A young first-time homebuyer has learned a hard lesson about the hidden costs of buying property.
Celeste Joan was excited to open her very first letter at her new home in Melbourne last week.
But she got a rude shock when she realised that it was an expensive bill from the local council.
‘I bought property. Feeling good, feeling great,’ Ms Joan said in a video shared to TikTok.
‘I open up this letter – I didn’t realise that when you buy a house you have to pay to breathe. Breathing air costs money, okay?’
The frustrated homeowner admitted that she had no idea that the quarterly payment existed.
‘This is a thing called council rates,’ Ms Joan said.
‘Thanks mum for educating me on this. Why didn’t they teach this in school?
A first-time homeowner was shocked after receiving her first bill for council rates. Pictured is a house for sale in Sydney
‘I’m about to pay $411 for my recycling bins. The general bin, the mixed recycling bin, the food, the gardening bin.
‘That’s my first payment. There’s gonna be a lot more where that comes from.’
Ms Joan described feeling disappointed with her experience of homeownership so far, with the only communication from her community being bills.
‘They’re the only letters I’m getting in the mail,’ she said.
‘Why did I think my neighbours were inviting me for dinner?
‘I thought I was gonna get a letter saying, ‘Come over a girlfriend, let’s have a dinner, you’re such an adult’.
‘No, council rates. Yay.’
Hundreds of viewers agreed and slammed council rates as a ‘scam’.
‘Council rates are a scam absolutely. $3,500 for empty bins,’ one wrote.
Celeste Joan (pictured) questioned why she hadn’t learned about rates prior to buying a home and labelled the bill a ‘scam’
Another added: ‘Wait until you cop you water bill and have to pay for more than just water usage.’
A third wrote: ‘I think we should all do a petition on council rates or strike because they’re actually pathetic and way too expensive for nothing,’ another wrote.’
Council rates are a bill paid annually or quarterly to cover the cost of essential services and community infrastructure.
They include bin collection, road maintenance, parks, libraries, and environmental planning.
