Comments on: Property Tax Bill Almost Gave me a Heart Attack!

By: J. Money

J. Money — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 23:22:47 +0000

Totally agree with you! We have ours included with our mortgage payment, but if not we’d 100% set up a special fund for it – that’s no fun at all being surprised and/or having to scramble for a lump sum every 6 months or whatever – bleh.

By: Jill Pruett

Jill Pruett — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 19:20:49 +0000

Just as a follow on-we got our assessment on the house we paid $104,000 for. They appraised it at $115,500, and with the last millage rate (which they haven’t changed in about five years) our property taxes are estimated at $778/YEAR.

If this is correct, the combination of taxes and insurance will come to around $150/month.

If you are paying your own taxes for any reason, I STRONGLY recommend that you set up a separate savings account and arrange monthly transfers of your tax and insurances so that they are fully funded when they are due. The fact that that sum is coming out of my main checking account every month gives me a clear experience of the expense.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:50:24 +0000

@Jill Pruett – Wow, yeah – I had no idea! Very interesting stuff though – your secret is safe with me ;) And the other thousands of readers to this site, haha…
@Ronnie – Huh. So YOUR house assessed value is what you paid for it then, eh? Even if 10 years from now it’s worth way more or less? What if you never move out for hundreds of years? It’s still the same low rate? ;)
@Jerry – I know, those rates are super low! We didn’t get to snag them during our last refi, but hopefully the next time around (IF we’re still living here) we will.

By: Jerry

Jerry — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 15:14:03 +0000

Our taxes went up, as well. It seems absurd considering how values are low everywhere.
Still, our mortgage, taxes and insurance are still manageable for us which we are very grateful for. But these low mortgage rates may lead me to consider another refi.

By: Ronnie

Ronnie — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 05:17:17 +0000

Here where I live (Overland Park, KS) when you buy a house that automatically becomes the assesed value. Lots of things can impact the assesed value though ranging from sales in your neighborhood, and even the mill levy. While not super common, if your mill levy went up, in theory the assessor could lower the value of your home, and still collect the same money due to a higher tax rate.. But that didnt happen with you since your tax bill went down.

By: Jill Pruett

Jill Pruett — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 16:34:03 +0000

One of the considerations for property taxes on our Cheyenne house is that Wyoming is a predominantly extraction state (mining/oil) and the bulk of the state (and county) revenue is derived from severance taxes. This results in lower property taxes. Don’t spread it around too much but Wyoming state government is in surplus. The local school district (Laramie Co #1) bitches and whines about no money but that is because they are a government not a business.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 14:27:12 +0000

Oh man, yeah – awesome to save money but if quality goes down? jeesh… it’s interesting cuz we never usually think about the consequences, and only our own personal situations ya know? This is a good reminder that changes affect a lot of things :) Thanks for bringing it up!

By: Nicole

Nicole — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:21:07 +0000

I bought my home last year for $295,000, but the county had it assessed for $334,000. The tax bill was approx. $5,600 (and my city has the lowest tax base in the Cleveland area—because it’s a rich little town with lots of commercial properties that keep resident’s tax low). Anyway, I filled out the paperwork in December (you only have a 45 day window every year to appeal your taxes). My husband then had to go to the courthouse with the appraisal the bank did for our home loan, and the purchase contract showing what we paid. Lo and behold, our next bill showed that our taxes were lowered by @ $600 a year, or $50 a month. We were thrilled!
Only problem is, if everyone appeals and taxes keep going down, the school and city services will start to suffer. So, it is a double edged sword.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 14:52:45 +0000

@Jill Pruett – Ooooh I have yet to pay a visit to Cheyenne… heard it’s unbelievably beautiful up there!
@Christopher J – Dang, yeah – I didn’t realize how good we had it in property tax until reading all of these comments… thanks for sharing, my man!
@Lori – OUCH!!! Wow. I honestly can’t believe that. I wonder if people know how much that stuff costs BEFORE they buy their first house? Cuz if not, that is one scary ass wake-up call.
@Roanne – Oh cool! Good work :) I like that you touched on being friendly and smiling a lot – that is 100% the right way to go. If you stroll in all huffy puffy like it’s hard for others to want to help you. Way to rock it!
@Jennifer – Oh man, seems like tax rates are all over the place in this country, really. I had no idea until reading about all of your guys’ bills. Sorry to hear :(

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:33:45 +0000

I wonder how you are paying about $1,200 for a $265K house when I pay $1,300 for a $115K house in the Louisville, KY area (though I live on the Indiana side). Seems like I’m getting duped!