ladies with houses

HisSunshine1220

i know we already discussed the taxes the other day, but i was hoping you could tell me how much your taxes are, and how you pay them... (every month, one lump sum, etc) and if you do break it up into payments, how much are they? We are just trying to get an idea of what we can afford when we buy. TIA!

Kasi80

Our taxes on the house are about $4200/year.  They are so much because of the "special" tax on the land they placed in the 1980s.  Our house was built in 1998 but since the land is taxed we have to pay for it even though our house wasn't built until 10 years after the taxes were placed on the land.  stupid.  They call it "city beautification" taxes (in our area), other places call it melloroos.  The $ goes toward upkeep of the parks, etc.  Usually I think taxes on a house are about 1% of the purchase price maybe slightly higher depending on the city but watch out for those extra taxes.  I think they are mostly in newer communities. OK, enough about my rambling and back to your questions.  $4200 a year for taxes.  We have our taxes (and insurance) included in our mortgage payment.  We pay 1 amount monthly and the $ gets disbursed between our taxes, mortgage, & insurance on the house.  It's called an escrow account where they keep the tax $.  The mortgage company pays our taxes each time they are due from our escrow account.  Taxes are due twice a year. 

sv4338

I pay my insurance seperate but its only like $50 a month we were paying our property taxes seperately but for some reason they got added on this month so our mortgage just went up $500+ :0(This is really gonna hurt

sdkissez

I pay my taxes and insurance separately.  Our taxes on our current home was $6000K last year, but it was re-assessed again this year, so it will probably be about $4800.  However, $2500 of it is for a special tax.  We pay half in April and the other half in December.My other house was $3800 last year, and I keep trying to apply for a reassessment, but for some reason, they are not reassessing it.  Otherwise, it would go down to about $2000 a year.So, I basically paid, last year, $5000 in December and $5000 in April for taxes.However, this is much better than the $16K we were initially quoted for both houses, so I am not really complaining.Insurance on our current home is $1200 a year and I pay it in thirds.  Our other home is $550 because it's rental insurance.

HisSunshine1220

good lord. we are going to be renting forever. lol

Kasi80

HAHA...no, you just have to get an idea of the amount you can afford monthly then look for houses in that price range that would have a mortgage and tax bracket in your price range.

sdkissez

One thing to keep in mind Lacey, is that I bought both of my homes when the market was running rampant.  Remember that taxes are based upon purchase price times the tax rate.  So, I paid $500K for one of my homes, so my taxes were based upon that purchase price.  Good thing for reassessment.