austin property tax (Round Rock: real estate, condos, how much)

[bianca0]

so I hear that Austin has a high property tax..... If I was to purchase a home for $150,000 @ 6.75% with no money down, how much would the taxes increase my monthly payments? I did own a home in northern Ky that we paid $103,900 for with 3% down and our monthly payments were $886. What would the monthly payments be for the equivalent in Austin?

[Moonlady]

Taxes on a house appraised at $150,000 would add at least $300 a month to your payment. The tax rate is somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.5%, but you would get a small (very small) homestead exemption.

[TexasHorseLady]

I just used this neat feature on the MLS that figures your house payment based on the purchase price and the tax rate. In Austin, the tax rate is 2.1558% and on a $157,000 (tax appraisal, not purchase price) house, the taxes would add $240/month to your payment, according to it.

[bianca0]

thanks guys this really helps me decide what I can... and cannot afford

[Moonlady]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

I just used this neat feature on the MLS that figures your house payment based on the purchase price and the tax rate. In Austin, the tax rate is 2.1558% and on a $157,000 (tax appraisal, not purchase price) house, the taxes would add $240/month to your payment, according to it.

That's cool! Also, bianca - the Travis County appraisal district has a website where you can look up the property taxes for any property. Travis Central Appraisal District - Appraisal Roll Information

Just keep in mind that there is a 10% cap on increases from year to year, so a property owner may not be paying the full amount of tax of the actual appraised value. On some real estate web pages, they list the taxes for the prior year, but they may not be what you would pay as the new owner. but the TCAD site does a good job of tellling you the rates and valuation.

[TexasHorseLady]

I did some investigation on that feature and it uses the actual taxes, not the estimated taxes, as of 2007. (At least, as near as I could tell switching back and forth from the tax info to the feature and doing some math on my calculator to compare the two.) And, yes, the TCAD site is great. Williamson County has a similar site, if you should move there (it's kind of fuzzy in parts of Austin/Round Rock which county you're actually in without a map to show you).

[faithr]

Does anyone know (Texas horse lady) if property taxes are lower on condos since you don't actually own the land?

[Franklyn]

But, but, but - he asks foolishly - aren't there discounts for owner occupied homes? And for seniors? Also, any link to the Williamson County site?

[Trainwreck20]

Owner occupied, subtract 15k off the appraised value. Tax rate is that same, however.
For seniors, I think the school tax (biggest part of your taxes) freezes your appraised value (but rate can go up).
Not sure what the williamson site is exactly, but you can google it (or search on here, I know it is somewhere).

[TexasHorseLady]

Here ya go:

Williamson County Appraisal District