Property Tax New Hampshire (Manchester, Concord: homeowners insurance, low crime, new home)

[WannaComeHome]

Originally Posted by jja100

Well, lan line fees can be avoided by using vonage or cellular

<heavy sigh> but not when you have dialup

Also in NH it seems as though they don't have water and waste water bills and some do not even have garbage bills either which saves them a lot of money but they make up for it if they use oil in their homes for heating.

most houses have private septic systems and wells - so you've got your own water and waste system. No cost unless there's a problem (that can get expensive.. and fast). apparently you do need to pump out your septic every few years (search on septic systems, there was a long thread about the care and feeding of them). Most places also don't have trash pickup, so you take it to the dump/transfer station. There is often a minimal fee for your dump sticker, and some towns require that you only use certain trash bags that are easy to buy around town and don't cost that much (and you'd have to buy trash bags anyway from the grocery store, so...). Trash isn't necessarily free, but it's not really an expense. many people also compost much of their garbage (also an old thread on that as well). Composting will cut down on how much you take to the dump. Heating tends to get you regardless!

[jja100]

Net Zero I think was free dial-up when it first came out but I think they charge now

I first used dial-up, then I switched to dsl and had problems with verizon and my dl rate started to decrease after the years went by. Finally I ended up with cable and I will never go back to anything else. But if you do not do heavy downloading or run a business from your house or play games at all you do not need that level of connectivity.

Yeah I read that you may need to spend 150 bucks per year on purifcation of the water from the earth to get out radon or somtin and some other stuff that may be in the soil. Yes, pumping out your septic every 2 years or so may be somewhat of an expense but someone told me that if you take a huge package of yeast and throw it down in the septic tank that you do not have to dump anything... the yeast breaks down everything and neutralizes it so it is not harmfull as well as eats it. Not sure about that... its just what I heard.

[WannaComeHome]

Nope, don't run my business from home, don't play games (not even off-line!)... just sit on the computer wayyyyy too much. Can't convince DH that we should get something else - but the new house will get wired for it (only 4 years!)

I think it would really be worth searching out the thread on septics. There was discussion about using yeast or Rid-x, and there are some folks on the list who are professionals when dealing/assessing such things. Maintaining your septic isn't that expensive - not maintaining it and developing a problem is.

Some towns do have trash pickup, and some places-if you live in certain areas- may have city water/sewer. It's usually included in your tax bill. One of those things to check out with the town: what, if any, amenities does it have and how badly do you want them (worth paying extra for).

[jja100]

I was looking over that link you gave me about everything for each town. If it says municipal next to garbage collection I assume it is charged on your property tax bill right? Or is it a separate bill?

[rmcewan]

Originally Posted by jja100

My primary concern was insurance... you really need home insurance here in CA with high crime in some parts for theft/roberies and the wild fires. In NH I hear crime is low but I am not sure about fires. If there aren't too many fires (which I assume they don't because of all the snow and humidity in the summer prevents this) then I would drop home insurance all together and just pick up flood if it is possible to obtain. Cause my biggest fear would be hurricane/tornado, and flood up there. Down here it is fire, earthquake, and theft. But I am not too worried about theft cause I have two trained dobermanns that live in the house with me and I have an HK .45 USP

Homeowner's insurance covers many more risks than you list here. Any person with the means who does not carry homeowners is not all there in my opinion. Crap that happens that homeowners covers:
- Fire by accident or systematic failure (log rolls off fire, electrical short, lightning strike, spark, furnace failure, spontaneous ignition, etc.)
- Storm damage (e.g. tree in bedroom)
- Snow damage (collapsed roof)
- Flood through systematic failure (frozen or rusted pipe, water heater leak, broken gutter, backed up toilet, forgotten faucet etc.)

In addition, homeowners will get you liability insurance too - that means if the UPS guy trips on that step you failed to mend and breaks his neck , you don't lose your house to pay his medical costs.

Also note that fire departments in NH towns are often volunteer and lightly manned. It can take a long time for the engine to arrive. Also, unless you're in-town, there probably won't be hydrants near by. My homeowners costs about $50 a month - it's a no-brainer to me.

You may also think that just because auto insurance is not mandated, it is uncommon to have it. I don't feel this is true at all. Many people carry it for comprehensive reasons. If you have a loan or lease, your finance company will require coverage. Not carrying liability means you risk losing your primary assets (house, savings, etc.).

[jja100]

I agree with you 100% on the auto insurance. No dispute there. I would have it anyway since car accidents happen all the time. But I do like the fact that they do not enforce it upon you.

I happen to have home insurance but it really sux in my opinion. They limit your claims and up your premiums when you make more claims. They also find a way to get out of paying for claims by having a bunch of fine print. You never get more than what you paid into. Why let them invest my money when I can do it myself if I am willing to take a risk.

I am not going to spend 1% of the value of my home per year i.e.

home value 400k, insurance premium 4k per year. No way, I will take that savings and invest it and if something happens like most of the things you mentioned below I can either fix myself or use the money I invested to pay for that repair.

But if it is more like what you are paying... 50 bucks/mo then you are right, a no brainer. My general rule of thumb is if the insurance cost is high then you are in a high risk area and you shouldn't have bought there anyway and if you are in a low risk area the savings you can invest yourself in case you have problems. I think insurance really plays on peoples fears way too much. And after hearing about Floridians not being able to buy it even if they wanted it and those that have it are paying atronomical amounts is just outright rediculous, sell your house and move someplace safe.

[looking4home]

jja100, you sound like a tax rebel, but while NH has low taxes, it still has taxes. You seem to bristle at having to pay for just about any convenience or service, but let me tell you, it's not worth the savings to "rough it".

I lived on ten acres without paved roads or a phone. We were on a well, had our own septic system, and had to take our trash to the dump every week, which was miles away. We eventually got a phone when enough people moved nearby to make it worth the phone company's while, and our roads were also paved when enough of the neighbors had saved enough money to pool together to give the roads a coat of tarmacadam. Our septic used to back up frequently and we had to extend the leach lines a couple of times. The well ran dry a few times, causing panic. One time, the electrical mechanism on the pump broke, and another time we were pumping too much water or something. We didn't have a pick-up truck, so we had to stuff our car's trunk full of smelly trash and haul it to the dump, sun, rain, or snow. When we finally moved to "the flatlands", we thought we were in heaven! I felt like the Clampetts marveling at all the modern conveniences. Life is too short, and it's only money. We live in the 21st century, and I'm not gonna begrudge cities and counties the money it takes to provide services that make our lives a lot easier.

[jja100]

Well when you come from humble beginnings... old habits die hard. I enjoy it though, I grow my own food and cook my own food for the most part. I plant all of my own herbs and to get a years supply of rosemary, bazil, sage, etc it costs me $1.50 per year or so for the seeds. Try buying basil and herbs in the grocery store... its almost $4 for a small container that I use in a month of cooking. I know for many, my lifestyle and the way I look at life is much different but that is because I am first generation American and I have a lot of European influence. If everyone thought like me, I don't think capitalism would survive. And yes, I am a tax rebel. The only things I don't mind paying for are electricity and internet because for what they provide it is just too usefull. I hate property tax... It is the one tax that I truly believe is a crime. There is a tax on everything and once you implement a tax you can never get rid of it and you can never lower it.

[NH2NCMom]

Originally Posted by jja100

There is a tax on everything and once you implement a tax you can never get rid of it and you can never lower it.

I wish more people who want the income and sales tax thinking it will lower property taxes will learn what you just wrote!

[Brave Stranger]

Originally Posted by jja100

I was looking over that link you gave me about everything for each town. If it says municipal next to garbage collection I assume it is charged on your property tax bill right? Or is it a separate bill?

I'm curious why you want to build a house in NH for about $600,000 ? There are some great homes that can be built from between two and three hundred thousand dollars that would give you a lot of home for about 4 thoudand dollars a year in taxes instead of 9 thousand dollars a year like Bedford ?

I suppose you would have to build around the Concord area to get that price, but Concord is only a 20 minute drive north of Bedford.