Monroe County Property Appraisers
http://www.mcpafl.org/datacenter/search/search.asp

Estimate your Key West property taxes.

Best site to find out if you can afford a house.
Mortgage-calc.com

There's no shortage of mortgage calculators out there, but this one ranks high for efficiency. No ads, no pop-ups, nothing but straight number crunching. Here you'll find the standard offerings: What will your mortgage payment be? When will you pay it off? But the site also features more advanced arithmetic:With "prepay vs. invest," for example, you plug in the amount of a recent windfall to determine whether it's better used on your mortgage or on stocks.

You could pay someone else to install a door, rip up your carpet or clean your gutters. Or, with coaching from DoItYourself.com, you can roll up your sleeves and, well, do it yourself. Founded by the son of a hardware salesman, the site provides step-by-step instructions for almost every home project - from removing adhesive (warm vinegar) to building an addition. Should you realize, mid-job, that you're not so handy after all, you can find support in the site's moderated forums.

About 40 million Americans move annually, according to the Census Bureau. Next time you're breaking out the packing peanuts, ballpark your budget with the moving calculator at Move.com. Estimates are based on how far you're going and how many furnished rooms you have. If you're taking the contents of a two-bedroom house from Seattle to Sioux Falls, S.D., expect to pay between $4,200 and $5,100.

At any given moment, you can look up the value of your stocks. But what about your biggest asset, your home? Launched earlier this year, Zillow.com delivers a free instant estimate, based on public records. Type in your address, and the site returns a value quicker than you can say "town assessor's office."

It's no substitute for a professional appraisal, as the records used can be outdated; and for now the site can give estimates on only 47.4 million homes, so it's hardly comprehensive. "But we're a starting point," says chief financial officer Spencer Rascoff - not to mention a great resource for nosy neighbors. Who've you "zillowed" lately?

You have the perfect Dutch Colonial in mind. But how do you turn your mental image into a four-walled reality? You could hire an architect to design something - and pay, at minimum, 2% of construction costs. Or you can go to Homeplans.com, which sells thousands of readymade blueprints, each $1,000 or less. Search by style, square footage or number of rooms. You can even customize a plan using the in-house design team; it'll cost extra but may still save you in the long run.

Bigger bathrooms and custom kitchens are the stuff of homeowners' dreams. Actually remodeling, on the other hand, can be a nightmare. Not to worry. LetsRenovate.com guides you from the first decision - renovate or move? - to the final inspection. The site aggregates function (check reviews of ovens), fashion (see how others painted their bedrooms) and finance (learn how to do the whole thing under budget).

If you love watching Extreme Home Makeover but aren't sure you'd like to live it, get inspired at HouseBlogs.net. Run by a Chicago couple who are recording their bungalow's overhaul on houseinprogress.net, this site brings together a bunch of remodelers-cum-bloggers, all of whom chronicle the triumphs and tragedies of their undertakings online, complete with pictures. Once you're emotionally ready to begin your own renovation, consider joining the fray. Says founder Jeanne Olson: "This community can keep you motivated long after your offline friends think you've gone completely nuts."

With entries on easements, mortgages and more, the real estate law section of FreeAdvice.com covers common issues that buyers, sellers and owners face: Should I sign a letter of intent? What kind of taxes am I subject to on my home? Should I put my kids on the deed? Lawyers write the entries and, as is legally prudent, they steer clear of specifics that vary from state to state. "If you're involved in a dispute, you need an attorney," acknowledges founder Gerry Goldsholle. "But we can give you the basics."

Looking at homes online, you can't tell where the nearest Target is or which way to go to get to the highway. HomePages.com can give you an eye in the sky. Enter an address, and the site loads aerial maps with retailers, restaurants, schools and other landmarks plotted. One caveat:Maps are typically more than a year old, so you might miss a Starbucks or three.

It always pays to shop around for a loan, but especially now that rates are on the rise. No single site returns every option, but Bankrate.com gives more than most. Enter your location and the terms you want, and the site returns randomly sorted listings, both paid (updated daily) and unpaid (updated less often). Be sure to hit local banks in person to see if they can match the lowest rates you found online.

When shopping for a new house, most families also find themselves shopping for a school district. Study up at SchoolMatters.com, published by Standard & Poor's. On it you'll find all the relevant numbers - size, test scores, teacher/student ratio, and so on - by district and school. The site also compares community income, education levels and median home values with state averages. Now if only it told you which teachers to request.

At $158 a year, this site isn't the cheapest way to find paying guests. But its easy interface for renters makes it a good investment for vacationhome landlords. Listings, organized by region, feature descriptions and photos. And unlike on other sites, renters can search by availability, which gives them - and you - a better chance of finding a match. In fact, now that you're expecting a little extra income, you might just find yourself planning a vacation of your own on here. Nantucket is awfully nice