The Neighbor from Hell vs the Taxman......

OK, I am still really mad, and I know I should get over it...but...

In early October I received my Property Tax bill for the year. This is our first year in a house as an owner (I know, I know, rent down the drain). This is also a brand new sub-division, with bigger houses that had been typical for the area.

So when we got our mortgage we were prepared to have our property taxes paid as part of our monthly mortgage payment, but after talking with the broker it was clear the city had no idea what the area would be assesed at so the broker told us an expected average as well as a Worst and Best case scenario. We saved the average and hoped for the best.

I get my tax bill and it is lower than the average estimate by $800! wOOt! I run off and pay off another debt with the difference, building my debt snowball of doom.

About a week later I get roped into a new neighborhood dinner (I hate these things with a passion, but since I am in this house forever I make nice). During dinner, my newest noseiest neighborhood tells me this story:

Nosey Neighbor - "Hey I got my tax bill. How was yours?"
Me - "Better than I thought it was gonna be!"
NN - "Yeah, mine was too high, so I called the city to fight it"
Me - "Really?"
NN - "Yep, in fact I looked yours up online and since I know you paid a lot more for your house, I used that as an example of how high mine was..."
Me - "How do you know what I paid, I never told you"
NN- "Oh the contractor and I looked it up"
Me - "Huh?"
NN -"Oh, yeah it is all available online. I showed then and funny thing, they think mine was right..."
Me (waiting for other shoe to drop) - "...and?"
NN - "They think your's was low"
NN- "Yeah funny thing, he is going to review the whole neighborhood"
Me - "I already paid..."
NN - "Oh you are fine then..."

Sure enough two days later I get a supplemental bill for $1200!!! So $400 more than my "savings" and I already spent the delta. Luckily I have a $2000 Emergency fund (Thank goodness) so I could pay it especially since the city gave me NO extra days to pay.

So the guy didn't get his fixed and got mine raised!

No good deed goes unpunished!

I wife will never force me to go to another neighborhood meeting, so at least I got something out of it!