[SharkyV12]

Going to retire from Hawaii to Vegas this year, a couple of reasons. Sell high here, buy low there, stretch my retirement income dollar. Weather seems to be about as 'good as it get's' in Vegas compared to Hawaii. Plenty room to drive my car (burned out on going in circles over here). Mostly fixed income SO, primary concern's are living expenses.
1. Taxes
2. Electric
3. Water
4. Gas
5. Air conditioning (rumor has it it get's hot there).
6. Garbage
7. Cable TV/Internet access.
8. NO pool, they sound difficult/expensive to keep up?
9. GOTTA have a water softener!
10. HOA fee's

Figure expenses for a $80-90,000 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage, 1400 sq ft home in the North West part of town. Summerlin looks to 'stepford wives' for me. Something older, LESS planned, LESS restrictive HOA, bigger lot/older home, decent neighborhood is more like it. Looks like PLENTY of available choices from scanning the real estate offerings.

Anyone care to hazard a guess at the monthly expenses such a home might incur?

I currently pay about $150 electric, $340 HOA, $80 cable/internet (water, garbage, etc included in HOA).

[Daddys///M3]

I live in a further, newer part of the NW.

1. Property taxes: Mine run around $200 a month.
2. Electric: It can get upwards of $250 a month in the middle of summer, but I am in a 1900 sq ft 2 story as well.
3. Water: About $15 a month.
4. Gas: Averages around $150 I guess.
5. AC would fall into the electrical category
6. Garbage: $48 quarterly
7. Cable TV/Internet access: Around $150 a month. That is with digital cable and high speed internet.
8. I have a small above ground that we maintain ourselves and it's not that expensive.
9. Water softener expense comes with initial purchase. Maintaining costs next to nothing.
10. My HOA runs $50 a month.

One thing you forgot was sewer. My sewer is $52 quarterly.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by Daddys///M3

I live in a further, newer part of the NW.

1. Property taxes: Mine run around $200 a month.
2. Electric: It can get upwards of $250 a month in the middle of summer, but I am in a 1900 sq ft 2 story as well.
3. Water: About $15 a month.
4. Gas: Averages around $150 I guess.
5. AC would fall into the electrical category
6. Garbage: $48 quarterly
7. Cable TV/Internet access: Around $150 a month. That is with digital cable and high speed internet.
8. I have a small above ground that we maintain ourselves and it's not that expensive.
9. Water softener expense comes with initial purchase. Maintaining costs next to nothing.
10. My HOA runs $50 a month.

One thing you forgot was sewer. My sewer is $52 quarterly.

That gas bill is outrageously high...

[RedRockAAAA]

I agree. Most of those figures are right on for 1500 sq ft house as well.

0. It would most likely be 1 story.
4. Gas might be $60, all depends about gas cooking, gas dryer, gas water heater. So, it can vary, which also makes the electric vary, electric cooking etc.
1. I think taxes will adjust downward soon, maybe August 2009.
7. His cable is $25 higher than mine for the same items. Maybe he buys on demand movies.
9. Water Softener, was that a question? Yes you need one. Most houses already have them. His info was right on.

So now you know. Pick a house and come on over. I lived on the Outerbanks of NC so I know what you mean about driving on the same roads. We had basically 1 main road that ran 90 miles north/south, boring. Welcome and Good Luck.

[SharkyV12]

$200 a month for property tax? Yikes! A rough number for Hawaii would be about $15-$20 per $100,000 of assessed actual value. I was thinking a home under a $100K would meet my needs and keep the tax man under control. Going into retirement you gotta think hard about those monthly expenses that are never going away and never getting any smaller while your income may steadily decline with age.

Condo's, townhomes, 55+ communitys are out of the picture, to many 'rules' for my taste. Mainly because I like to tinker with my specialty car's and am concerned that could be a problem with an HOA (ANY HOA for that matter). Thats fundamentally why a 2 car garage is a must have, which generally also means a larger home than I really need (single guy, kids grown and gone). A low cirme/decent neighborhood is needed to secure the vehicles.

I THINK I can do this for under a $100K and thus preserve a nice little nest egg by not over spending OR getting eaten up by monthly utility costs.

Gas or electric? Which offers the best value for the money?

If the home does not have a softener I will simply figure that into the expense as a 'gotta have it'.

[RedRockAAAA]

SharkyV12

As an example, go to zillow.com and enter 2712 La Montana Street, Las Vegas, Nevada 89108. When map comes up, you can move it around to see entire neighborhood. I know there is 1 there for 85 and 1 for 89 that have two car garages, both have water systems in place. You can view these as examples. Other neighborhoods have similar price points.

Taxes ... There's a fiscal year here that ends in July, I think. Real Estate Taxes will come down at that point. Plus you might be eligible for a Homestead Exemption (discount).

You can google Las Vegas Clark County Nevada real estate taxes and find an explanation on how to calculate tax based on purchase price. You can also google homestead exemption for Nevada and factor that in.

[airics]

Originally Posted by SharkyV12

$200 a month for property tax? Yikes! A rough number for Hawaii would be about $15-$20 per $100,000 of assessed actual value.

Maybe the tax is high compared to Hawaii but why not consider Cleveland, Ohio... On my $160,000 home, i pay almost $5,000 a year in property tax...

[Daddys///M3]

Originally Posted by olecapt

That gas bill is outrageously high...

I don't pay the bills so when I was putting that together I was asking the wifey who was in another room. Either I misunderstood her or she misunderstood me. My last gas bill was $77. Gas heating, gas dryer, gas stove, gas hot water heater, etc.

[SharkyV12]

Some great tips here, thanks folks. The research continues... While Hawaii property tax appears to be reasonable compared to some other states, (Ohio, ouch), trust me, they tax EVERYTHING else, twice!

Gas heating? An interesting concept this 'heat' thing, it's been 20 years since I paid for 'heat'.

[airics]

oh but in ohio we have property tax, federal income tax, state income tax, city income tax, rita tax, sales tax.. and if you own you own business (like i do) add inventory tax, and another property tax... uggh.. i wish that job in vegas would come through already!