Website: Attalla cheapest city in Alabama to own a home

ATTALLA, AL (WBRC) - A financial planning website says six of the ten most affordable places to own a home in Alabama are in the WBRC viewing area. The cheapest is in Etowah County.

The City of Attalla is the most affordable place in Alabama to own a home, according to the website. Attalla is given a 94.76 percent affordability rating, considering average closing costs, property taxes, homeowner's insurance, mortgage payments and median income.

In Attalla, the annual property tax is $303, with an annual homeowner's insurance bill of $589 and yearly mortgage payments of $2,686.

"I didn't know if that was good or not until I read the criteria. I think it's great for our city and I think it's positive," says Mayor Larry Means.

Means says he lives in a nice neighborhood in the Stowers Hill area. There's not a lot of room for new housing, but people often buy older homes and remodel them. But Means says he was surprised recently to see plenty of room in what is known as the Siberton area where the Camp Sibert army base was located during World War II.

"I was here, the mayor in the '90s, and I don't remember it being that big and spread out. But there's still a lot of land to build houses, and there's some houses being built. We have about 22, potentially, being built right now," Means says.

Along with Attalla, other cities rounding out Alabama's top ten include Helena (#2), Calera (#5), Pinson (#6), Chelsea (#9), and Moody (#10).

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