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Post by marc on Apr 2, 2014 17:11:59 GMT -7
As I have posted here before, property taxes are my biggest problem with Texas - they are too high. We have no personal income taxes here, so that's great when you have a paycheck, but the property taxes can be a killer when you retire. When I moved here from CA, I was thrilled to pay the higher property taxes because the lack of income taxes put me way, way, ahead. In my county, the school district gets 75% of my annual property tax bill. The kicker is that the school board has the power to raise that part of the taxes!
Think about that: 25% covers the roads, fire, sheriff, emergency services, and general funds. The other 75% goes to the school district. So, we have a mega stadium, a performing arts center that is incredible, every kid gets a wifi enabled iPad to use - and the list goes on.
Now, as I get older, having a lower overhead is more important to me than how much money the schools get! (In fact I want to see their budget cut in half until they prove that the teachers are getting it!)
If you live in Texas, you have to pick your county carefully. Down at the family ranch, the tax bill $700. for the base 30 acres with the house, and only a few bucks more for the rest. But then, the schools are downright awful.
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Post by solargeek1 on Apr 3, 2014 5:40:22 GMT -7
Taxes and WI; need I say more? High income taxes (which of course will be much lower for us after DH retires); high property taxes. But we have a great governor and really great sheriffs, police and emts/fire departments.
ALSO, UNLIKE IL (notice the abbreviation is "il" as in "makes me ill") where potholes can literally suck your car into a spatial distortion at ANY time of the year and no one does a thing, WI actually fixes potholes and roads WITHOUT me paying $$$$ for the privilege of driving on a highway. The highways are called "freeways" and not "pay me all your $$" ways; aka 'tollways'.
Re: OP. Would not register. No matter what.
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Post by cajunlady87 on Apr 3, 2014 17:11:46 GMT -7
I believe anytime you need to start registering any part of your home with any government body it's an invasion of your constitutional rights.
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Post by marc on Apr 3, 2014 17:32:57 GMT -7
I believe anytime you need to start registering any part of your home with any government body it's an invasion of your constitutional rights. Which is why any form of personal property tax should be abolished...........But then, this country hasn't adhered to our constitution for a long time. Hmmm, how's that working for us now? |
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Post by dtucker on Apr 19, 2014 7:18:25 GMT -7
Around here, town officials walk through everyone's house once every 10 years. They will literally walk through each room, ostensibly verifying that what's listed about the house is true, e.g. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, finished basement, etc. If something doesn't match their previous inspection, taxes are increased accordingly. Permits are needed for just about anything, and unless you sell the property before that next inspection, you'll be paying for whatever you did. If you had a storm shelter here, you better believe the town will not only know about it, they'll have seen it, inside and out. I wouldn't put up with that for a minute. There is no way someone that I did not know would come into my house and walk around at free will. |
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Post by angelhelp on Apr 19, 2014 7:33:45 GMT -7
It surprised me too, the first time. The second time was a royal pia trying to arrange for a time when we knew an adult would be home. They don't paw through stuff but check that everything is what you say it is, i.e. closets are closets, "half bathrooms" are sink & toilet only, etc. Apparently one of the so-called improvements made by the previous owner, the removal of a bearing wall and installation of a countertop on what had been supporting studs didn't matter. When the ceiling above this travesty began to droop, I started wondering why, considering there was nothing but "house" (no furniture, etc.) up there. After seeing one particular episode of This Old House and learning what a bearing wall was, I checked our basement and realized what had happened. MirkwoodWanderer's godfather came over, took a look, confirmed that I was correct, and rebuilt the wall. The town didn't blink at that one either. The one where they blinked was when they discovered that the previous owner had added a shower to what had been a "half bathroom". I had no idea what a half bathroom was, so when the town came knocking, I answered their questions and divulged the existence of the shower. Bang went the taxes.
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Post by olebama on Apr 20, 2014 19:02:37 GMT -7
I had a below ground storm cellar installed. Cut a hole in the garage, dug it out, and install it. It has a roll door. The installers recommended that I contact the local fire department so they would know to look for survivors. I went to the local FD and gave them the info. The Chief immediately sat down and entered the info into their computer.
I did not "register it" with city hall. I know that those computers can be connected. However, it seems like a logical thing to do. I also informed my neighbors and family in the area.
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Post by Cwi555 on Apr 21, 2014 1:16:41 GMT -7
I had a below ground storm cellar installed. Cut a hole in the garage, dug it out, and install it. It has a roll door. The installers recommended that I contact the local fire department so they would know to look for survivors. I went to the local FD and gave them the info. The Chief immediately sat down and entered the info into their computer. I did not "register it" with city hall. I know that those computers can be connected. However, it seems like a logical thing to do. I also informed my neighbors and family in the area. If it went into a database, it's effectively registered. |
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Post by tjwilhelm on Apr 21, 2014 8:04:58 GMT -7
As I have posted here before, property taxes are my biggest problem with Texas - they are too high. We have no personal income taxes here, so that's great when you have a paycheck, but the property taxes can be a killer when you retire. When I moved here from CA, I was thrilled to pay the higher property taxes because the lack of income taxes put me way, way, ahead. In my county, the school district gets 75% of my annual property tax bill. The kicker is that the school board has the power to raise that part of the taxes!...If you live in Texas, you have to pick your county carefully. Down at the family ranch, the tax bill $700. for the base 30 acres with the house, and only a few bucks more for the rest. But then, the schools are downright awful. Ouch! Taxes! I'm in a very rural part of Illinois. The county population is only 14,000. Still, with only 5 acres, one house, and one outbuilding, my property taxes are over $1,200.00/year. I think the extra we pay over the already high Texas taxes can be called "corruption tax" -- the extra income the State needs to pay for graft and corruption in Chicago and Springfield. |
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Post by marc on Apr 21, 2014 10:44:57 GMT -7
As I have posted here before, property taxes are my biggest problem with Texas - they are too high. We have no personal income taxes here, so that's great when you have a paycheck, but the property taxes can be a killer when you retire. When I moved here from CA, I was thrilled to pay the higher property taxes because the lack of income taxes put me way, way, ahead. In my county, the school district gets 75% of my annual property tax bill. The kicker is that the school board has the power to raise that part of the taxes!...If you live in Texas, you have to pick your county carefully. Down at the family ranch, the tax bill $700. for the base 30 acres with the house, and only a few bucks more for the rest. But then, the schools are downright awful. Ouch! Taxes! I'm in a very rural part of Illinois. The county population is only 14,000. Still, with only 5 acres, one house, and one outbuilding, my property taxes are over $1,200.00/year. I think the extra we pay over the already high Texas taxes can be called "corruption tax" -- the extra income the State needs to pay for graft and corruption in Chicago and Springfield. I would love to pay your property tax bill because mine are a bit more than 5 times that...........  |
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Post by tjwilhelm on Apr 21, 2014 11:16:59 GMT -7
Marc! Oh, NO! I had the impression your taxes were $700.00 per YEAR. Is that per MONTH? OUCH!
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Post by marc on Apr 21, 2014 14:42:08 GMT -7
TJ,
The $700 per year in my previous post is for the shared family ranch/farm about 35 miles South of my house.
Mine are $6,385. per year for the house and the immediate 3 acres surrounding it - $4,840. of which goes to the school district.
Once you build a house on the land - the school district really comes after you. The school board can vote anytime to raise the taxes on their 76% of the total if they feel so inclined! For a town of 8,000 we have the fanciest darn stadium, performing arts center and technology equipment...and they constantly cry broke and can't afford to pay the teachers enough.....
I already bought some of the land next to me to serve as a buffer from neighbors because taxes on open land are cheap. The absentee owner of the nine acres behind me has been wanting to sell to me for a long time. Taxes on that whole piece are about $400. per year if I leave it alone - which I would. But, I think I'm going pull up and move further away from people when the area rebounds just a bit more from the fire in 2011.
Marc
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