Random Utility Changes

[dylanesque29.livejournal.com]

Question for the homeowners/landlords out there.....what kind of changes have you seen in the last year as far as:

-Property Taxes?
-Water Bills?
-Homeowners Insurance?

Have these skyrocketed over the last year? Inquiring minds want to know.

Comments

[sea-aye-vee.livejournal.com]

The property tax is the same.
The water bill is generally the same.
Our insurance is the same.

The costs of things for upkeep is increasing. Keeping up with repairs from general wear & tear, high turnover from students, and misc. items (cost of eviction and loss of rent) is keeping our rent high *for a place in Indiana*. This might be helpful, it might not. There is a lot that goes into rentals, much more so than the three listed items.

[dylanesque29.livejournal.com]

Are you talking about Indiana, or are you talking about Somerville, as far as your tax/water/insurance answers?

[sea-aye-vee.livejournal.com]

Indiana.


My water bill from 2 years has not changed here.

[masswich.livejournal.com]

Taxes are up a little
Water is up about 25%
Insurance I am not sure about.

Generally all these factors turn into rent increases in the $25-50 a month range for new leases.

[masswich.livejournal.com]

I should add that heating costs have gone way up. If a lease includes heat, expect a big increase.

[leko.livejournal.com]

Taxes seem about the same, water is up, and insurance is about the same.

[laryu.livejournal.com]

Taxes, water and insurance have not changed substantially over the past one year. Over the past 3-5 years, however, is a different story as I believe all have gone up more substantially.

[tomchampion.livejournal.com]

Somerville's property tax rates are up slightly. From December 2007:
"Under the new rates, the average owner-occupied two-family home will see an annual tax increase of $47 or 1.2 percent; the average one-family home will see an annual increase of $55 or 1.9 percent; and the average condominium tax bill will increase annually by only $9 or 0.5 percent. The new residential tax rate will be $10.95 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. By contrast, the average sale price of a two-family home in Somerville has declined by 5 percent in the past year; three-family home sale prices are down by an average of 2.9 percent. 'It’s a seesaw,' said Brescia after the Board meeting. 'To keep revenues stable, you lower tax rates when property values rise and you raise rates when values go down. The bottom line for homeowners is that bills will increase this year at a rate far below the rate of inflation.'"

My residential property insurance tax bill is almost exactly the same as year.

Water is definitely more expensive, and the Water Dept. is billing every 120 days instead of every 90, so each bill feels even bigger because it covers more time. I've asked for a breakdown in the growth of water/sewer charges over the past two years and I'll post when I have it.

[tomchampion.livejournal.com]

From last year to this, Somerville water rates jumped about 4 percent, with sewer rates up by nearly 8 percent, for a combined hike of 6.5 percent.

[vibrantabyss.livejournal.com]

Water/sewer was up some.. maybe 10% in two years. Insurance skyrocketed by over 40% in the same. Taxes... have continued up but not like they did the two prior years.