Towns with the Lowest Property Tax (Concord, Derry: sale, foreclosure, rent)

[jja100]

The only town/area that had the lowest property taxes was Bartlett. Are there any other towns that you know of that are very modest on the property taxes?

[rmcewan]

Your post doesn't make sense. You can look up rates by town on the NH gov site. I thought somebody had already posted this link for you:

2007 Tax Rates

If you want to live with low prop taxes, you're going to need to live in a very property rich town, or a very rural/poorer town. E.g. New Castle and Rye on the Seacoast: Low taxes because property is VERY expensive and not many families with kids can afford to live there so education isn't a large cost proportionally. Flipside: Dixville - low taxes because NOBODY lives there and you are 100 miles from anywhere.

[jja100]

Thanks for the examples. That was what I was looking for in an answer. Yes I do have that link but I like to hear from people that live there simply because numbers don't always give the whole picture.

[bryfry]

Look at New London. North of Concord, beautiful area, nice college town, decent schools, town has most things including a hospital, and they seem to do a good job in keeping their taxes lower than the surrounding area. Problem is, you will have to make a long commute for a job unless you can make money at home or have a business locally.

It's a case of what's good for you. I personally would love to live in New London, but I cannot afford to be that far away from my job market. One has to make decisions based on overall factors. I'd rather pay a bit more in taxes than lose 2 hours a day on a long commute.

[buck naked]

there are several variables to consider besides just looking at the rate

location, location, location - I can't stress that enough

a 4 bedroom, 2 car garage home in northern NH may have the same tax rate as a home in southern NH, but the appraisal will be a LOT less, and the tax burden is so much less

my home in Derry was $10K per year in prop. taxes and the same home in the north is still under $4K - I'm retired, so I'm not concerned with commuting to a job

[jja100]

Yeah but the location, location, location rule is for those that are primarily looking for profit. The way I look at it is this.... if you add up all of the expenses for your property and add all the insurance, property tax, maintenance/repairs, upgrades, and interest on your mortgage for every month within a 12 month period and then multiply that by the number of years you have been in your home and compare it to the market value of your home now compared to the price when you purcased it; if the number is greater than the profit margin then you lost money. Most people will find that they think they have made all this money on their home when in reality they lost thousands of dollars. For a retiree it is much better to live in a safe area with the lowest property taxes possible since you are planning to die in your home... you can't eat the money from your home like you can when you are liquid if you know what I mean. This is why I personally don't like to actually call homes and investment since they are not liquid, cannot be liquidated easily, are in fixed positions which limit your mobility for job markets, and come with many expenses. I am sure many have made a lot of money on their home but most people that tell me this haven't sold their home... you haven't made anything untill you can sucessfully sell it.

[buck naked]

For a retiree it is much better to live in a safe area with the lowest property taxes possible since you are planning to die in your home.






I'm going to die??????



6

[rmcewan]

Originally Posted by jja100

Yeah but the location, location, location rule is for those that are primarily looking for profit. The way I look at it is this.... if you add up all of the expenses for your property and add all the insurance, property tax, maintenance/repairs, upgrades, and interest on your mortgage for every month within a 12 month period and then multiply that by the number of years you have been in your home and compare it to the market value of your home now compared to the price when you purcased it; if the number is greater than the profit margin then you lost money. Most people will find that they think they have made all this money on their home when in reality they lost thousands of dollars. For a retiree it is much better to live in a safe area with the lowest property taxes possible since you are planning to die in your home... you can't eat the money from your home like you can when you are liquid if you know what I mean. This is why I personally don't like to actually call homes and investment since they are not liquid, cannot be liquidated easily, are in fixed positions which limit your mobility for job markets, and come with many expenses. I am sure many have made a lot of money on their home but most people that tell me this haven't sold their home... you haven't made anything untill you can sucessfully sell it.

A home is a solid investment. Mortgage interest is tax deductible (at state level too if you're in an income tax state). Property tax is deductible at the fed level as is interest on improvement financing. Any profit you make from the sale is not taxable.

But just like any investment, if you make poor choices or plan badly, then you will throw money away. If you move every 5 years selling for little or no profit and then just start another 30yr mortgage from scratch, then sure - you are losing money. But no worse than renting as mortgage interest is usually less than the rent you'd pay on the same home. You have to live somewhere so rent or interest is always going to be there.

[WannaComeHome]

Originally Posted by buck naked

I'm going to die??????

Oh no, Buck! no you: never!!

[jja100]

Originally Posted by rmcewan

A home is a solid investment. Mortgage interest is tax deductible (at state level too if you're in an income tax state). Property tax is deductible at the fed level as is interest on improvement financing. Any profit you make from the sale is not taxable.

But just like any investment, if you make poor choices or plan badly, then you will throw money away. If you move every 5 years selling for little or no profit and then just start another 30yr mortgage from scratch, then sure - you are losing money. But no worse than renting as mortgage interest is usually less than the rent you'd pay on the same home. You have to live somewhere so rent or interest is always going to be there.

I love the "interest is tax deductible argument" which has even less impact on the state of NH since there is no state income tax. But for arguments sake... only the interest is deductible for the first 15 years until you start paying more principle than interest. Secondly... if housing is more than 25% of your income then you can't really afford the home. I know most people pay 75% of their income on housing which is why we have this foreclosure and over-leveraged credit problem.