Just remember to do your part as a taxpayer and always vote against the school budget.
wow, I only pay $800 a year. And thats for a three bedroom house on 4 acres. Mind you I live in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere.
OK, this is easy: you don’t pay the property taxes. You bought the place? If there hadn’t been these property taxes, you would have paid more for the place, right? Sure, you’re shelling out the money, but you got the place cheaper because of it.
We pay <digs out paperwork> a little over $1,000 for a large, mostly finished house on 9 acres about four miles from a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. Precious few services. We haul our own garbage, have a private well and septic, and I hope I never have to call an ambulance or the cops because I’d be dead before they got here. Our road is one of the last to get plowed in the winter.
In Calif it’s 1% of the property value. They shoud re-access the values.
Anyway, Calif also has state taxes, sales tax, etc.
Other states do it another way, like NH has very high property taxes, but no income tax, right?
No, it works the opposite. The more you pay for the house the more the property taxes are.
The house price doesn`t go down as the taxes go up.
Philster, what happened to **Phlosphrs** thread about the tree house? He hasnt responded since July 3rd. I wonder how they would tax that thing? Tree house thread.
Phlosphr has got a new thread going http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=196114
I don’t know how you tax a tree!
Taxes versus house value: Some homes are priced more expensively because the tax rate is so low. Think the rate.
For example, a home in NJ, where tax rates are very high would sell for 300k in NJ…about 2800 sq ft. The same home in Deleware (as a comparable suburb of Philly) would sell for 450k, because the tax rate is very very low.
The seller is trying to attract a buyer who can part with about 38-40% of their income on their mtg/tax bill.
It tends to happen. Not a sweeping rule, but it happens.
While your children may not go the the public school, other children in your community are.
These children may one day become:
The doctors who treat you, your children and maybe your grandchildren.
The police that protect you in the future.
The people who run the businesses that you patronize, and the services you need.
The politicians that decide on how your government is run.
The scientists that will bring new knowledge and insight into your world.
The engineers and programmers that will create new technology to improve your quality of living.
And quite possibly new members to this board.
All of these children will become eligible to vote eventually. One whole grade will be able to vote <i>next year</i>.
Do you want these people at least have a chance at an education? I do - I want them to have a very good education.
Certainly, I would not take away from the edu. budget. The school systems around here are fine for the most part. Except the Milwaukee public school system, which could use a good swift kick…
A vaguely secular private school is $12,000 a year elementary school tution ($14,000 eighth grade and up). There are cheaper options, but they are either heavily religous or not any better than the public schools (or both), so my realistic options for my children (not being religious and not desiring religious indoctorination during school hours for my children and needing a better alternative if I’m going to shell out cash) are public school or $12k a year.
I have two children (currently not in school).
I pay $4000 a year in property tax (a little less, but we will use round numbers).
$12000 x 12 x 2 / 4000 = 72 years.
I’m getting a bargain.
I’m not sure what I pay (it’s too painful) but a bit more than you. I pay for water, sewer and garbage separately. The schools are terribly underfunded, since the allocation of money from the state was frozen at the time of Prop. 13, and the LA legislators, who get more than their share, won’t let it get changed. And I pay five times more than the people who lived in the house before me paid, since in California houses never get reassessed unless you do major modifications or sell them.
Now when I lived in Louisiana 23 years ago I owned a house worth $40k
or so. (Not a shack - nice 3 bedroom house in a nice neighborhood.) I paid - don’t faint - $50 a year. That’s right five 0 a year. In the oil boom days you had an exemption from state taxes if your house was worth then $50, so you paid only the minor city tax. The schools sucked, but having no kids then I didn’t care.
Anyone ever pay less?
whuckfistle, maybe this will help. I pay approximately the same amount in property taxes as you. On a 3bdrm TOWNHOUSE in the SF Bay Area. Plus home association fees.
I agree with Philster: Phlosphr has the right idea with the damn tree house.