Quote Originally Posted by rex View Post
Enough to get by from month to month but a new roof costs 10K or thereabouts. New windows i have no idea. Several thousand to paint the exterior, Several thousand more to paint the interior. There are all types of home repairs and upkeep expenses.
Just this year i replaced my roof, ceiling was leaking into the kitchen sink. Now i have to repair plaster up there. Plumbing issues that included water leaking into the basement after a shower & 2 leaky sinks. Furnace didn't start in November, Washing machine broke. I spent 13K on maintenance. By the aforementioned $300/month surplus thats 3.5 or so years of saving every extra penny. Plus transportation wasn't included in the above. Between gas, insurance, payments, repairs and whatever else it would cost me 4K a year to drive on the cheap.
Regardless of maintenance costs the housing is affordable. An affordable house will cost about $3-4k for a new roof [[tear-off). $10k is closer to a McMansion sized home.