You pay the bill. You should have a say.
Property taxes, heating, insurance, the roof nobody budgets for, plus the town meetings. Join us, and have a say in what all of it costs you.
What a home costs in a year.
Not the mortgage. The rest of it. Statewide averages for a single-family home, so you can see which line is doing the damage.
- Compare your own numbers. Your bill depends on your town and your house, but the shape is the same everywhere.
- Watch the ones that move. We follow the decisions on Beacon Hill and in your community that change what homeowners pay, and keep you up to date on the ones that matter most.
- Homeowners in Massachusetts are facing unprecedented costs, and many are feeling it. Please join us.
Annual Ownership Costs
- Property taxAverage single-family bill, statewide
- $7,800
- ElectricityAmong the highest residential rates in the U.S.
- $2,100
- Homeowners insurancePremiums rising faster than inflation
- $1,900
- HeatingGas or oil, an average winter
- $1,800
- Water & sewerVaries widely by town
- $1,200
Statewide estimates for illustration. Your bill depends on your town and your home.
Download the Latest Edition of The Owner's Manual.
The inaugural print edition is free as a PDF, with what a home really costs and two guides.
What we're watching
We don't engage in politics for its own sake. We track the handful of decisions that show up on a homeowner's bill, and we tell you plainly where we stand.
Protect Proposition 2½
Since 1980, Prop 2½ has capped how fast your town can raise property taxes without asking voters first. Proposals to weaken or eliminate it would hand cities and towns a blank check, paid by homeowners.
No new property-tax burdens
Transfer taxes, new surcharges, and “temporary” overrides that never expire all land in the same place, your tax bill.
Bring utility bills back to earth
Households here pay some of the highest electricity rates in the country, and delivery charges, the part you can't shop around, keep growing. We push for rate cases that put residential customers first.
Keep home insurance affordable and available
Renewals are arriving with double-digit increases, and some coastal and older homes are losing coverage altogether. We want transparent rate filings, a stable FAIR Plan, and real credits for storm protection.
The indispensable resource for homeowners.
Practical, specific, and sourced. The stuff nobody handed you at the closing. Free, and nothing is ever paywalled.
The hidden costs of owning a home in Massachusetts
What the mortgage calculator left out, and how it adds up over ten years.
The fall maintenance checklist
Twelve weekend jobs that prevent the five most expensive winter repairs.
Why your electric bill went up, and what you can do
Supply versus delivery, the winter rate, and whether switching suppliers is worth it.
Your insurance renewal just went up. Here's what to do.
How to read the notice, what to ask your agent, and when to shop the policy.
Quick answers for homeowners
Short guides to the questions we get most, each ending with the form, the phone number or the deadline you actually need. More are added as members ask.
How to file for an abatement
If your assessment looks high, you have a window after the bill arrives to challenge it. Here's the form, the deadline, and what evidence works.
What a Prop 2½ Override Actually Does
Override, debt exclusion, capital exclusion. They're not the same thing, and only one of them is permanent.
Senior Exemptions. Town by Town.
The Clause 41C exemption, tax deferral under 41A, and the state Circuit Breaker credit, plus who qualifies and how to apply.
Mass Save Explained
The no-cost home energy assessment, what the rebates cover, and the heat-pump question answered honestly.
Shopping Your Homeowners Policy
When to shop, what to compare beyond the premium, and the discounts most people never ask for.
MBTA Communities Zoning and Your Neighborhood
What the law requires, what your town has done, and what it may mean for property values and services.
Homeowners. Organized.
Our members are the people who pay the property tax, the electric bill, and the insurance premium, in every one of the Commonwealth's 351 cities and towns. We keep them informed, and when it counts, we help them act together.
- 1Practical first.Most of what we publish is about running a home well, meaning maintenance, costs, insurance, and energy, not politics.
- 2Plain about where we stand.When a policy would raise what homeowners pay, we say so and we say why.
- 3Independent.Advertising from the home and real-estate industries keeps this free. Advertisers never see our editorial calendar or our member list.
Reach Massachusetts homeowners where they already pay attention.
Sponsorships and placements in The Owner's Manual, our guides, and the quarterly print edition, for real-estate, home services, insurance and energy brands.
Join over 171,000 homeowners in Massachusetts.
Membership is free and takes twenty seconds. You'll get The Owner's Manual every month, and we'll keep you informed about what's happening on Beacon Hill and on your local Main Street that affects what you pay to own your home.
- The Owner's Manual, every month
- Updates on the decisions that affect your bill, from Beacon Hill to your local Main Street
- Every guide, every edition, always free