It will have two dates: the first date is January 1 because property taxes are billed from January 1, and the second date is the date you’re closing on the house. You’ll also notice two dollar amounts. The larger is the total property tax bill for the year and the smaller amount is the prorated [...]
As higher sales prices became public record, appraisers, assessors, and Realtors used these comparable sales to establish value, and that created an upward spiral of house values. And as values spiraled higher, the tax revenues brought in as a result of those higher values also increased.
If, when you get your notice, you feel your taxes are too high, you can do two things. First, you can go to the budget hearing and challenge how the county spends the tax dollars. If enough people get upset, a referendum can be put on the ballot to impose a tax cap, as has [...]
After mortgage interest deductions, property taxes are the next big tax break for homeowners. Because there’s much confusion and misunderstanding about how property taxes are levied, this section explains how the tax break is figured, and the next explains how to go about protesting your property taxes, should you view them as unfair.
The PMI coverage is supposed to drop off when the loan is paid down 20 percent. But recently, with lower interest rates, many homeowners refinance when they can show they have 20 percent equity. If home values are going up, that can happen quickly.
