Illinois homeowners pay an average of $2,592 a year for home insurance, according to Insurify’s state-by-state analysis. Some states pay more than double that for the same coverage. These are the states with the highest home insurance premiums, and where Illinois lands. Note: This is general information, not insurance advice. Coverage and terms are subject…
FDIC records show 349 Texas banks failed between 1980 and 1989, during which the price of oil dropped 45% in 1986 alone. A lot of Texas parents watched that happen. What they did with money afterward became a blueprint their kids copied without ever being handed one. These are the money habits Texas adults picked…
Florida’s Save Our Homes cap holds a homesteaded property’s assessed-value growth to 3% a year, or the inflation rate, whichever is lower. Starting that clock early is worth more than the exemption itself. A snowbird gets to choose when it starts. Floridians never had that choice. These are the Florida homestead loopholes snowbirds use that…
An Ohio electric or gas company can bill a household for only 365 days of an unmetered amount, no matter how long the meter was wrong. The error can run for years. The bill can’t. The rule has more turns in it than that, and not every account gets the same protection. This is the…
Georgia charges interest on unpaid property tax at the prime rate plus 3%, reset every January and applied every month a balance sits there. An audit can put a balance there without warning. These are the charges a Georgia homeowner faces when a county audit strips the homestead exemption. Note: This is general information, not…
South Carolina’s homestead exemption wipes out property tax on the first $50,000 of a home’s value. That means on a $250,000 house, the county bills as if it were worth $200,000. A surviving spouse can keep that break. Whether they do comes down to steps the county never walks anyone through. These are the homestead…
Dare County adds a 6% room occupancy tax to every Outer Banks vacation rental bill. So much for the nightly rate that looked like a bargain in your search results. These are the vacation rental fees that can wreck the deal North Carolinians find. Note: This is general information, not financial or legal advice. Rental…
A California couple’s fight over $30.22 in sales tax on a free cell phone reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 2011. They lost. These are the contract terms Californians sign without reading, and what you give up. Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Contract terms and consumer-protection rules are subject to change. 1….
Tennessee lets a family close out an estate with one sworn affidavit when what’s left tops out at $50,000. Below that line, there often isn’t much to fight over. The collection letters still arrive, and they’re written to sound like the family owes every dollar. These are the debts a Tennessee family doesn’t have to…
Alabama decides who owes a home’s property taxes on one morning a year, on October 1, according to the state Department of Revenue. Few people mention that date at the closing table. These are the property tax surprises Alabama buyers get in the first year after closing. Note: This is general information, not legal or…
