We're Property Owners
 

Jim and I closed on our new home the end of April. We now own a 3 bedroom/2 bath home with a double plot in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Of course, I'm still living in New York but only 16 more months to go for retirement. I've never owned anything but a cemetry plot so I'm over the top with this.

Can't believe the price of our home and what our monthly mortgage/taxes are. The house was for sale for only $89K and we made full price as there was another bidder. The house was sold by the original owner who is elderly and going to live with her daughter and it came with all new appliances and a/c and what not. Nothing to buy but a lawn mower. And a double garage ... yahoo. :thumbsup:

Re: We're Property Owners
 

Congratulations. 16 months! If only...... :)

Re: We're Property Owners
 

Congratulations!

We're a few years off yet (need to get the kids through college:() but already "discussing" location options...the most likely looking like being erm, a "2 center marriage" at the moment:D .
Out of interest, why did you go for Hattiesburg - is that where you/the family are from?

Re: We're Property Owners
 

My daughter's hubby is from MS and they settled in Hattiesburg after they lost their property in Long Beach, MS with Katrina. So we will be close to the grandkids and Jim fell in love with life in Mississippi. He has been living there for the last 2 years and decided since property was so inexpensive and the interest rates on a mortgage so low, we bought. Got a 2.75% mortgage for 15 years with a monthly cost of under $550 a month including taxes. Also with the homesteader exemption we only pay taxes on anything over 70K.

Re: We're Property Owners
 

Congratulations!

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Congrats, that's great stuff! :)

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Congratulations....

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Congratulations! We just moved into the house we've bought in Sleepy Hollow. I bet our property tax is a lot higher than what you'll be paying! :unsure:

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Congratulations Rete, I do like the numbers you quoted.

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Congratulations .. hope you're on the mend after your accident.

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Thrilled to hear that the closing went off OK and that you and Jim are homeowners! Fantastic news -- bet that suddenly you can't wait for those months to fly by so that you can get down there for good! Now you've really got to get that arm back in shape ready for the yard work . . .

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Wahay! Congratulations! :thumbsup:

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Congrats !! 16 months will fly by :))

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Missed the reply on this:o

Sounds like you're well sorted. Nice one.

Its one difference I've noticed here....a lot of retirement age folks (my in-laws included) seem to move in retirement to where the younger family are. This seems to be very different to my mams experience in the UK where even when the young folk move away, the retirees stay in their hometown. Obviously that is a massive generalization, and may have something to do with "big city" here vs "small town" for my mam in the UK.

I suspect we will likely take the "follow the kids" approach, though hopefully will be doing a lot of travelling, so the "home" will be a short term one between trips. Well, that's the rosey specs plan at this stage....reality may bite in a different place!

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:wub:What lovely news I am sure you and Jim will be super happy.

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Great interest rate! We're shopping for a mortgage for the house we want to buy, and we're loving the interest numbers. (Wish our house price was as reasonable as yours though! :( )

Was the homesteader exemption easy to sign up for? It's been recommended to us too.

Oops, almost forgot the ... Congratulations!!! :thumbsup:

Re: We're Property Owners
 

Usually it is as simple as declaring that the home is your primary residence. If you rent it out, you have to declare that it is no longer your primary residence.

Re: We're Property Owners
 

Ah, interesting. So that's the drawback.

The house we're bidding on is in a coastal town, so we have thought a bit about renting it out in the summer...say if we're travelling.

So we would have to notify the Town Hall (think that's where we need to get the homestead form?) that the house is no longer our primary residence if we decide to rent it out for the summer ... or even for a short time like just a month?

Re: We're Property Owners
 

Usually for a month or two, it probably isn't going to matter since it is still your primary residence. I suspect you will signup or automatically given homestead during closing. Since homestead normally lasts for the year, in California they send a homestead form with the property tax bill that you must fill out declaring that the property is not homesteaded if you are not currently living in the home. Other than that, nothing has to be done.

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Thanks much for your helpful input, Michael!

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Homesteading provides two things. First is a reduction in taxes and secondly it protects up to a certain equity in your home from third party claims (not mortgage loans) if you file for bankruptcy. The reduction in appraised value for property tax purposes is not the same as the protection value.

For example, in Florida, homestead protection for primary residence homes is unlimited (creditors cannot force the sale of the home of any value) but other states only protect a small amount. Therefore people like OJ Simpson moved to Florida and put his money into his home to protect against that multimillion dollar wrongful death lawsuit and then draws on the equity (HELOC) to pay bills. Florida also allows you to sell the home and place the money in a separate account for the purpose of purchasing a new home and the money is still protected. About the only ones that can force a sale in Florida is the mortgage company for foreclosure, tax authorities for unpaid taxes, and unpaid lien holders that permanently upgraded a home. All other liens or lawsuits that have nothing to do with permanent fixtures in the home cannot force the sale.

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It is probably different State to State. Here in Florida, I had to apply (online) before March, for the following year. The current year taxes were due pro rata on the previous owners basis. Also the taxable/appraised value re-set based on the sale price.

The exemption here is on the first 25k not 70k.