Property Taxes (Houston, Pearland, Katy: for sale, real estate, condominium)

[H'ton]

I am currently conducting my due diligence phase for what would be my first home purchase. At this point, ALL options are still on the table- city, suburbs, single family home, town house, condominium, buy a lot and build, etc.

What I am currently researching is Property Taxes....how varied is property taxes among the city (Houston) and various suburbs (Harris County) and even in the neighboring counties (Ft. Bend, Brazoria, Montgomery etc.)?

I know a huge factor in property taxes is the school district when calculating TOTAL property tax figure but what are the typical exemptions you are allowed to deduct for your actual tax purchases.

I am trying to understand how much property tax I will actually be paying and I am also trying to map out the various property taxes in the Houston metro.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[Lowexpectations]

School district and mud/pud taxes will be your biggest variables, hcad has most of the exemptions listed for the schools. Find a house you like on har and look it up on hcad/fbcad

[cheryjohns]

Go to Texas Real Estate - Texas Homes for Sale - HAR. It shows all of the listings from the MLS. It also gives the tax rate and breaks it down.

Like the above poster said, the MUD tax makes a big difference. Good rule of thumb is the newer the subdivision, the higher the MUD. Houses using city water won't have a MUD, but they will have higher water bills. Those really pretty subdivisions that have water features (common water ambiance) will have higher MUDs.

Cy-Fair school tax homestead exemption gives an extra $20K exemption.

[trbstang]

Originally Posted by cheryjohns

Cy-Fair school tax homestead exemption gives an extra $20K exemption.

Actually, Cy-Fair is 20% plus $15,000 exemption. One of the best exemptions in the state. However, my house is valued at $250K and my homestead exemption is $75K. I don't know how they came up with that value, but it looks like 20% plus $25K. Many school districts only give the mandated minimum $15K exemption or something in between. The Cy-Fair difference saves me about $870 in taxes.

I've been running a lot of comparisons with homestead exemptions since my boss is looking to buy a home. Found some older areas in Cy-Fair with an effective tax rate of 1.9% compared to others with a tax rate in the 3% range in Pearland and Katy newer areas with more expensive MUDs and multiple MUDs. I look up the homes on the tax websites and most of the time you can find the tax bills and exemption amounts the current owner gets to calculate what the taxes should be at the new valuation price.

Good luck in your search!

[cheryjohns]

Originally Posted by trbstang

Actually, Cy-Fair is 20% plus $15,000 exemption. One of the best exemptions in the state. However, my house is valued at $250K and my homestead exemption is $75K. I don't know how they came up with that value, but it looks like 20% plus $25K. Many school districts only give the mandated minimum $15K exemption or something in between. The Cy-Fair difference saves me about $870 in taxes.

I've been running a lot of comparisons with homestead exemptions since my boss is looking to buy a home. Found some older areas in Cy-Fair with an effective tax rate of 1.9% compared to others with a tax rate in the 3% range in Pearland and Katy newer areas with more expensive MUDs and multiple MUDs. I look up the homes on the tax websites and most of the time you can find the tax bills and exemption amounts the current owner gets to calculate what the taxes should be at the new valuation price.

Good luck in your search!

Whoops - my bad - I meant % instead of $K.

Yeah, those multiple MUDs are the "water" communities, like Bridgeland, etc. People don't realize that it will cost them a little money in the form of taxes annually.