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DMDT087
LIF Infant
Member since 4/18 54 total posts
Name:
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house hunting + property taxes grief..
(this is probably more fitting for the "Home" forum but this one is more active..let me know if I should re-post)
My boyfriend & I have been house hunting for a couple of months. The amount of variables that need to come together is so frustrating - i.e, our "must-haves", the location..and, the speciality of LI..the property taxes! All combined with this crazy market..
Should I really let property taxes (definitely not going over 10K) deter me from putting an offer on a close-to-perfect home? Most we've seen are about 8-8500 before Star. But there's a little pocket of a location that would be ideal for us that's 9-9500 before Star. It would fit our budget, but I'm afraid of jumping into something when I could possibly find a home with lower taxes if we're just a little more patient. There are so many other expenses we could control - obviously the taxes aren't one of them so I'm nervous about making the commitment - especially since they can (and probably will) go up.
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Posted 5/16/18 7:55 AM  |
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Long Island Weddings
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Katareen
5,000 Posts!
Member since 4/10 7180 total posts
Name:
Katherine
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house hunting + property taxes grief..
I think that amount of taxes is not a huge deal— it comes out to be less than $100 a month. Just keep in mind that the summer is huge for househunting and it is totally a sellers market. If you find something you love I would go for it!
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| Posted 5/16/18 7:57 AM |
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LuckyStar
LIF Adult
Member since 7/14 7274 total posts
Name:
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house hunting + property taxes grief..
If you can afford the taxes, no, I wouldn’t let it deter you.
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| Posted 5/16/18 8:40 AM |
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loveus
LIF Adolescent
Member since 9/13 684 total posts
Name:
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house hunting + property taxes grief..
When we looked our cap on tax was less than 10k. It’s a numbers game, if you find a house with 8k in taxes they may raise the price since taxes are low and vise versa.
Not sure where you are looking but Nassau will be doing a new assessment in the near future so the number now won’t mean much in the long run.
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| Posted 5/16/18 8:52 AM |
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blu6385
Member since 5/08 8351 total posts
Name:
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Re: house hunting + property taxes grief..
I actually think those taxes are pretty low esp if they are before tax. If you can afford the payment then no I wouldn't let it stop you from putting an offer in.
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| Posted 5/16/18 8:58 AM |
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chilltocam
LIF Adult
Member since 11/11 9141 total posts
Name:
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house hunting + property taxes grief..
For only a $1000 difference but still within your limit, I would absolutely jump at a house that had everything else. The market is crazy right now and interest rates are rising - so you could easily wind up paying even more if the rates continue to climb. I've just been through this process - closed 3 weeks ago - and I know how frustrating it can be. But no matter what "perfect" house you find, you will ALWAYS wonder - maybe an even MORE perfect house will come on the market tomorrow. That thought process can drive you crazy, but at some point, if you really want to buy, you have to let it go and focus on the house that you do decide to buy.
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| Posted 5/16/18 9:09 AM |
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SusiBee
. . . . .
Member since 3/09 8268 total posts
Name:
S
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Re: house hunting + property taxes grief..
Posted by chilltocam
For only a $1000 difference but still within your limit, I would absolutely jump at a house that had everything else. The market is crazy right now and interest rates are rising - so you could easily wind up paying even more if the rates continue to climb. I've just been through this process - closed 3 weeks ago - and I know how frustrating it can be. But no matter what "perfect" house you find, you will ALWAYS wonder - maybe an even MORE perfect house will come on the market tomorrow. That thought process can drive you crazy, but at some point, if you really want to buy, you have to let it go and focus on the house that you do decide to buy.
This.
DH and I recently gave up house hunting because the prices and taxes in the area we wanted were just too high. I am too close to retirement to have to pay that much for housing.
We'll stick to our original plan and buy in South Carolina in the near future.
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| Posted 5/16/18 9:17 AM |
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house hunting + property taxes grief..
If you find taxes under 10 somewhere please let me know!!! And no if you can afford it, I wouldn’t let it deter you but honestly if $100 will make you or break you, you can’t afford to own a home. Between regular maintenance and replacing things as needed, you will need to be able to have something in reserve and something monthly left over. For example, we had a pipe burst 4 days after closing... $500 to fix.... prices of homes are crazy right now and taxes here are nuts but unfortunately we are stuck until my husband can retire because of his pension and benefits
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| Posted 5/16/18 11:49 AM |
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NYCGirl80
I love my kiddies!
Member since 5/11 10413 total posts
Name:
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Re: house hunting + property taxes grief..
Posted by TwinMommyToBoys
If you find taxes under 10 somewhere please let me know!!! And no if you can afford it, I wouldn’t let it deter you but honestly if $100 will make you or break you, you can’t afford to own a home. Between regular maintenance and replacing things as needed, you will need to be able to have something in reserve and something monthly left over. For example, we had a pipe burst 4 days after closing... $500 to fix.... prices of homes are crazy right now and taxes here are nuts but unfortunately we are stuck until my husband can retire because of his pension and benefits
I totally agree. Also, the difference between $8,500 in taxes and $9,500 is minimal, but if $10,000 is a hard stop, then you better stay closer to the $8k range. Taxes go up every year, so a house that's $9,500 now will likely be over $10k next year. Grieving helps, for sure, but things like school taxes are out of your control. Tax breaks next year will also be reduced drastically, so if you're counting your pennies, you may get in over your head.
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| Posted 5/16/18 2:01 PM |
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Jacquelina
LIF Adolescent
Member since 10/11 767 total posts
Name:
Jacqueline
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Re: house hunting + property taxes grief..
also be mindful that tax grievance isnt a for sure thing - we have tried multiple times and are always told our taxes are in line.
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| Posted 5/16/18 2:04 PM |
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curley999
Family!
Member since 5/05 2314 total posts
Name:
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house hunting + property taxes grief..
We have been seriously looking for several months too and it is so depressing. We were outbid on 2 houses we loved and backed out of 2 other houses before contracts. I gave up hope on finding a perfect house , just focus on top priorities (location, size ect) Taxes will always go up but if you find a great house $1K isn't a huge difference...
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| Posted 5/16/18 2:51 PM |
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NervousNell
Just another chapter in life..
Member since 11/09 54921 total posts
Name:
..being a mommy and being a wife!
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Re: house hunting + property taxes grief..
Just bear in mind that taxes always go up.
They never go down.
When we bought our house 15 years ago the taxes were 4500 with Star. They are now over 7 k.
Something to think about
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| Posted 5/16/18 3:00 PM |
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DMDT087
LIF Infant
Member since 4/18 54 total posts
Name:
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Re: house hunting + property taxes grief..
Posted by NervousNell
Just bear in mind that taxes always go up.
They never go down.
When we bought our house 15 years ago the taxes were 4500 with Star. They are now over 7 k.
Something to think about
Yeah, that's my concern, especially with no longer being able to write off more than 10K of local+property taxes.
Posted by TwinMommyToBoys
If you find taxes under 10 somewhere please let me know!!! And no if you can afford it, I wouldn’t let it deter you but honestly if $100 will make you or break you, you can’t afford to own a home. Between regular maintenance and replacing things as needed, you will need to be able to have something in reserve and something monthly left over. For example, we had a pipe burst 4 days after closing... $500 to fix.... prices of homes are crazy right now and taxes here are nuts but unfortunately we are stuck until my husband can retire because of his pension and benefits
Sachem/Connetquot towns have homes with less than 10K..Connetquot area tends to be closer to 10K. We're also looking at 3BD/1-2BA ranches, so of course that'll make a difference in what we've been looking at. There's only been a handful of houses that have had 10K+ taxes and it was because the homes had an acre+ of property.
$100 won't make or break my budget, but I want to maximize our "wiggle room" as much as possible. I'm thinking unless the home/location really "WOW's" me, I'd be better off shooting lower.
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| Posted 5/16/18 3:36 PM |
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DMDT087
LIF Infant
Member since 4/18 54 total posts
Name:
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Re: house hunting + property taxes grief..
Posted by curley999
We have been seriously looking for several months too and it is so depressing. We were outbid on 2 houses we loved and backed out of 2 other houses before contracts. I gave up hope on finding a perfect house , just focus on top priorities (location, size ect) Taxes will always go up but if you find a great house $1K isn't a huge difference...
We were outbid on two homes we loved, too - and we offered over asking. I work with a lot of "Baby Boomers" and they're shocked when I talk about how the market has been - houses listed & accepting offers in less than a week, etc.
It's been very frustrating. I'm not even shooting for "perfect" at this point and it's still been hard to find something.
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| Posted 5/16/18 3:40 PM |
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Re: house hunting + property taxes grief..
I mean, it's really a matter of what monthly payment you can qualify for (from a lender's standpoint), and what you can afford (from a personal comfort zone standpoint).
I hate when buyers have hard cut-offs of $10K in taxes or $x price. Both have to be taken into account for payment's sake. The price and taxes alone in a vacuum don't matter.
If a house is $400K and has $10K in taxes, it may be just as affordable as a less expensive house with higher taxes.
Likewise, if someone says their cut-off is $10K and they are looking in the $500K range, what if they find something in the low $400Ks with slightly higher taxes? It may balance out.
Taxes do tend to go up over time, but as others said, grieving them can help. And most people qualify for STAR.
You can also figure out whether taxes seem way out of line for the area (too high) and whether they haven't been grieved in recent years. That would indicate you would likely get a reduction. On the other hand, it's important to verify what the actual taxes are with NO exemptions, because many listings include the current owners' exemptions which may include senior enhanced STAR, veterans' exemptions. You may not qualify for them, and the bank won't take exemptions into account when factoring the taxes into your qualifications, debt-to-income ratio.
So my best advice is to look at the whole picture. Taxes are a huge factor in affordability, and usually have more impact than price. Adding $1K to a mortgage amount is like roughly $5 in your monthly payment. So going up $10K in price may equal about $50 more per month. But going from 10K to 12K in property taxes will add about $166 per month to your payment. But you shouldn't look at the taxes in isolation.
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| Posted 5/16/18 6:21 PM |
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NervousNell
Just another chapter in life..
Member since 11/09 54921 total posts
Name:
..being a mommy and being a wife!
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Re: house hunting + property taxes grief..
Posted by TwinMommyToBoys
If you find taxes under 10 somewhere please let me know!!!
I'm in Holbrook and pay less than 10K on a decent sized property. Small ass house though
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| Posted 5/16/18 6:43 PM |
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DMDT087
LIF Infant
Member since 4/18 54 total posts
Name:
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Re: house hunting + property taxes grief..
Posted by NervousNell
Posted by TwinMommyToBoys
If you find taxes under 10 somewhere please let me know!!!
I'm in Holbrook and pay less than 10K on a decent sized property. Small ass house though
I'm in Holbrook, too (with my parents). They have a colonial - expanded to 5 Bdrms - and still pay under 10K. The houses I've looked at in Holbrook have all been under 10K, too. I was surprised.
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| Posted 5/17/18 7:24 AM |
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DMDT087
LIF Infant
Member since 4/18 54 total posts
Name:
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Re: house hunting + property taxes grief..
Posted by Christine Braun - Signature Premier Properties
I mean, it's really a matter of what monthly payment you can qualify for (from a lender's standpoint), and what you can afford (from a personal comfort zone standpoint).
I hate when buyers have hard cut-offs of $10K in taxes or $x price. Both have to be taken into account for payment's sake. The price and taxes alone in a vacuum don't matter.
If a house is $400K and has $10K in taxes, it may be just as affordable as a less expensive house with higher taxes.
Likewise, if someone says their cut-off is $10K and they are looking in the $500K range, what if they find something in the low $400Ks with slightly higher taxes? It may balance out.
Taxes do tend to go up over time, but as others said, grieving them can help. And most people qualify for STAR.
You can also figure out whether taxes seem way out of line for the area (too high) and whether they haven't been grieved in recent years. That would indicate you would likely get a reduction. On the other hand, it's important to verify what the actual taxes are with NO exemptions, because many listings include the current owners' exemptions which may include senior enhanced STAR, veterans' exemptions. You may not qualify for them, and the bank won't take exemptions into account when factoring the taxes into your qualifications, debt-to-income ratio.
So my best advice is to look at the whole picture. Taxes are a huge factor in affordability, and usually have more impact than price. Adding $1K to a mortgage amount is like roughly $5 in your monthly payment. So going up $10K in price may equal about $50 more per month. But going from 10K to 12K in property taxes will add about $166 per month to your payment. But you shouldn't look at the taxes in isolation.
When I figure out what I'm comfortable with, I consider what the monthly mortgage would be - so I look at both components together. BUT, again, since taxes will inevitably increase, I'm wary about what I commit to from the beginning. And, especially if a home needs any kind of improvements (i.e, additional bathroom), I may be setting myself up for an increase from the get-go. This particular area has homes close with close to 10K taxes but only 1 bathroom and .25acre property which seems a little up there in comparison to other homes I've seen (and I'm pretty sure once you go north of the LIE, in the same town, the taxes decrease by 1K). We're going to go see one of the houses tomorrow, but the more I think about it, the more I don't think it'll be worth it.
My 10K limit is really from that being the cap on the SALT deduction. Though my loan officer believes that it'll probably change & slowly increase. But I also think anything over 10K is kind of ridiculous unless I have a huge amount of property. Maddening how much the taxes vary.
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| Posted 5/17/18 7:35 AM |
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NYCGirl80
I love my kiddies!
Member since 5/11 10413 total posts
Name:
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Re: house hunting + property taxes grief..
Posted by DMDT087
Yeah, that's my concern, especially with no longer being able to write off more than 10K of local+property taxes.
The $10k is actually state + local + property taxes - so income and property taxes together are going to be capped.
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| Posted 5/17/18 10:26 AM |
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Aries14
Can't plan life...
Member since 8/08 2860 total posts
Name:
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house hunting + property taxes grief..
I wouldn't let the taxes totally dictate where you live or what house you buy. My taxes are up $3000 since I bought my house 10 years ago BUT I actually pay a lower mortgage amount now than I did when I first bought it. I was able to refi for a lower interest rate after a few years and since then I also shopped around and got better homeowners rate. My total mortgage payment is $500 less than when my taxes where the lowest.
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| Posted 5/17/18 10:33 AM |
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jamnmore
LIF Adult
Member since 6/16 989 total posts
Name:
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Re: house hunting + property taxes grief..
Posted by DMDT087
Posted by NervousNell
Posted by TwinMommyToBoys
If you find taxes under 10 somewhere please let me know!!!
I'm in Holbrook and pay less than 10K on a decent sized property. Small ass house though
I'm in Holbrook, too (with my parents). They have a colonial - expanded to 5 Bdrms - and still pay under 10K. The houses I've looked at in Holbrook have all been under 10K, too. I was surprised.
Holbrook also. House is currently 4 BR,3 BA, 2 kitchens, 100x100 property and I am well under 10K a year in taxes. If it did not have the 2nd kitchen house would easily be 7 BR.
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| Posted 5/17/18 11:57 AM |
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TTCwithHope
LIF Infant
Member since 4/10 297 total posts
Name:
M
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Re: house hunting + property taxes grief..
...
Message edited 6/4/2019 8:36:45 PM.
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| Posted 5/17/18 12:04 PM |
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babyvibes
LIF Adult
Member since 7/13 1350 total posts
Name:
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Re: house hunting + property taxes grief..
Posted by jamnmore
Posted by DMDT087
Posted by NervousNell
Posted by TwinMommyToBoys
If you find taxes under 10 somewhere please let me know!!!
I'm in Holbrook and pay less than 10K on a decent sized property. Small ass house though
I'm in Holbrook, too (with my parents). They have a colonial - expanded to 5 Bdrms - and still pay under 10K. The houses I've looked at in Holbrook have all been under 10K, too. I was surprised.
Holbrook also. House is currently 4 BR,3 BA, 2 kitchens, 100x100 property and I am well under 10K a year in taxes. If it did not have the 2nd kitchen house would easily be 7 BR.
Wow, really?! We are in Holbrook. 4 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom colonial. We pay $12,500. Guess it's time to grieve
Message edited 5/19/2018 3:48:32 PM.
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| Posted 5/19/18 3:46 PM |
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jamnmore
LIF Adult
Member since 6/16 989 total posts
Name:
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Re: house hunting + property taxes grief..
Posted by babyvibes
Posted by jamnmore
Posted by DMDT087
Posted by NervousNell
Posted by TwinMommyToBoys
If you find taxes under 10 somewhere please let me know!!!
I'm in Holbrook and pay less than 10K on a decent sized property. Small ass house though
I'm in Holbrook, too (with my parents). They have a colonial - expanded to 5 Bdrms - and still pay under 10K. The houses I've looked at in Holbrook have all been under 10K, too. I was surprised.
Holbrook also. House is currently 4 BR,3 BA, 2 kitchens, 100x100 property and I am well under 10K a year in taxes. If it did not have the 2nd kitchen house would easily be 7 BR.
Wow, really?! We are in Holbrook. 4 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom colonial. We pay $12,500. Guess it's time to grieve
It may have to do with what town you are in. I am Islip. Also close to the airport.
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| Posted 5/21/18 1:42 PM |
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