Property taxes?

[Mila]

This isn't so much about investing but rather a general question that I am having trouble finding the answer to.

Looking at houses on Trulia, I noticed that if I lower the cost of a house in the estimated chart, the property tax goes down with it. Why does the property tax lessen according to what you buy the house for if the property tax is estimated based on overall value, not sale price? 

[Scarlett]

I think this is because the overall market value is being valued at less. You will end up getting assessed for your property taxes after buying a home anyways so this will more than likely change. I read that you should expect to be paying as much as $50 more per month and it is a good idea to keep property taxes below 25% of your monthly income. 

[James]

Property taxes are not based off the sales value of the house. Each county sets a value to the property and that is what you pay taxes on. The counties value is typically way less then what the retail value is. They do seem to go up every year still but you are able to challenge the findings if you desire. 

If you go to the county website of the area you are looking up homes you can plugin the address and find the real property taxes for the last few years and estimated for the years to come sometimes. 

[Stacey]

I think things like pools, decks, etc. will increase the price of property tax as well. At least where I live. I once read that it is ideal to actually let your house go a bit just to keep the taxes from increasing on you. It sounds silly but a lot of people do this around here. The yards aren't well kept but the property taxes tend to be lower even though the area I live in is considered to be a 80k+ salary area.