Property taxes are no laughing matter. At their worst, they leave some homeowners responsible for paying a local government more than ten thousand dollars a year. When these types of property taxes rise some adults decide that it's better to simply pack and move.

Don't let property taxes force you out of your home

That's why it's important to understand how property taxes are calculated in an area you're thinking about moving to. For example, are property taxes based on the sale price of a house, the actual value of the property or based on another set rate?

Before you buy a house, find out how heavily a local government depends on property tax income to meet its budget. Also, find out how often this same local government raises property taxes. You could learn a lot about local taxes like property and sales tax by attending council and local chamber of commerce meetings.

If people don't raise the issue, ask questions that lead to the answers you want. Of course, you'll want to do this investigating before you buy a house.

Steps to lower property taxes

But, even researching and investigating local property taxes may not keep you from receiving a hefty property tax bill in the mail. You might have to take other measures to lower property taxes. Following are some ways that you could lower property taxes:

• Conduct a survey - After a major weather storm like a hurricane, tornado or earthquake, get your house appraised. If you're paying property taxes based on the value of your home and the assessment shows that the storm reduced your home's value, share this information with your tax department and request that your taxes be lowered.
• Rent your property - You might pay lower property taxes if you rent a portion of your property, especially if the tax department allows you to deduct the costs of property repairs.
• File for an abatement - If you served in the military or have reached senior citizen status, file for an abatement.Depending on local tax office rules, you might qualify for a property tax reduction.
• Move to another county - By moving a part of town that has lower property taxes, you could reduce your property tax rates.

Gain a say in local property tax rates

Next to monthly mortgage payments and student loans, little may unnerve Americans like taxes. Included among this annoyance are property taxes. By taking one or more steps that could potentially lower your property taxes, you could end up breathing better.

You could feel more relaxed. You'd definitely have one less financial obligation to concern yourself with. Another gain that you might enjoy is learning about the importance of participating in local government meetings and initiatives.

The more than your voice is heard, the more influence you might come to have on local politics, including property tax rates. It may sound far fetched now. But, you could become an influence on who plays a key role in preventing property taxes from rising so high that home ownership gets out of reach for far too many people in the area where you live.

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My family went on several camping trips up and down the east coast when I was a young child. At the end of the trip my parents would often ask us kids what our favorite part was. Was it the roller coaster park? Kayaking down the river? Hiking up the mountain? Much to their dismay, our answer was usually something like "roasting marshmallows" or "jumping on the air mattress." The moral of the story: If you have young children you don't need to take time off from work or plan expensive vacations for them to have a great time and build lasting memories.  One of the best ways to mix things up at home and spend time with your children is to camp out in your own backyard. Here are some fun ideas to include in your backyard camping trip. My two pieces of advice before you start:

1. Get the kids involved in the planning to build their excitement
2. Leave the electronics in the house; it will take away from the camping experience

Backyard camping ideas

• Be prepared. Make sure you have everything you need outside before you start your "trip." Bug spray, sunscreen, food, fire fuel, sticks for roasting marshmallows, etc. You don't want to have to keep running inside the house.
• Make your tent a fortress. With blankets, pillows, and poles (like a broom or rake) you can build a vast fortress inside your tent that the kids will love.
• Fun and games. Unless you live on a mountain you probably aren't going to be doing much hiking to fill the daylight hours. Plan outdoor games that are age-appropriate for your kids. Examples: bean bag toss, I-Spy, bird-watching with binoculars.
• Rough it. Don't take any shortcuts when it comes to camping at home. To you it might seem like a pain to have to bring everything outside, but for your kids it's exciting. Set up the tent together, build your fireplace and fire together, cook food outside together, and so on. Not only is it a fun way to teach your kids outdoor skills, but it will also be good preparation for your next real camping trip.
• Explore. We take the little things for granted. Odds are your backyard has some small parts of nature that you've never even noticed. Have your kids collect leaves, flowers, and whatever else they find and make a collage.
• Night time fun. The most exciting part of camping for children comes when the sun goes down. It's usually a time they're not allowed to be outside, so they'll probably be full of energy. Take advantage of that by playing games with flashlights. Flashlight tag is fun, but if your child is very young you might want to do a flashlight hunt instead. Hide an object in your yard somewhere while you and your child try to find it with flashlights.
• Food and fires. Cooking on a fire is very exciting for kids. The classic example is making S'mores, but if that's too messy or you can't have a campfire where you live, you can always cook on a grill. Put some marshmallows and chocolate inside an ice cream cone to make less-messy S'mores cones.

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Selling your home and relocating to a new residence may seem difficult. Fortunately, we're here to help you take the guesswork out of packing up your belongings and moving to your new house.

Here are three moving tips that every home seller needs to know.

1. Make Reservations with a Moving Company.

After you sell your house, you'll want to make reservations with a moving company as soon as possible. By doing so, you'll be able to ensure that you can get movers to your house before you need to have all of your belongings out of your residence.

Remember, the longer you wait to book a moving company, the less likely it becomes that you'll be able to find one in time for your upcoming move. But if you take a proactive approach to your move, you'll be able to book a moving company with plenty of time to spare.

Don't forget to shop around for a moving company too. This will ensure that you won't have to break your budget to employ friendly, professionally trained movers to help you transport your belongings from Point A to Point B.

2. Clean Out Every Room in Your House.

Although you've already devoted plenty of time and resources to keep your home clean and neat as you tried to sell it, you'll want to conduct a final sweep of every room before you move.

Cleaning out your entire home will enable you to double-check to ensure that you've packed up everything and reduce the risk that you'll leave something behind. Plus, doing a final sweep will enable you to locate and get rid of any forgotten items that you won't need at your new address.

Spend some time cleaning out your home, and ultimately, you'll be better equipped to pack up all of your belongings and avoid the risk of forgetting items hidden in your attic, basement or other areas of your house.

3. Disconnect All of Your Home Services.

Contact your electric utility provider, phone and internet services provider and other utility services companies to inform them about your upcoming relocation. This will enable you to cancel services or transfer them to your new address.

When it comes to disconnecting services, be sure to give your service provider as much notice as possible. For instance, calling your internet services provider to cancel your services on the day of your move could be problematic, as you may need to return equipment.

However, if you reach out to a service provider at least a few weeks before your move, you can plan accordingly.

Furthermore, if you ever have concerns or questions about moving, your real estate agent may be able to help you. This professional can offer moving recommendations and tips and might even be able to put you in touch with expert movers in your area as well.

Start getting ready for your upcoming move now, and you can streamline the process of vacating your current residence and relocating to a new house.

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