Nutmegger

The tax is actually paid twice a year -- July and January, but most mortgage companies do collect the escrow and make the payment for you. The personal property tax on your real estate changes every year because of something called the "mill rate," which gets calculated when the town budget has been set for the year. The amount you pay for your house depends on the town's evaluation of the house, which is done every few years. For instance, my last revaluation took place in 2008, and the next one is set for 2012 -- bad news as the market was high when the reval was done.

Being rotten at maths, I found this description: A mill is equal to $1.00 of tax for each $1,000 of assessment. To calculate the property tax, multiply the assessment of the property by the mill rate and divide by 1,000. For example, a property with a assessed value of $50,000 located in a municipality with a mill rate of 20 mills would have a property tax bill of $1,000 per year. You were looking at Ridgefield, and I found this re their rate (which I now realize is the same as the example!): As of July 1, 2009 the mill rate is 20.00 mills for every $1,000.00 of assessed value. The town government will be meeting now to set the budget for the year commencing July 1, 2010.

The personal property tax on your car gets less as it ages.

Bill_S

By not buying a $700K house...

Nutmegger

One has to live where one works. The bubble may have burst, but Fairfield County is still Fairfield County.

Bob

but not down nearly as fast as the blue book value of the car...ours hasn't depreciated in value in 4 years according to our town

Nutmegger

That's pretty miserable. At least while the house soars, our vehicles go down. My 20-year-old car is below $50 a year now!

B65

It really does depend on where you live in CT, near NYC you will pay a lot more for house and property taxes, I live in a nice village in CT ( I am also a Realtor) and you can get a gorgeous 3 or 4 bed, 2 bath on a few acres for less than 300K here........ the property taxes on that are
$3500 per year.. it is normally divided up and added monthly to your mortgage payment which is called a piti payment, Mortgage, house insurance and taxes in one.

Nutmegger

Sounds lovely. But you live closer to RI than NYC, so that doesn't help the OP, who needs to be proximate to Stamford.

B65

nutmegger my husband commutes a few hours a day to live in a place that is cheaper, i was just throwing out an alternative.

B65

nice home in fairfield, 4 bed 2 bath... $345k everything is relative i guess....

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...825_1094168138

Sally Redux

It's not the whole of that house in the pic.

Nutmegger

But with all due respect, this is an adjoined townhouse, on a lot, in an urban area off a busy road -- all things the OP said she did not want. I'm afraid that in Fairfield County, you get what you pay for; which is not to say that these days there aren't bargains in the $500-600,000 range in the upmarket towns.

meshwill

As kind as it is of you to send me houses in other places, I have set my heart on a big 4/5 bed house, some land, couple of bathrooms, room for the in laws, and huge curb appeal!!.
If I have to give up my cherished 5 bed home in the UK, that I have lovingly done up, to follow my Hubby whilst he does the career move, then I want to be compensated for leaving my house, friends, my business (that I'll have to sell or close down and I started it from scratch) etc etc so a 700K house it the least he can cough up for!!

meshwill

Nutmegger is right, I do want a quiet area, nice detached house etc, I may well get something for less than 700k but if I aim for that then anything less is a bonus!

meshwill

We're moving for work but also to spend more time together as a family, so a long commute is out, I'd rather pay more to be closer and have Hubby home before 9pm!!

BlightyBoy

Hi,

This is correct. Your town taxes are divided up over a 12 month period in addition to your monthly mortgage. They also increase with time as well.
But, as a person living in CT, I will say that figure is extremely high. You must be looking in quite an affluent town.
Consider this, do you really need a $700,000 home here? - A home that fetches that sort of price round here is comparable to a mansion!
I'd say that the majority of middle class folks pay anywhere from $5000 - $6,500 in CT.
(p.s. - a town that charges that extreme fee for taxes would have to be: Greenwich, Fairfield, Simsbury - where all the rich people live)

Hope this helps!