3 Overlooked Costs of Homeownership
It's exciting to think about buying your first home, but before you commit, you should be aware that the expense of owning a home goes well beyond your mortgage payments. If you've been doing the math to see whether you can afford to buy a house, don't forget to factor in these other major expenses.
Property taxes vary from one state to another and even from one county to another. According to a Tax Foundation study, New Jersey has the highest average property taxes at 2.38%, while Hawaii has the lowest at 0.28%. For a home assessed at $200,000, that's the difference between $4,760 and $560 in property taxes. That's quite a range! So before you buy your new home, find out just how much the property taxes will be.
Keep in mind that buying a house will trigger a new assessment by your county assessor and likely reset the property's official value. Thus, even if taxes on the property have been low in the past, they may shoot up dramatically once you own the place -- especially if it's been a while since the last assessment.
Source: Fool.com
