My house payment keeps going up and up...

[Skidmore]

the principal goes down, and my local tax has held steady for 2 years. What is going up is my house insurance, even though the value of property has dropped in this area and houses set on the market longer. What is going on? Is this another squeeze?

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. How much is it going up?

Don't they spread the yearly premium over 12 months or are they applying it all in one month?

[treestar]

2. Can you change insurance companies?

You could get a better deal, maybe.

Look at the policy and see what it says about increases.

[dysfunctional press]

3. does your house have a pre-existing condition?

:silly:

[slackmaster]

4. I recommend that you shop for a better rate on insurance

You do have choices.

[TexasObserver]

7. Agreed. You can save up to half by smart shopping.

Big companies are usually very bad on that, and often do not pay claims as graciously as they represent.

[kcass1954]

5. Call your company and ask what you need to do to reduce the premium.

We have USAA.

Mr. kcass: How come our premiums shot up to nearly triple from a couple of years ago?

USAA: Hurricane... yadda yadda yadda... hurricane...

Mr. kcass: But we put a new roof on after Wilma.

USAA: We didn't know that.

Mr. kcass: You paid for it.

USAA: No, we gave you $7000. We don't know what you did with the money.

Mr. kcass: Okay, what do I need to do to get the premiums down?

We had a home inspection from someplace they recommended to verify the new roof, with copies of the permits and bills and canceled checks, and they confirmed that we have shutters that meet current code. We did not have to pay for the inspection, as we got in just prior to a post-Wilma program being shut down.

Two weeks later, USAA sent us a check for nearly $1300, and notified our mortgage-holder that the premiums would be lowered the following year.

[hobbit709]

6. After 19+ years our payments have just about doubled.

The principal and interest part is the same, what's jumped is the escrow for taxes and insurance. Our taxes went from $400/yr to $2400, our insurance went from $275 to $700+ for LESS coverage.

[ohheckyeah]

10. Challenge the tax increase.

My dad did and he got his real estate taxes lowered.

[hobbit709]

11. The valuation is in line with my neighboorhood

The tax rate has gone up to the limit. And after the insurance companies got what they wanted here in TX, the rates went into the stratosphere for less coverage. I'm lucky enough to live on high ground so I don't worry about flood water damage-if my house got flooded, so would about 90% of Austin.

[ohheckyeah]

14. I'm sorry to hear that.

Our valuation went up but the rate went down so we only had to pay about $500 a year extra. Of course, I live in a rural farming area.

[janx]

18. In my less populated state,

tax rates go up in different neighborhoods from time to time. Mine is not an upscale neighborhood by any means.

[SoCalDem]

28. This was the driving force behind Prop 13. People grumble about it

but it was designed to protect long-time homeowners. Older people used to get forced out of their homes because the taxes went up astronomically, and even though the homes were often paid off, the people had to sell because of them

[NNN0LHI]

8. Have you had any claims?

[WillowTree]

9. The sale value of the house may have decreased...

....but construction costs haven't. Those continue to fo up. If it is damaged or destroyed, the insurance company isn't going to sell the house, they're going to have to repair or rebuild it. That's a large part of the reason why the cost to insure your home goes up.

[janx]

12. I had the same thing happen.

Supposedly value went up, so taxes went up, so insurance went up. Coincidentally, this happened just as Bank of America bought my Countrywide home loan. Boy, was I pissed. I worked hard at keeping my mortgage payment low--it's all the money I have.

[RB TexLa]

15. So you think the acquisition of your loan servicer caused the taxing authority to raise your

appraisal and an insurance company to raise the premium? :crazy:

[janx]

16. No.

:crazy: Read my post again.

[RB TexLa]

17. Good, you do understand that BAC buying CHL had nothing to do with it.

[janx]

26. I'm not prepared to go that far.

Reassessment happened on a couple of levels, taxes and insurance being the most important, and while I understand that those happened independently, I'm not so crazy as to believe that BAC isn't getting something out of it. When I called BAC, they instantly wanted to sell me homeowner's insurance.

I'm sick of companies "buying" my mortgage loan--my money. I entered into an agreement with representatives from one company, only to find that another company was in charge of the money I put down and the money I pay monthly. This isn't the first time it happened; it happened with another home I owned in another state some years ago.

Let's look at it this way (because I don't think it's too much of a stretch): Suppose your young adult student--or you--put down money at a university for the young adult's education, but then that university was bought by another one, so that your kid was being taught by people whom you had no knowledge of in the first place.

Or suppose your car mechanics' shop was bought by another, and suddenly, people you had no knowledge about were working on your car.

Imagine the people at your bank, whom you know and trust to an extent, being bought and replaced by people you don't know at all.

[HughMoran]

20. what?

Slow down, you should think before you post.

[RB TexLa]

21. Just seems odd they would mention an event that would have nothing do to with the

tax authority's appraisal and the insurance rates if they were not trying to link them together. That post was very FoxNews like.

[HughMoran]

22. Lots of people want to implicate coincidence into events out of their control

Since the poster said "coincidentally", I don't see any harm in it. I've had similar coincidences happen and it makes one think that the world is conspiring against them.

[RB TexLa]

23. No, most people don't think the world is conspiring against them.

[HughMoran]

24. Not generally, but I'm talking about that momentary feeling when your higher tax bill shows up

...just after the town did something that made you suspicious.

Why would you think I was talking in general terms? Why are you looking for a fight? It's no wonder that so many people think you're kind of a twit.

[RB TexLa]

25. No problem, no fight. No reason to care. Have a nice night.

[janx]

27. Yeah--

Right. ;-)

[Greyhound]

13. Probably. You will be paying for their losses as will you kids and grandkids.

Idiot Frat Boy and Obama have indentured the United States to the banking/Financial industry. Get used to it or stop playing their game.

[tjwash]

19. You're paying back the insurance companies bailout packages...welcome to the world of the screwed.

I have multiple properties, and the policies on all of them have shot up.

It fucking sucks...ownership society my fucking ass. Where's MY fucking bailout?

[madville]

29. I'm paying less this year

Refinanced at 5% fixed so the house note is $438 a month, down from $568. My property and school taxes went down also, from $870 last year to $690 this year. My insurance did go up, annual premium was $560 last year, $614 this year.

[Hannah Bell]

30. same with my car insurance. every year.