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What are the Costs of Physician Home Ownership?

[By Staff Writers]

Home ownership for the physician or other medical professional can be a very rewarding experience that gives the owner a real sense of security, especially when the home is free and clear of a mortgage.  Home ownership can also be very expensive, and is generally the largest expense of a household; sans the physician’s medical practice itself. And, there are many costs to home ownership. 

First, to acquire a home, the physician home owner must make a down payment and pay closing costs on the mortgage. The down payment is usually a minimum of 5% of the purchase price, although some mortgage programs allow as little as 3% down or even nothing with interest-only deals available. The closing costs can run as high as 3% with no buy-down on the interest rate. 

Second, the physician home owner must service the mortgage with the usual monthly payments of principal and interest. This is usually the largest expense associated with home ownership. 

Third, the physician home owner must pay all of the utilities associated with the property. The mandatory utilities are water/sewer/garbage, electricity and/or gas, and local telephone. These expenses can be substantial. Water/sewer/garbage services can total over $150 per month. Electricity and gas bills usually total a minimum of $250 per month for an average-sized four-bedroom, three-bath home. 

Fourth, the physician home owner must pay property taxes, a substantial expense. As an example, property taxes average approximately 1-2% of fair market value computed on appraised value rather than the fair market value. This translates into thousands of dollars per year. 

Fifth, the physician home owner must maintain the home. These expenses include small and large home repairs and maintenance, landscaping, gardening, and remodeling. Large home repairs can include replacing a roof, painting the interior and exterior, replacing carpeting, and repairing water damage. Small home repairs and maintenance often include repairing leaky faucets, damaged flooring, broken windows, and walls that children thought would make a great coloring board. 

Sixth, the physician home owner must insure the home for property damage and liability damage related to the home. This expense varies widely but will be a minimum of several hundred dollars per year. 

The following is an example of the monthly costs of home ownership for a new doctor who owns a house worth $200,000 and has a $160,000 mortgage with an 8% rate and a 30-year term. So, a lower rate today looks even better, right? 

• Mortgage payment: $1,174       
• Property taxes: $166     
• Utilities: $450
• Insurance: $30
• Maintenance: $300

Total $2,120

These numbers do not include large repair and maintenance expenses. When these expenses occur, they are usually paid for in a lump sum, rather than being amortized over the years of their useful life. The lump-sum cost does not include the amount of earnings lost on the money used for the expenditure.

In order to amortize these items, the physician home owner would have to borrow the money to pay for them, but this would result in additional interest expense.  

There are also exit costs to home ownership. When a doctor wants to sell a home, he or she must pay a sales commission of approximately 6% and an excise tax that varies state to state. Of course, FSBO is also a sales option. 

Q: What is the biggest impediment to a home loan down payment?

A: A student loan and/or an existing automobile loan.

Q: What is the biggest impediment to a practice start-up loan; office down payment, or medical group buy-in situation?

A: A home loan; school loan and/or automobile loan.

Note, the vicious consumer debt-cycle which differentiates wants from needs!

Rents on the Upswing for 2008

On the other hand, apartment asking-rents posted their biggest increase of 2007 in the third quarter, jumping 4.2% from a year ago, to an average of $1,015 per unit, according to industry sources. And vacancy, which had edged up slightly earlier in the year because of apartment construction, tightened up in the last quarter to an average of 5.6% from 5.7% the same time a year ago. Thus, the outlook is rosy for landlords in 2008, but not necessarily the same for homeowners.

Conclusion

Now, how does the above traditional philosophy seem in light of the recent mortgage debt debacle? 

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