San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

You could call some home insurance companies and get a quote.

We haven't owned a home in awhile, but you can ball-park insurance at $100-$300/month, depending on whether or not you're in a fire or flood zone, if you have dogs, a pool, or other potential hazards.

Maintenance on a 15 year-old home can really vary. It depends on the degree of deferred maintenance (what the sellers should have done, but didn't) and your preferences WRT upgrades and how well you want to maintain it. Whether or not you'll be doing your own work, or hiring someone else to do it can affect your costs greatly. You can spend just a few hundred, or you can spend a few thousand every year. In general, many people figure it can run around .5-1% of the price of the home, annually. Remember that you will have to save up money for the BIG things -- a new roof, A/C or heater repair/maint/replacement, water heater, electrical, plumbing repairs (like when the pipes under your slab leak), walls/fencing, etc.

Utilities also can vary. If you have a lot of hardscape and drought-resistant plants, and you are an uber-conservationist when it comes to water usage, it would probably run around $50 or so per month. If you have lots of grass and a large family that uses a lot of water, it can run into the $100-$250 range. Gas and electric can run from $75-$600+/month depending on whether or not you are frugal or use the A/C all night and day (A/C is probably the biggest expense WRT energy usage).

These are all estimates, and as you know, it really depends on the property and the owner.

Good luck!

This has some valuable information for you:
http://piggington.com/what_are_the_stand...

I save 1% annually for ongoing maintenance. In some years I spend nothing but when you need the big things like a new roof or getting your exterior painted, you'll use up that 1% and then some.

Note that I don't use this money for remodeling, decorating or other discretionary expenses. It is purely to pay for maintenance or unexpected house related expenses: e.g. the dishwasher or fridge dies and needs to be replace, the AC unit breaks down and needs repair/replacement, etc.

I just spent $3000 getting my house painted (exterior) and spent over $5000 getting a new roof last year. If I hadn't had this money already set aside it would have been very uncomfortable.

I just bought a slightly bigger house is 92078.

800/yr for insurance
$180/mth for sdge
$20/mth for garbage
$80/mth water
$80/mth lawn service
Other items are controllable such as TV, Phone, Internet, etc.

HOA seems to be the only other item you are missing.

I am not a homeowner, so I have no practical experience with the expenses. But in my own calcs, I tend to assume annual expenses of 2% of the building's replacement cost for those once-every-few-years items, like kitchen and bathroom updates, and new roofs, wiring, plumbing etc. I figure that over 50 years, you'll have to pretty much replace everything, unless you plan to become one of those people who live in a home that's never updated. That excludes the annual or monthly maintenance expenses.

Does SDG&E or anyone have a website that publishes average electric/gas costs by zip code? Would be handy.

Average doesn't mean very much for individual experiences. Every home is different. SDG&E does publish price her kWh though. It really depends on whether you have a pool, what kind of light bulbs you have, how many lights you turn on at one time, how many hours a day is there people in the house, is there an A/C, how old are the appliances, which direction isthe house facing (wind factor), etc. All if those things can greatly vary ones electricity bill. I know someone who live in a 3800 sq-ft house and only spend $30-$40/month in electricity. Then there are people on the other extreme who spend $200/month in a 2 bed apartment.

Regarding the OP, you pretty much have your general bases covered. You can also add in 1-2% for maintenance but I assume you're not completely stretched and will be able to have more than that saved a month, so you can just tap into your savings when problem occurs.

92127 Renter (4s). 1900 Sq ft home with one AC unit.

Electric bill was 270 last month. Before the heat I was avging about 70-90 a month.

Water is 40 a month give or take 10 bucks.

I put my house maintenance savings into a separate savings account specifically for that purpose. I don't want it intermingled with my other savings. Doing this helps me to better compartmentalize the money so that there is no temptation to spend it on something else.

infoseeker one small cost may also be how you own the home. Some people put homes in living trusts. This is not a home ownership cost per say, but if you dont have a living trust you may want to create one and after you buy the home move it into it. Not really on topic but some food for thought.

Everybody handle things different and your way works for you. For me, I like to keep things simple. I try to spend as little as I can (live frugally). That way, I don't have to worry about too much book keeping.