I’ve been very fortunate with the experiences I’ve had with buying my first foreclosure property and all of the savings in housing costs that came with it. Honestly, I think the decision to purchase this property ranks a close second to my decision to pay off all my debt a few years ago. The difference in cash flow alone has been huge. Last week I received my property tax bill and was delighted to find that it had been lowered from last years bill by a little over $600.00.
When I covered housing costs in a previous post, it’s easily noticeable that property taxes were by far my biggest expense in homeownership, to have this expense reduced is a trend in the right direction.
To be fair, I also need to report that I had an increase in my insurance premium for the year by $169.00. This reduces the overall savings gained from the reduced property tax, but is still an overall savings in my favor. I’m currently looking at options to have my insurance premium reduced.
A short and sweet post today, just trying to get back into the groove of writing. There is still much I want to share…
The Stoic Investor 
Wow, a property tax reduction! Mine just keep going up every year.
I’m sorry Leigh. 😦 Increases are never as fun as decreases, at least when it comes to taxes.
I had anticipated the reduction as this years assessment was based on what I purchased the place for. Last year taxes were $1003.00. This year it was $378.00.
!!!! Mine were just over $3k this year and I estimate next year will be just over $4k. Low cost of living seems pretty appealing sometimes 🙂
I think you have a done a fantastic job of building a pretty substantial amount of assets. When the time comes that you decide to “retire” doing so in a low cost of living area would certainly reduce your living expenses by a substantial amount. Something to consider…
Thanks! Mr. & Mrs. PoP have been tracking their Cost-of-Living Early Retirement Locale: http://www.plantingourpennies.com/pop-balance-sheet-october-2014/ I’ve been following along and I could probably “retire” in a lower cost of living city in the US in another two years if I wanted to.
Did you file a tax grievance to get the taxes lowered or were they automatically calculated after the purchase of the foreclosure? Either way, it certainly was good news.
They did the adjustment without any request from me. My dad told me last year that this years assessment would be based on my purchase price and I should expect a lower bill. I have been looking forward to it all year. May be the last time I ever look forward to a tax bill! 🙂