Houston metro area housing costs- taxes and insurance (Sugar Land, Katy: sale, real estate)

[jm31828]

Hello all,

My wife and I are interested in the Houston area. We have browsed through the real estate prices, and have found many nice homes both in Houston proper and out in some of the suburbs in our price range ($100,000 to $115,000). My question is, I have seen that property taxes are extremely high down there- does anybody have a rough estimate on what property taxes would be per year on say a $105,000 home? And are the property taxes cheaper in the suburbs such as Katy, Sugarland, etc. than in Houston proper? And what about insurance? The sites I've looked at don't mention either of those figures on any of the properties.

Here in Nebraska we have a small house valued at $115,000, and it looks like we could get a lot more house for that money down there, however we currently pay $2500 per year for taxes and $400 per year for insurance, so I'm not sure if we'd be in for a shock on those items or not.

Thanks for any help you could provide, it's greatly appreciated!

[tstone]

An estimate you can't go wrong with (for modest suburban houses):

3% of 90% of value for annual property taxes

1% of full value for annual homeowner.

Flood insurance is a must-have and runs about $150-400/yr for most homes around here not in a flood plain.

If you live by the coast and/or in a flood plain you will have higher insurance rates. For example, a $200k home in extreme SE Houston (non-flood plain) will run you about $1,900/yr in comprehensive homeowner insurance, and $275/yr in flood.

[UK-Trinity]

If you are looking to buy a house the HAR.com website actually has tax information for each property, if you get to the details page there is a link on the left hand side. For example, property taxes in Sugar Land seem to vary from around 2.34% to 2.54% p.a. The tax page gives you a break down of the percentage, plus the taxable value of the home which is not the same thing as the sale price.

Maintenance costs to the HOA are also listed in the home details.

[tstone]

2.3-2.5% in Sugar Land?!? That's news to me. Most burbs are running somewhere around 3.3-3.5%.

[MissDaisy]

Originally Posted by tstone

An estimate you can't go wrong with (for modest suburban houses):

3% of 90% of value for annual property taxes

1% of full value for annual homeowner.

Flood insurance is a must-have and runs about $150-400/yr for most homes around here not in a flood plain.

If you live by the coast and/or in a flood plain you will have higher insurance rates. For example, a $200k home in extreme SE Houston (non-flood plain) will run you about $1,900/yr in comprehensive homeowner insurance, and $275/yr in flood.

Is the 3% of 90% property tax calculation for owner occupied only? I am trying to figure what ours will be when we are leasing it out for a couple of years.

[jm31828]

Thanks, everyone! Those numbers are very helpful for at least getting a rough idea of what to expect. For some reason the sites I'd been looking at didn't show any of the tax/insurance costs, but I'll take a look at HAR.com as advised.

I've got to say the low cost of housing is a bit offset by those numbers for insurance and taxes, but I guess my risk of a tornado or a bad hail storm up here in NE is not as great of a risk to my house as the flooding/hurricanes would be down there, so it makes sense. If people are concerned about taxes alone, are they advised to look at certain areas over others, or are these rates pretty standard all across the metro area?

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by tstone

2.3-2.5% in Sugar Land?!? That's news to me. Most burbs are running somewhere around 3.3-3.5%.

2.3-2.5 might be close to what your rate would effectively be on the full taxable value after a homestead exemption - not that an exemption lowers your rate but your taxable value. That might be what he's getting at.

[tstone]

Jfre - gotcha. That makes more sense.

Originally Posted by MissDaisy

Is the 3% of 90% property tax calculation for owner occupied only? I am trying to figure what ours will be when we are leasing it out for a couple of years.

I said '90%' as a rough estimate after homestead exemption. If you're leasing it out, the tax is going to be on 100% of the appraised value.