Texans Count Your Blessings

[101A]

I just finished filing my income taxes for the first time outside of the Great State of Texas.

I now live in Pennsylvania.

I filed FOUR, count them, FOUR tax returns:

1. Federal
2. State
3. Township
4. School District!

AND the property tax on my new house is 4 Grand!

[DarkReign]

$4k?!

Where the fuck do you live? Philly?

My brother scouted PA for houses when he visited there. He told me the houses were cheap as hell (in comparison to MI). A house here thats 2600sq.ft. goes for around $250k-$300k. There, he found one for $180k.

Guess that explains it then. They get you in taxes. Bummer.

[Sec24Row7]

Property Tax on my new house is going to be like 14 grand.

Of course, we have no state income tax, so our property taxes are a little out of control.

[DarkReign]

Property Tax on my new house is going to be like 14 grand.

Of course, we have no state income tax, so our property taxes are a little out of control.

Wait. That still isnt right. If I added my state income tax paid and my property taxes together, I wouldnt even be NEAR $14k.

You live in a mansion, dude? Because I got a pretty killer house in a pretty affluent area.

[Sec24Row7]

3200 sq feet. By no means a mansion. 3% of value a year.

[101A]

$4k?!

Where the fuck do you live? Philly?

My brother scouted PA for houses when he visited there. He told me the houses were cheap as hell (in comparison to MI). A house here thats 2600sq.ft. goes for around $250k-$300k. There, he found one for $180k.

Guess that explains it then. They get you in taxes. Bummer.


I live in Rural Western PA - House prices here are roughly equivalent to SA area. I sold one in the Hill Country N. of Helotes on 6 acres, got roughly the same thing here, sans the land, for 100K less. The property taxes on my home in Texas were 9K (and rising 10% - the max allowed by Bexar County) per year.

[clubalien]

problem with the bexar county peeps is insted of rasing the taxes they raise what the house is valued at. So we hired someone to go down to say hey our house isnlt worth that. They agreeed but then the next freaking year they went ahead and raised it back !!!!!

remember houses never appreation they can only deperatate

it is the ladn that (location) that becomes valabale

so how can your house jump value in a year ( keep in mind this wasnl;t during the housing boom time frame either)

[Yonivore]

problem with the bexar county peeps is insted of rasing the taxes they raise what the house is valued at. So we hired someone to go down to say hey our house isnlt worth that. They agreeed but then the next freaking year they went ahead and raised it back !!!!!
So, go back and contest the appraisal again.


remember houses never appreation they can only deperatate
Where'd you go to school? Not only is this a false statement -- it remains false when you use the actual words appreciation and depreciation.


it is the ladn that (location) that becomes valabale
Land and structures are appraised separately.


so how can your house jump value in a year ( keep in mind this wasnl;t during the housing boom time frame either)
Well, you could experience what I did in the 90's and have Dell Computer Corporation open shop next door. 40% appreciation in value in one year.

[clubalien]

yeah that is what I don't like either. Is that people in our neighborhood start building expansive houses by us. It causes our taxes to go up, just because their house is worth alot and happens to be near us dispite our house not changing at al.

[Yonivore]

yeah that is what I don't like either. Is that people in our neighborhood start building expansive houses by us. It causes our taxes to go up, just because their house is worth alot and happens to be near us dispite our house not changing at al.
You could sell when the value goes up.

[Nbadan]

In order to raise revenue, the city and county must do one of two things, increase the tax rate or increase the appraisal value of existing homes. Increasing tax rates in Texas is not politically expedient if you’re a politician and want to keep your job. Increasing the appraisal of homes is also lined with danger, but of a different kind. For one, people on fixed income are squeezed even further by higher taxes and insurance, and there are no set guarantees that a home will sell for near its appraised value, especially because the housing market bases their appraisals on past home sales in the area, which were hot for awhile in San Antonio, but have cooled considerably of late. All it takes is one crooked surveyor or private home appraiser, and one or two dumb-asses willing to over-pay for a home, to raise the appraisal value on existing homes in a particular area.

Even worse, these fantasy appraisal values are used by credit company to induce consumers to refinance their homes at come-on interest rates, and also take money out of the closing for home improvements, new SUV's, Spurs season tickets, etc..etc..etc...in essence making people feel richer than they actually are.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Well, paranoia aside, at least here in Texas the most they can bump property values from one year to the next is 10%. Other states have no such homestead caps.

[Nbadan]

Well, paranoia aside, at least here in Texas the most they can bump property values from one year to the next is 10%. Other states have no such homestead caps.

Actually, I believe that's a Bexar County cap placed by tax-payers.

I've been tracking high-price home sales in Bexar County for awhile and they seem to be easing.