Easy way to track home prices and taxes

One of the great joys is making that last mortgage payment and owning your house free and clear. Free and clear except for the taxes, of course.

Because mortgage holders generally have their property taxes paid by the bank through an escrow account, the amounts can be obscured. For Nassau residents, tax data is available through the county. Suffolk residents can get the information from their town assessor. An easy way is to go to zillow.com.

While Zillow is famous for its housing prices database, it also includes tax data for most homes. Type in your address and a map of your area appears with your home highlighted. Click on any other home to see your neighbor's tax bill.

You can also get an idea of what your house is worth because Zillow includes "zestimates" of more than 100 million homes.