Council Tax In Oz?

[yvonne & paul]

Hi all,

What expenses do you have once you either Rent of Buy a property apart from the obvious ie Mortgage payments or rent. Do they have a type of council tax and if so how much ??
Also I gather you are charged on a meter for water and I assume gas of electic.
Any other expenses????

Many thanks

Yvonne

[Vix]

We are still renting as the rent is relatively cheap compared to the UK but from what I can gather...you do not pay council tax(they call it RATES here) here when you rent...I think it depends on what type of property and how big and where it is etc for the amount you pay when you own a house...but my mother-in-law pays around $1000 a year I think(baring in mind she would get a discount for being a pensioner)
As for water yes you are metered but its not alot at all...some real estates may pay a pecentage aswell. The other amenities can vary depending on what you use....for instance....electricity we could pay around $100 a quarter in a warmer month and in winter when we have electric heaters on it shoots up to $300!!
We pay around $60 ish for gas but the only thing gas in this house is the cooker and the bbq runs off the natural gas aswell.
Hope this helps you?If you want to know anything else feel free to ask again..
Vic

[Ellie 2]

Originally Posted by yvonne & paul

Hi all,

What expenses do you have once you either Rent of Buy a property apart from the obvious ie Mortgage payments or rent. Do they have a type of council tax and if so how much ??
Also I gather you are charged on a meter for water and I assume gas of electic.
Any other expenses????

Many thanks

Yvonne

If you rent, you don't pay rates and usually no water rates. You do pay for gas and electricity. If you own a house you pay council rates, water rates, gas and electricity. The Council rates are based on the value of the land and has nothing to do with the size of house you have on it. The Valuer General sets the value of land in Australia.

[leanneandmark]

No Bloody council tax, I HATE COUNCIL TAX, especially @ £165.00 a month.!!!

[Abi&Dan]

Originally Posted by Vix

....for instance....electricity we could pay around $100 a quarter in a warmer month and in winter when we have electric heaters on it shoots up to $300!!
We pay around $60 ish for gas but the only thing gas in this house is the cooker and the bbq runs off the natural gas aswell.
Vic

This makes me very happy - we just got our final bill from Npower for electricity for around 1.5 month's use in Jan-Feb till we changed supplier - it's £132!!!! (and I don't think we use excessively either - there's only 2 of us and we don't leave the telly/radio on standby and never leave lights on when we're not in the room and we cook/heat with gas - $300 per 1/4 sounds like a dream

[Ellie 2]

I'm all electric and my bill is around $375 a quarter. I have a pool, reverse cycle ducted airconditioning, a 600litre no frost 'fridge and a 600litre no frost freezer. I also have a very large plasma TV and 4 other TVs. Apart from the stove I can't think of anything else that would be heavy on electricity - maybe computers?

[BullcreekBob]

Originally Posted by Ellie 2

I'm all electric and my bill is around $375 a quarter. I have a pool, reverse cycle ducted airconditioning, a 600litre no frost 'fridge and a 600litre no frost freezer. I also have a very large plasma TV and 4 other TVs. Apart from the stove I can't think of anything else that would be heavy on electricity - maybe computers?

The Hot water system is a big cost too.

We use a solar system which works most of the time, but one the odd cloudy day we turn the electric booster on and just watch the meter spin around (at most once / week). We have about 6 PC's, 3 TV's, 2 fridges, one freezer, an 8 seater spa (kept at 37C), elec oven, 4 or 5 elec heaters - not bad for two adults and one dog and our power bill is currently around $5 / day. It's lower in summer ($3/day) because the spa is easier to heat (or cool to 37C !!) and we use the barbie not the oven and never need the water heater.

[Ellie 2]

Forgot about hot water. Don't have solar but do have an off peak system.

[Vix]

When you rent you definitely have to pay water...I am told by the hubby that you didn't use to but this maybe due to the water shortages? Like I said before its not alot and if you are around the NSW area you may be in a drought region and not be allowed to use alot of water anyway(level 4 here at the mo and no watering gardens,cars etc)
Vic

[yvonne & paul]

thanks all for your replies

Yvonne