What kind of income do you think you have to have to afford a home in a nice LI town ( manhasset, roslyn)?

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Posted by dleeny

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Posted by MrsStefan

I am a social worker and we talked about this in one of my classes when I was getting my masters. Supposedly, when you live on LI you need to make at least $125,000 total household income to live COMFORTABLY...that means, to have SPARE money..hense why I am leaving NY and going to Florida to get a 4 bedroom NEW house for $189,000!!

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FH and I are considering either Dallas or NC (Raleigh area). You can buy a big beautiful NEW house there for $200K or less! And the job market down there is booming. We both have relatives in those areas.

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Dallas is very nice! (wow i thought i'd never say that, given the city rivalry between houston and dallas). And the best part of living in Texas...NO STATE INCOME TAXES!!!

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Posted by dleeny

I would say minimum $150K combined income.

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Wow, DH & I would fall into this category, and we are moving to Lindenhurst. We could not ever afford the taxes in Manhasset or Roslyn, never mind the home prices. (depending on which part you are referring to...like all areas there is an area that is not as expensive, but you still can get the same address)

PS. DH works in Roslyn & I work in Manhasset, so trust me if we thought we could afford to live here just to not commute, then we would.

Sorry, just saw your follow-up post to this one

Let's do the math. If you are earning $200k combined you are in the 40% tax bracket. that means you net about $120,000 (sad but true). $10k/month is your cash available. A median priced house in that area is apprx $700,000 (I'm being conservative because I think it's more like $900K) with taxes of $12k. With a 500,000 mortgage and $12k in taxes, your mortgage is approx. $4800/month. That leaves $5200/month for everything else. Cars, insurance, food, utilities,, student loans, credit card bills...etc...then you have to make improvements on the house because that house for $700k is in original condition and needs a bathroom and a kitchen, not to mention the roof and the plumbing. It's just stupid! I bought a house in Bethpage 2 years ago and that was choking me then, I can't imagine having to pony up about $150k more for a house now...I would leave LI.

This scenario leaves you house poor. Add having kids to the mix and it's really depressing.

Thinking about this makes me want to cry. I dont know what we are going to do.
I work 2 jobs now just to make it all for the wedding. Then people tell me why bother with the wedding and get the house. Uh no!

I cant leave NY! My FH is NYPD and all of our family is here. We want everyone around us when we have our kids...if I can ever afford them

Just not fair why LI got this way! Its crazy!

At some point, the crazy prices are going to hit the roof and sellers are going to have to lower them. Who wants to spend $500k on a house that needs another $300k of work???
It's unbelieveable. I need to get off LIWeddings and get to work so I can get a raise!

I'm not familiar w/ those area's but I know area's like it. We could never afford a house in say... Cold Spring Harbor, Lloyd Harbor, Huntington Bay right now & we do ok. We certainly don’t have $ coming out our ears but we are in a better position then most people our age and I'm sure some of you are as well.

That said I do think it's all relative. I mean if you have $1 mil. your not gonna buy a million dollar home your gonna buy a $2 million dollar home. If you have $100k your gonna buy a $200k or $250k home. A good way to look at it is your mortgage/taxes/insurance is about $1000 for every $100k borrowed. Obviously that will vary but for a $300k home you can expect to pay about $3000 a month. Therefore an $800k home will run you about $8000 a month. That’s $96k a year just in mortgage. Depending on how much you put down.

I do think if you make about $150k - $180k combined you can afford $300-$400k home here on long island in a nice area with a good school district.

I do think NC, SC and GA are great places and also very affordable!

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Posted by Ladybug63

I'm not familiar w/ those area's but I know area's like it. We could never afford a house in say... Cold Spring Harbor, Lloyd Harbor, Huntington Bay right now & we do ok. We certainly don’t have $ coming out our ears but we are in a better position then most people our age and I'm sure some of you are as well.

That said I do think it's all relative. I mean if you have $1 mil. your not gonna buy a million dollar home your gonna buy a $2 million dollar home. If you have $100k your gonna buy a $200k or $250k home. A good way to look at it is your mortgage/taxes/insurance is about $1000 for every $100k borrowed. Obviously that will vary but for a $300k home you can expect to pay about $3000 a month. Therefore an $800k home will run you about $8000 a month. That’s $96k a year just in mortgage. Depending on how much you put down.

I do think if you make about $150k - $180k combined you can afford $300-$400k home here on long island in a nice area with a good school district.

I do think NC, SC and GA are great places and also very affordable!

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I don't agree..we do it, our mortgage is not $3000/mo, and we only put 10% down, but good luck finding a house for that now that doesn't need a ton of work. That math doesn't add up.

Obviously it will fluctuate depending on taxes, the amount down, and interest rates. (Those numbers are with a much higher rate then what it is now but some have bad credit) Everyone will be different. We don’t pay that either, it's a ball park. Depending on your budget, spending habits etc. you may be able to afford more or less. It's just a generalization that some real estate brokers used with us. Just passing along the info.

Regardless, LI is a very expensive place to live and in comparison some people don’t think it's worth it but I love NY and could never leave it. I've tried but kept coming back. Plus w/ FI's job he can only work on LI to make the $ he does.

more than FI and I will ever make......

probably combined of 250+.
i know people who make combined 200k and between the taxes and home costs, they could not make it work.

Go to Bank Rate - there is a calculator on there called 'How much house can I afford' and it takes into consideration other debts and expenses you have. Then compare that with what you are finding in the areas you like.

Here is the direct link to the calculator

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Posted by orchid24

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Posted by Goldi1021

Me and FH will never be able to afford to give a home and a lifestyle like that to my family. We were the first generation to be worse off than our parents. Oh well.

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wow, ditto for me... trying to get used to the idea that we won't be as comfortable as when i was growing up---

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i know it really *****..especially since my brother and wife are both doctors...i am the failure of the family

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Posted by music79

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Posted by orchid24

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Posted by Goldi1021

Me and FH will never be able to afford to give a home and a lifestyle like that to my family. We were the first generation to be worse off than our parents. Oh well.

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wow, ditto for me... trying to get used to the idea that we won't be as comfortable as when i was growing up---

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i know it really *****..especially since my brother and wife are both doctors...i am the failure of the family

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OH MY GOSH!!!!! Don't say that!!!!!

Dallas is very nice! (wow i thought i'd never say that, given the city rivalry between houston and dallas). And the best part of living in Texas...NO STATE INCOME TAXES!!!

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I was in Dallas about 1 1/2 months ago...I have to say, I was impressed. and the houses there are GORGEOUS!! ALL of them! we even saw a brand new housing development with a billboard saying houses starting in the $130's!!

I've been looking at homes in Manhasset on and off for a year now. I think its very rare to find a decent size/shape home for under a million. There are a few homes in the $800-$900 range but, I rarely see one under $800. The ones under a million are usually right on top of the house next to you and the house usually needs some work. Really, in comparison to the rest of the world, and even LI, its shocking.

I don't think you could afford to live in Manhasset if you make less than $250,000/yr combined unless you have enough to pay for more than half the house outright. In that case, it might be possible. And, that said, I'm talking about the low range of houses. To live in the average house in manhasset which I think is more like around 1.2 mil now, I think you need to make significantly more than even that.

ITs so sad isn't it!