Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
You guys pay taxes for your houses in the US?
Move to Europe, for 400K Euros you would get a decent house in the city or a mahal in the country side.
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
We;re in northern westchester, hubby has just a 35 min commute on train to get into 42nd street. But yeah, taxes are like 1100 a month. and the cheapest house I[ve seen in our area is upwards of 1mil so to find something below that is a rare find....so even in this market it would sell really fast. Good thing ..... IF I can get the hubster to MOVEonOUTTA HERE!!! lol, not that I'm applying pressure or anything ;)
You are right, over there just the property can run you as much. But that 35 mnt commute is not bad. I'm in central Long Island and I have a 45 mnt commute into PENN. Lol @ no pressure.
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
You guys pay taxes for your houses in the US? Move to Europe, for 400K Euros you would get a decent house in the city or a mahal in the country side.
so $800K eh
and what city
thats another key factor.
plus while u may not have real estate taxes (although i do recall council taxes in UK and the Netherands)
your income taxes are higher.
oh and btw other euopean countries also have property tax. :)
italy, austria, sweden, denmark, belgium, germany, finland, ireland, france, switzerland.
did u mean eastern europe?
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
I think regardless of wheather the house is in an expensive area or not, spending about 50% of your monthly income (after taxes) on house payment sounds ok to me...well atleast that's how much I've been spending on it for past 10 years. Almost 15% of it is spent on utilities. The remaining 35% is up to you on how you manage all your other expenses.
50% is too risky. I spend around 40% and its pretty hard. Think that you have to live too, not just mortage, food and other expenses in the house. There is a life out there and it costs money too
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
50% is too risky. I spend around 40% and its pretty hard. Think that you have to live too, not just mortage, food and other expenses in the house. There is a life out there and it costs money too
I'm pretty sure he meant 50% maximum. When you are starting out in your career the rule of thumb is to not spend more than 50%. Later as you progress in your career that number goes down. Ofcourse there will always be individuals who would spend tons of money on their lodgings and cars to show how well off they are.
This reminds me of a few (4 guys) in Northern Virginia who rented a 1 bedroom apartment in one of the most expensive buildings in Arlington called the Atrium (not sure of the name tho) just so they could boast about living there. They could've rented a 4 bedroom house for that same amount of money.
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
This reminds me of a few (4 guys) in Northern Virginia who rented a 1 bedroom apartment in one of the most expensive buildings in Arlington called the Atrium (not sure of the name tho) just so they could boast about living there. They could've rented a 4 bedroom house for that same amount of money.
hahahah we asll know ppl like that.
I know a specific group of ppl who would not buy any designer clothing item unless it says in really huge letters that is Armani or Boss or whatever :D
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
^^ Actually it might even say “Made in Pakistan” if you see the inside seam. 
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
probably :D
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
^ 
would you rather be wearing same brand name with “Made in Bengladesh”/Sri Lanka/India ? 
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
If its written on the inside seam that shd not matter, what matters is what ppl see from the outside..
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
^ you are right RV. made in india on the outside is much worse than on the inseam. but i think thats not what they meant
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
no no, i understood it as zainab market 2 numbery kaam
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
^^ 'nuff said.
Actually I heard they do custom work these days
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
baap ray baap..
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
^ you are right RV. made in india on the outside is much worse than on the inseam. but i think thats not what they meant
You bet, But wearing a label "made in Pakistan" from the outside in US would be atleast ten times worse than "made in India" label. I bet everybody on this thread would agree to that........ It would be just like wearing a KKK outfit in a black neighbourhood in LA.
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
Hye yo!
pak vs india kids...can u take the lame pak v india crap somewhere else.
I mean dont u guys get tired of it yourselves?
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
50% is too risky. I spend around 40% and its pretty hard. Think that you have to live too, not just mortage, food and other expenses in the house. There is a life out there and it costs money too
50% is the max I would recommend to spend on mortgage payment. As others have mentioned, it also depends on what lifestyle you choose to live. People can certainly buy a smaller/cheaper house that can reduce thier payments but some decide to live life to the max and suffer the consequences.
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
50% is the max I would recommend to spend on mortgage payment. As others have mentioned, it also depends on what lifestyle you choose to live. People can certainly buy a smaller/cheaper house that can reduce thier payments but some decide to live life to the max and suffer the consequences.
well that 50% depends on what you make too right? if someone is making a million dollars a year and spends half of his net on mortgage, its not that he is struggling to make ends meet and pay his other bills or save enough.
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
I dunno.....Just my personal opinion, 50% is too much for mortgage payment, I would personally spend around 30% and invest the rest in some other investments which get me higher returns and then then payoff my mortgage before hand provided there are no pre-payment penalties.
Re: How do people afford houses in places like NY, Cali, and other expensive areas?
most mortgages in US dont have prepayment penalties from what I have seen