# Property tax



## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

Got my 1st property tax bill in this county, bought the house a year ago so the $1700 amount was unappreciated but not unexpected.

This tax bill is somewhat itemized and they show $1073 for the schools with the rest going to the county. Over $1000 sounds excessive for the schools. Do the rest of you pay a similar percentage to the county school system? I don't mind paying for some good schooling but wow!!! and I've never even reproduced so none of my DNA ever went to school.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

The GA county that we lived in for 15 years was one of the highest property tax county's in the state. As much as we loved Georgia, property taxes were one of the many reasons that we no longer full time domicile there.

(Who says "domicile"??? WTF???)


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Slippy said:


> The GA county that we lived in for 15 years was one of the highest property tax county's in the state. As much as we loved Georgia, property taxes were one of the many reasons that we no longer full time domicile there.
> 
> (Who says "domicile"??? WTF???)


Interior decorators?


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

just seem high for the schools.


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## jim-henscheli (May 4, 2015)

Interior decorators say "doma-thile"....


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## PatriotFlamethrower (Jan 10, 2015)

Denton said:


> Interior decorators?


Hair stylists? Florists? Fashion designers? Members of the band "Queen"?


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

FoolAmI said:


> Got my 1st property tax bill in this county, bought the house a year ago so the $1700 amount was unappreciated but not unexpected.
> 
> This tax bill is somewhat itemized and they show $1073 for the schools with the rest going to the county. Over $1000 sounds excessive for the schools. Do the rest of you pay a similar percentage to the county school system? I don't mind paying for some good schooling but wow!!! and I've never even reproduced so none of my DNA ever went to school.


I don't mind paying for good schooling either, it is a shame it isn't public schools in the US.


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

That seems proportionally correct based on property taxes accessed here iin Taxlyvania.


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

The percentages are norm, but finding out Slippy has been influenced by Queen is not.


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

FoolAmI said:


> Got my 1st property tax bill in this county, bought the house a year ago so the $1700 amount was unappreciated but not unexpected.
> 
> This tax bill is somewhat itemized and they show $1073 for the schools with the rest going to the county. Over $1000 sounds excessive for the schools. Do the rest of you pay a similar percentage to the county school system? I don't mind paying for some good schooling but wow!!! and I've never even reproduced so none of my DNA ever went to school.


Just curious how much property and what structures are on the property?

More than 50% for the schools seems really excessive to me.


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## 7052 (Jul 1, 2014)

FoolAmI said:


> Got my 1st property tax bill in this county, bought the house a year ago so the $1700 amount was unappreciated but not unexpected.
> 
> This tax bill is somewhat itemized and they show $1073 for the schools with the rest going to the county. Over $1000 sounds excessive for the schools. Do the rest of you pay a similar percentage to the county school system? I don't mind paying for some good schooling but wow!!! and I've never even reproduced so none of my DNA ever went to school.


I'll trade you, GLADLY!

Here's a little context from the Democratic People's Republik of Hellinois. Keep in mind this is the SAME house for all of this, they just monkeyed w/ the tax rates to keep revenue up despite the utter and complete crash in the housing market.

My 2011 (Paid in 2012) Tax Bill...
House Assessed Value: $127,635
Tax Bill: $4539.20 ($2306.35 for the schools, which are basically the worst in the state)
Tax Rate: 12.1825%

My 2012 (Paid in 2013) Tax Bill...
House Assessed Value: $121,113
Tax Bill: $4434.42
Tax Rate: 12.9016%

My 2013 (Paid in 2014) Tax Bill...
House Assessed Value: $86,630
Tax Bill: $3202.90
Tax Rate: 14.0023%

My 2014 Tax Bill (Paid in 2015)...
House Assessed Value: $81,550
Tax Bill: $3172.04 ($1653.81 for the schools)
Tax Rate: 14.9820%

Needless to say, I can't even sell this albatross of a house and get the hell out of this Socialist paradise. With the $40k+ hit to home value, and the fact that I just bought the damn thing in '04, I (like so many others in my part of The Democratik People's Republik of Hellinois) are severely underwater on my mortgage. Even if I could find a buyer, which our realtor told us would be a long-shot at best, I would need to bring something like $10K-$20K to closing just to break even.

Having the Democrats have iron-fisted control over your state makes such GREAT sense, doesn't it? That's why Hellinois is the model of economic success that it is! Why hell, we just announced that we weren't even going to pay out lotto winners, at least for the foreseeable future. lol
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...payments-delayed-met-0828-20150828-story.html


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## Chipper (Dec 22, 2012)

I wouldn't mind paying for the schools if they actually taught the kids instead of brainwashing them into zombies.

Got into an argument with a teacher cause she was whining about ONLY making $40K a year. For working 6 months out of the year. Poor thing. She didn't give a crap about the kids. It was all about her bottom line. Reason she was still a teacher was the retirement. Yes we will be paying this little bitch for the rest of her sorry life. That's what sucks about paying her salary on tax dollars.


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

I have said many times.... Property tax is a horrible awful thing and should be banned.. it hurts old folks, it is not fair to anybody.. and as long as you have to pay it..you never really own your property because you must pay for the RIGHT to own it year after year after year... skip a few years and see what happens

if you live there 30 years you will pay $51,000 

My in-laws have a small farm, they have had it for over 40+ years and because madison WI has grown and people have moved further out.... prices have gone up... their place is now valued at over $575,000..they are now both retired and pay about what many would pay for rent... The taxes on the place takes up a fair amount of their income

Sorry - that's my rant on property tax


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## slewfoot (Nov 6, 2013)

Ours is $188.46 a year for the school district.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

That is a sickening scenario Egyas. I pray you get out of that place.



Egyas said:


> I'll trade you, GLADLY!
> 
> Here's a little context from the Democratic People's Republik of Hellinois. Keep in mind this is the SAME house for all of this, they just monkeyed w/ the tax rates to keep revenue up despite the utter and complete crash in the housing market.
> 
> ...


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## Suntzu (Sep 22, 2014)

That % is high compared to my most recent bill.
SCHOOL - BY STATE LAW: 1650 
SCHOOL - BY LOCAL BOARD: 250
SCHOOL - CAPITAL OUTLAY: 500
Total: 5800
Insane considering it only a quarter of an acre.


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## 1skrewsloose (Jun 3, 2013)

Egyas said:


> I'll trade you, GLADLY!
> 
> Here's a little context from the Democratic People's Republik of Hellinois. Keep in mind this is the SAME house for all of this, they just monkeyed w/ the tax rates to keep revenue up despite the utter and complete crash in the housing market.
> 
> ...


Whats going on here! My home value dropped 25k the same time you lost value!!?? We live in different states! I know everyone says their house isn't worth that much at tax time, but, claim more if they want to resell, this is crazy!!


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Out of my $1825.23 tax bill, $485.93 goes to schools. Way better than when I was in 
ILLannoyed where over 50% of my $6500 tax bill went to schools. You can see why I
moved 2 years ago. Even tho my house was paid off, I couldn't afford to live there.


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## 1skrewsloose (Jun 3, 2013)

They're less expensive places to live. My brother lives in Paducah, Ky. 1.5 acres, house and detached garage. $700 per year. If you have no children in school, why pay for what you get no return? I know, the return to society.


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## Gimble (Aug 14, 2015)

Egyas said:


> Even if I could find a buyer, which our realtor told us would be a long-shot at best, I would need to bring something like $10K-$20K to closing just to break even.


Sounds like you could make that $10k back in 2-4 years of not having to support your state with property taxes...

Have you thought about renting your house out (which would include the funds for property taxes/etc in the rent)?


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Slippy said:


> The GA county that we lived in for 15 years was one of the highest property tax county's in the state. As much as we loved Georgia, property taxes were one of the many reasons that we no longer full time domicile there.
> 
> (Who says "domicile"??? WTF???)


When we first moved to our current area, we lived on the Georgia side of the line for 3 years.
I swear, if Georgia could tax you for the air you breathe, they would. They tax every stinkin' thing else.

We have no state income tax here, and on our 4 acres (house, barns, sheds, etc) property tax last year was $414.


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## THEGIMP (Sep 28, 2015)

Egyas said:


> I'll trade you, GLADLY!
> 
> Here's a little context from the Democratic People's Republik of Hellinois. Keep in mind this is the SAME house for all of this, they just monkeyed w/ the tax rates to keep revenue up despite the utter and complete crash in the housing market.
> 
> ...


Wow, I am in the same situation. I feel your pain. I would give the post a thumbs up, but that just doesn't make sense.


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## THEGIMP (Sep 28, 2015)

Gimble said:


> Sounds like you could make that $10k back in 2-4 years of not having to support your state with property taxes...
> 
> Have you thought about renting your house out (which would include the funds for property taxes/etc in the rent)?


Don't forget the cost of moving, the cost of a sales agent, closing costs etc. That sits gonna hurt. :breakitofinya


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## Ripon (Dec 22, 2012)

In CA my home is 1300' and on a 10,000 square foot lot, and my tax bill is $2200 a year.

In NV my home is 1600' and on a 137,431,800 square foot lot and my tax bill is $1900 a year.

My brother in law in Chicago has it much worse I'm told. Most of the property tax in CA is for schools, but in NV I don't think so. 

As a note I remember meeting an office worker for the schools in Stanislaus, County in California. She told me she was working over time to get the W2's out in time - all 18,000 of them. I was floored that a school system in a county of 525,000 people had 18,000 people working for public schools.


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

Arklatex said:


> Just curious how much property and what structures are on the property?
> 
> More than 50% for the schools seems really excessive to me.


10 acres, house is 1600 sf heated, an additional 500 sf unheated (old garage converted to insulated but unheated living space) and attached 3 car garage and with 3 decks totaling 630 sf, 2400 sf shop, and 10 stall barn.

We have better than average schools around here but 62% of my property taxes going to schools sounds excessive. I think I'll start attending some county hearings to ask about this.


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

After hearing some or your property tax rates I guess I shouldn't complain. When I lived in SC my tax bill was only $1100/yr.


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## MaterielGeneral (Jan 27, 2015)

I pay $0. in taxes. In Michigan if you are a disabled veteran you are exempt.


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## 7052 (Jul 1, 2014)

Gimble said:


> Sounds like you could make that $10k back in 2-4 years of not having to support your state with property taxes...
> 
> Have you thought about renting your house out (which would include the funds for property taxes/etc in the rent)?


We have. We have thought bout it a LOT. I spoke w/ a friend of mine who works construction (finish work mostly), and also does handyman type work about maybe being a super for us. He said he'd do it gladly since he already does it for 2 other people me met in the construction business that have moved out of state, but he warned me against it. Since this part of Hellinois has such horrid property values right now, there are a TON of people now renting out houses, and the "new" renters just seem to have that "I don't own it so I don't give a crap about it" attitude. My friend spends a LOT of time doing minor avoidable repairs, and some major ones every time a lease is up. We're still talking about it, but I'm not sure I want to get into that racket.

I should add that my "luxurious" abode is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath 1300' sq ft ranch-style house on a 1/5 acre. We have an exposure on the back, so my father-in-law and I finished the basement and added 2 more bedrooms, a 3rd full bath, and a lower living-room (about 900-1000 additional finished sq footage). The city has no idea of the upgrades down stairs, so as far as taxes go they are just hitting me for the original 1300 sq ft.


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## Gimble (Aug 14, 2015)

It is a racket... but it is one that pays you to be in it instead of "sucking the money out of you". If this guy is a good manager, you'll get a note like this:

"The tenant left the place a mess, and damaged the screens and left nails in the wall where he hung pictures. I got it all fixed and the place is ready to rent out. It cost about $150. I refunded the tenant his security deposit minus the $150"

Sure, it sounds bad, but when you actually do it, its just noise. I say this as a property manager of an apartment building. Sure, shit happens, but if you're cash positive (or mentally positive but down $100/mo) its worth it.


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## 7052 (Jul 1, 2014)

Gimble said:


> It is a racket... but it is one that pays you to be in it instead of "sucking the money out of you". If this guy is a good manager, you'll get a note like this:
> 
> "The tenant left the place a mess, and damaged the screens and left nails in the wall where he hung pictures. I got it all fixed and the place is ready to rent out. It cost about $150. I refunded the tenant his security deposit minus the $150"
> 
> Sure, it sounds bad, but when you actually do it, its just noise. I say this as a property manager of an apartment building. Sure, shit happens, but if you're cash positive (or mentally positive but down $100/mo) its worth it.


By repairs I mean more like...
1) Replaced toilet bowl because it looks like someone rolled a bowling bal into it.
2) Replaced bathroom vanity because tenant's kid was using it as a stepping stool and ripped it from the wall.
3) Replaced trim in living room, and repaired dry-wall corners because tenant's dog (which they were not supposed to have) chewed them all up.
4) Several cabinet doors in kitchen had to be replaced.
5) Carpets replaced because of damage, dog urine, etc. 
etc, etc.

Lots of folks round these parts just seem to think that because they rent it, they can abuse it. And that once the damages exceed the $500 deposit, they "might as well" tear it up because they are out their entire deposit anyway. Because of Hellinois' laws about site visits (must be announced a "reasonable" amount of time in advance (usually 24+ hours) the tenant had time to hide pets. You can KNOW they are in there, but you can't PROVE it, so there's nothing you can do. And evicting a problem tenent is a pain in the ass, especially if you're living out of state. The costs really start piling up.


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## 1skrewsloose (Jun 3, 2013)

Just to further my earlier post, I used to pay 2k for a 100 x 90 lot. Since the devalue I pay $1400 with $800 going to the school district.There is new construction going on on the outskirts of town. Some say the values of this drive my home value down. Don't know for sure. Farmers selling pasture for home building.


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## PatriotFlamethrower (Jan 10, 2015)

Maine-Marine said:


> I have said many times.... Property tax is a horrible awful thing and should be banned.. it hurts old folks, it is not fair to anybody.. and as long as you have to pay it..you never really own your property because you must pay for the RIGHT to own it year after year after year... skip a few years and see what happens
> 
> if you live there 30 years you will pay $51,000
> 
> ...


I would say it's time to sell the small farm, take the money, and RUN. Go to a gated retirement community, and retire in style.


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## PatriotFlamethrower (Jan 10, 2015)

I know that the housing market is different, depending on which part of the country, or even which part of your state, we all live in.

I can tell you that when we listed our home in New Hampshire, it took about 2 months to sell it. We purchased it in 2012, and we sold it for about $45,000 more than we paid for it. But we put quite a bit of sweat equity into it, too. Our property taxes were over $3600 per year.

When we moved to Tennessee about 5 weeks ago, it took us two weeks to find our new home. The property taxes for our new home, which is about 40 miles east of Knoxville, are about $700 per YEAR. The price we paid for our new home would have cost at least DOUBLE the price in New Hampshire.

The license plate fees are about $25.00 a YEAR. The fees in New Hampshire, and many other states, are based on the value of your vehicle License plates for our 2014 small SUV in New Hampshire cost us almost $400.00 per year. Plates for our motorhome are much more than that.

Tennessee has a 9.75% sales tax and no state income tax. I was told that a percentage of the sales tax is appropriated to each county, in lieu of the citizens paying high property taxes. 

Tennessee is an AMAZING place to be. The topography in eastern Tennessee is STUNNING. The people could not be friendlier. The roads are the best roads we have ever driven on in ANY state. Gas is cheap. There are PLENTY of Walmarts. The barbecue is fantastic. I am addicted to SWEET TEA. Hell, I even like grits (never had them before we moved here). PORK seems to be the choice of the carnivores around here. Love it! 

And, best of all, we have yet to meet ANYBODY in Tennessee who is NOT a conservative and hates Obama AND Al Gore. 

There are so many churches in this state, I could not even begin to count them. I have NEVER seen so many churches ANYWHERE else I have lived. I have never been around so many Christians in my life. Everybody we have met seems to live their lives with the guidance of "the good book".

For the first time in my life, I feel like I am amongst "my people".


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

PatriotFlamethrower said:


> I know that the housing market is different, depending on which part of the country, or even which part of your state, we all live in.
> 
> I can tell you that when we listed our home in New Hampshire, it took about 2 months to sell it. We purchased it in 2012, and we sold it for about $45,000 more than we paid for it. But we put quite a bit of sweat equity into it, too. Our property taxes were over $3600 per year.
> 
> ...


Welcome to the South PatriotFlamethrower, this must be your first extended visit.... well you are now in he Bible Belt. Here is what that means:

A church every 2 blocks
2 Mexican restaurants or barbecue joints for every church

Enjoy!


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## Ripon (Dec 22, 2012)

PatriotFlamethrower said:


> I would say it's time to sell the small farm, take the money, and RUN. Go to a gated retirement community, and retire in style.


Exactly! Sell the farm and buy a better one. Most the farmers in California were elated when the cities grew into their realm and they could subdivide and build houses or offices. Hell they use to promote it and push for it too happen.

Property taxes are a necessary evil. Property owners have needs that only government can meet and someone has to pay for them. Why would a non property own have to pay taxes for the roads, fire, police, and other services a property needs to have available? That said it doesn't / shouldn't be abused like it is by many states. CA's have done better with that and look at their property values?

Shacks in San Francisco go for $429k. Yes a 2 bed 1 ba hell hole.


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

I don't mind paying my share for roads, police, and fire protection. I just think 62% of my property tax bill going to the school is out of proportion.


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