Buying a house in PA? My head is going to explode.

[JelloStorm]

So, my wife and I are starting to save towards getting a new house.

Currently we live in a half double house built in 1940's and it's just not cutting it space-wise since we have two children.

So going on Trulia.com and looking around at all the houses is easy enough, but trying to figure out what the mortgage payment is going to be is giving me a fucking headache.

Figuring out the property's taxes and insurance costs seems to be such a pain in the ass.

So, you guys here on the Hide are the wisest folk I know (minus Shankster) so I'm sure a few of you guys have bought houses.

I'm looking at Luzurne County, PA. Is there a place I can go online to get a property's tax information, school taxes and all that shit?

It'd be nice to know how much is added so we can get a baseline to either save more or look at something cheaper.

 

[EventHorizon]

Re: Buying a house in PA? My head is going to explode.

Get a realtor to provide the local details vis-a-vis taxes, schools, districting etc. For the mortgage sit down with a loan officer at a bank. Get your credit score so you can provide that.

Here's the gig: PLAN your payment scenarios, earnings and savings rate. You need to have multiple versions to compare to see what you can afford. Don't go with just a best-case scenario. Be realistic. Try and estimate the shortest amount of time it would take to pay off the house and then see which mortgage option best fits that schedule for the best rate.

Also, will this be a long term purchase or shorter? If you're going to move again in anything less than 5 years minimum then rent (this is general advice, if you're moving to a gas boom town then buying might be a great choice).

In short, this a major step. Don't trust us or anyone else to figure it put for you. It's you and your family who will be living with the consequences.

Good luck and the very best to you.

 

[Shooter McGavin]

Re: Buying a house in PA? My head is going to explode.

EH makes a great point don't buy if you are going to move in 5 years. One way to get a quick idea of what a mortgage payment will be is double the amount you are borrowing and divide by 360 months for a 30 year mortgage. This is not an exact figure just an educated guess. For example a $100,000 loan would be $200,000/360 = $556 a month not including taxes. Remember this is just an estimate. You won't really know what it is until you lock in your interest rate.

Good luck

 

[Intrepid4576]

Re: Buying a house in PA? My head is going to explode.

moving to an entirely new area i would rent the first year regardless just to make sure i like the area before buying

 

[Maggot]

Re: Buying a house in PA? My head is going to explode.

Look at www.unitedcountry.com thats the website for United Country Realty. follow the prompts to where you want to buy. They have little charts that make it really easy. They are generally not MLS so be sure to check with a MLS agent as well.

Now is a GREAT time to buy. Tell your agent you are looking for short sales, and foreclosuress. You can pick homes up for less than 50% of what they were just a couple of years ago.

 

[jeo556]

Re: Buying a house in PA? My head is going to explode.

I was in the same boat as you a while back. Go here and find what municipality you are looking at. Luzerne County Millage Rates . You will have to contact Luzerne county to determine the assessed value of the property that you are looking at.

The tax calculation is as follows.

(Assessed Value) X (Total Millage rate/1000) = Taxes

As far as insurance is concerned you just need to call your insurer and they will help you out there.

Good luck and if you need any more help PM me and I'll try to assist you.

 

[EventHorizon]

Re: Buying a house in PA? My head is going to explode.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Intrepid4576</div><div class="ubbcode-body">moving to an entirely new area i would rent the first year regardless just to make sure i like the area before buying </div></div>

yup! I just moved to PA and did exactly this.

 

[Shooter McGavin]

Re: Buying a house in PA? My head is going to explode.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: EventHorizon</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Intrepid4576</div><div class="ubbcode-body">moving to an entirely new area i would rent the first year regardless just to make sure i like the area before buying </div></div>

yup! I just moved to PA and did exactly this. </div></div>

EH you left CA?

 

[bengates]

Re: Buying a house in PA? My head is going to explode.

Every state is different, but most counties taxes are determined by the county tax assessor. If you have a place in mind you can always call the county assessor and request the annual tax amount on a property.

The Luzerne County Assessor's number is 570-825-1859. Call them and ask them how the property taxes are assessed/calculated and they you can figure it out from there. They will have all the information for every tax that is assessed in their county.

Good luck!

 

[EventHorizon]

Re: Buying a house in PA? My head is going to explode.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Shooter McGavin</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: EventHorizon</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Intrepid4576</div><div class="ubbcode-body">moving to an entirely new area i would rent the first year regardless just to make sure i like the area before buying </div></div>

yup! I just moved to PA and did exactly this. </div></div>

EH you left CA? </div></div>

yeah, work was hassling me to move and 99% of my client base is either in NY or London so it was the logical thing to do. We moved at the start of Sept.

Have to say, am loving it here in PA. Good folks, nice air, even had some snow lately. The extra disposable income hasn't hurt the gun-hobby either...

I miss CA in regards to the countryside. Malibu Creek park where I used to hike and mountain bike is still one of the best places I've ever been and Santa Barbara is where I plan on setting up a holiday home of sorts one day.

IF you ever get up in PA/Phili area then make sure you give me a heads up!

 

[oldgrayone]

Re: Buying a house in PA? My head is going to explode.

Here is a millage table from the local assessors office in the county you are looking. A Millage is a percentage of each assest 1000 dollars. For example if your millage is 1.00 you tax will be 1 dollar per assested value.
http://www.luzernecounty.org/content/File/2011%20millages.pdf

Your assested value will be a percentage of the total property value. I looked around on the luzerne county assessors web site but did not find any assested value calculations so you can call them and ask what percentage of the total value is the assested value.

Your property insurance question can be answered by a local agent.

 

[CommAV8OR]

Re: Buying a house in PA? My head is going to explode.

Sorry JelloStorm. Everybody else gave you everything I would have suggested. And they were from TX, CO, and IL. I feel disgraceful. HAHA Good Luck on your home purchase.

 

[jrp3]

Re: Buying a house in PA? My head is going to explode.

Tax information is usually listed in trulia in the complete breakdown of the property. It's position seems to move around a tad, so not always easy to find.

It is a little easier to find on Zillow, when available. Once you click on the property you are looking for, scroll down to Tax History, and it will have a breakdown of property assessment value and taxes paid for that year.

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/589-Lattimer-Rd-Hazle-Township-PA-18202/53556059_zpid

John

 

[hank440]

Re: Buying a house in PA? My head is going to explode.

As president of the "shankster" fan club we take offense to your remarks

]

Big chicks need lovin' tooo

 

[-Nick-]

Re: Buying a house in PA? My head is going to explode.

Oh where to begin... How are you planning on financing? If you're going VA then great, but if not you'll likely have to pay PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) on top of everything else unless you're putting 20% or more down. Then there's roughly 3% in closing costs, home warranties, home inspections, appraisal fees, etc. Some of those costs can be shifted to the Seller while others can not. As for tax information most Counties have a GIS or Tax Assessor web site you can go to for verifying property tax and other information, but Luzurne County doesn't have one from what I Googled so you'll need to contact them directly. As for Trulia & Zillow remember that the information there is not entirely accurate. My 2 suggestions are sit down with a Mortgage Officer to discuss payments and get a realistic idea of what you can afford and what your payments entail, and next get yourself a Realtor that can help you out. Most states your representation is payed for by the Seller, but they solely represent you with total fiduciary responsibility, so essentially the service is at no cost to you.

I'm a Real Estate Broker here in WA, so if you need any advice contact me and I'll make sure you;re not getting steered into danger...