less than $3500/mo PITI. Of course if you go with ARMs you'd end up paying even less since interest rates are even lower there. If you can afford the downpayment you'd be paying less than rent in SF most of the time.

x0x0 11y ago
actually, property taxes in sf are a little over 1%, so you're looking at $10.4k/year on that $900k condo (note: on the cheap for sf). $3400 + $900 tax + $100 insurance = $4.4k, again, without any condo fees, maintenance, or utilities. So you'll net much closer to $5k than $4k. Which to my claim, means you're out $60k post tax (over $100k pre) without eating, health insurance, owning a car, or parking yet.
- randycupertino 11y ago
  Yeah the economics of SF just don't work out unless you have a trust fund or your company IPOs, that's why everyone I know who wants to buy a house is moving to Austin and Portland.
ageitgey 11y ago
How would you only be paying $6k/year property tax? I'd expect more than $10k/year or around 850/month. The property tax rate is 1.1826% of assessed value in SF (1% state + a small % local). And your initial assessed value is based on your purchase price. I think it's more realistic to say you'd be spending close to 4500/month net assuming you didn't live in a place with an HOA. If you live in a condo with an HOA, you could easily be spending 5000 to 5500/month. On the plus side, at least you get to deduct all that mortgage interest and property tax on your federal taxes. When you are paying 3k/month+ in interest and taxes, that's a really nice tax advantage over renting a similar property.

x0x0 11y ago

actually, property taxes in sf are a little over 1%, so you're looking at $10.4k/year on that $900k condo (note: on the cheap for sf). $3400 + $900 tax + $100 insurance = $4.4k, again, without any condo fees, maintenance, or utilities. So you'll net much closer to $5k than $4k. Which to my claim, means you're out $60k post tax (over $100k pre) without eating, health insurance, owning a car, or parking yet.

randycupertino 11y ago
Yeah the economics of SF just don't work out unless you have a trust fund or your company IPOs, that's why everyone I know who wants to buy a house is moving to Austin and Portland.

ageitgey 11y ago

How would you only be paying $6k/year property tax? I'd expect more than $10k/year or around 850/month. The property tax rate is 1.1826% of assessed value in SF (1% state + a small % local). And your initial assessed value is based on your purchase price. I think it's more realistic to say you'd be spending close to 4500/month net assuming you didn't live in a place with an HOA. If you live in a condo with an HOA, you could easily be spending 5000 to 5500/month. On the plus side, at least you get to deduct all that mortgage interest and property tax on your federal taxes. When you are paying 3k/month+ in interest and taxes, that's a really nice tax advantage over renting a similar property.