Home Insurance rates in Austin - Texas (TX) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

GANKS · 03-22-2007, 10:00 PM

Wow, thanks everyone.

Austin Traveler t- that was very helpful. Have been with State Farm for years for 2 cars and our house so that really gives me a good idea what to expect.

Just trying to determine where we save money by moving here - everyone says the cost of living in Texas is much cheaper than Seattle but if I buy the same priced house $500K in Texas I'm paying $9K extra a year in taxes and about 900 more in insurance. Not sure if I dare ask what the average utility bills are in the summer...

jwb123 · 03-22-2007, 10:09 PM

High.

What we have found to be less expensive though, is day to day living... food, gas, clothing. Our YMCA membership is less expensive than in the Seattle area. Family activities are less expensive, and things we have signed the children up to do, are less expensive. Eating out, for us at least, surprisingly has been less expensive. Less coffee places = less spending on lattes

Our car insurance is about $45 less a month. No more car tab fees. You do have to register your car, and renew it each year - but from what I am told - after the initial registration, it's $10 a year or something...

jwb123 · 03-22-2007, 10:17 PM

Quote:

everyone says the cost of living in Texas is much cheaper than Seattle but if I buy the same priced house $500K in Texas I'm paying $9K extra a year in taxes and about 900 more in insurance.

... and just an obvious thought, that you have probably come up with already... but you do get more for your money in Texas. The $500K house you can get in Duvall, is different than the $500K house in Round Rock - or other similar area. It's possible to scale back on size, and still get a massive house that you will be happy in, for much less money.

We went from a $380K 4 bedroom, 1600 sqft home, in a 23 yr old neighborhood (Bothell) which we had to drastically cosmetically upgrade backing to a busy road with some homes that really did look their 23 yrs, to a $240k 4 bedroom 3100 sq ft brand new, completely updated, nice finishes, with a game room and massive master suite and decent sized yard, in a really nice, quiet and family centered neighborhood.

Just a thought!

Austin97 · 03-23-2007, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GANKS

Wow, thanks everyone.

Austin Traveler t- that was very helpful. Have been with State Farm for years for 2 cars and our house so that really gives me a good idea what to expect.

Just trying to determine where we save money by moving here - everyone says the cost of living in Texas is much cheaper than Seattle but if I buy the same priced house $500K in Texas I'm paying $9K extra a year in taxes and about 900 more in insurance. Not sure if I dare ask what the average utility bills are in the summer...

I think our insurance is about 1K on 265K insured value and a 5K deductible. We dont have the hail protection and we are the only people that havent replaced our roof. I didnt realize I could add that separately so will do that this year.

Assessed value is around 400K

We pay about 150/month in the summer for power. We keep the house at 78 degrees.

sandyart · 03-24-2007, 07:47 PM

Wow, I just looked calculated insurance on a 400K home using .08% of the home value to be conservatice. That is higher than our home in NJ and rates are very high in this state. I honestly did not realize taxes and insurance in Austin rival SW Florida for being expensive; another area we are looking in besides Austin.

Was wondering if anyone looking at this post has lived in SW FLorida (Sarasota area) and would like to comment on the comparision on cost and quality of life? Much Appreciated.

Sandy

AustinTraveler · 03-24-2007, 08:29 PM

I don't know if you're figuring your percentage based on $400K but if you are, that is not how insurance works. You don't need to insure the land. The purchase price of our home was $475K and our total yearly homeowner's insurance is about $1,500.

Believe me, if you think you will pay less in Florida, you better do a lot more research. The current owner may be paying less but you will probably pay much more. Make sure if you choose Florida that you get a quote from an insurance agency before you finalize the deal. I have friends who are paying double and triple the insurance they were paying before all the hurricanes hit a couple of years ago.

In fact, when we sold our home in Florida, we were paying about $2,200 a year for insurance (that included flood). The current owner pays three times that amount. We were also paying about $2,500 in property taxes and they are now over $6,000 for the same property.

As you can tell, I am no fan of Florida. I lived there for 30+ years and wouldn't go back for anything. But, that is a totally personal decision. I know plenty of people with no plans to move. I too had sticker shock when I saw the property tax rate in Texas, but I honestly saw no difference (at the time) in homeowner's insurance. Today, I would say that Florida's insurance rates are much higher, that is if you can get insurance at all.

sandyart · 03-24-2007, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AustinTraveler

I don't know if you're figuring your percentage based on $400K but if you are, that is not how insurance works. You don't need to insure the land. The purchase price of our home was $475K and our total yearly homeowner's insurance is about $1,500.

Believe me, if you think you will pay less in Florida, you better do a lot more research. The current owner may be paying less but you will probably pay much more. Make sure if you choose Florida that you get a quote from an insurance agency before you finalize the deal. I have friends who are paying double and triple the insurance they were paying before all the hurricanes hit a couple of years ago.

In fact, when we sold our home in Florida, we were paying about $2,200 a year for insurance (that included flood). The current owner pays three times that amount. We were also paying about $2,500 in property taxes and they are now over $6,000 for the same property.

As you can tell, I am no fan of Florida. I lived there for 30+ years and wouldn't go back for anything. But, that is a totally personal decision. I know plenty of people with no plans to move. I too had sticker shock when I saw the property tax rate in Texas, but I honestly saw no difference (at the time) in homeowner's insurance. Today, I would say that Florida's insurance rates are much higher, that is if you can get insurance at all.

You are right - -insurance is lower in Austin. We have a very small condo in LBK and we are paying about 1400 dollars which is insane. Our house insurance in NJ is lower. ALso, we are never going to get one-to-one comparision of any area, espeically if we factor in quality of life. We will come to Austin, watch the bats, look around and then see if we want to live here. We were never excited about Austin- -I guess Texas was not on our radar screen, but after exchanging info on the forum this might be a great place for us. No ocean, but we can manage!

gigi927 · 03-25-2007, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandyart

No ocean, but we can manage!

Well, the good news is that Port Aransas is only a 4.5 hour drive from Austin. It's not a spectacular beach, but if you're jonesing for ocean, it gets the job done!

lyrobinson · 04-07-2007, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GANKS

I have this same question. Currently I pay $750 per year for homeowners (can't remember my deductables off the top of my head) for a home valued around $500K Looking for a home in the 400-500K range and assumed TX was cheaper than Seattle.

wow, didn't realize how much more we paid for homeowner's insurance than other areas but to give you an idea....

we have a 300k house but the lot value is about $60k of that amount and it's about 7 years old which they still consider new....has monitored alarm system discount and we have multi policy discount and we still pay over $1100/year for homeowners policy..........