New Plan, Interesting here.

[dumpster56]

Took the house off the market here in NJ. seriously folks I am not sure what the government is saying and I know having the house on the market for 30 days may not be a good indication but things are slow .

I decided after a trip thru the raleigh area and saw what my money will buy me in real estate and saw the tremendous growth that is occuring and TAXES that will only GO UP in that part of NC heck wake cty is opening 7 NEW SCHOOLS in August of this year and well I think I will stay here for 3 years at which time I will have a much better financial footing. The pension will be near 42,000 instead of 31,000 and during this time I will travel all over the usof a to find the best place to set my hat.

In the meantime my mortgage is still fixed at 5.5% for the next 4 years and my salary will go up 4 % each of the next 3 years.

Sure I must work in Newark and that commute but hey I am comfortable with my choice.

So I quit at 53 instead of 50 not bad.

 

[JPatrick]

Plus, your plan gives you more time to get the accent right

 

[Spanky]

More power to you. Sounds like a good plan - higher pension and more time to select the right spot for retirement.

 

[justin]

I wouldn't fret too much about Raleigh/Wake County raising taxes. We have a fiscally conservative government in place. The city council and county commissioners throw a $hit fit when someone proposes a $0.01 property tax increase. Check out the historical property tax rates. The rates now are lower than they were 10 years ago.

Just make sure you don't accidentally buy a place in Chapel Hill. Unless you like 10+% tax increases every freakin year (I learned my lesson the expensive way).

See ya'll in a few years!


edited to add Wake county/raleigh historical property tax rates:
http://www.wakegov.com/NR/rdonlyres/5E81E9E2-18F9-43FC-8B51-0BF92B9B44C4/0/TaxRates2005.pdf

 

[dumpster56]

I wouldn't fret too much about Raleigh/Wake County raising taxes.  We have a fiscally conservative government in place.  The city council and county commissioners throw a $hit fit when someone proposes a $0.01 property tax increase.  Check out the historical property tax rates.  The rates now are lower than they were 10 years ago. 

Just make sure you don't accidentally buy a place in Chapel Hill.  Unless you like 10+% tax increases every freakin year (I learned my lesson the expensive way). 

See ya'll in a few years!


edited to add Wake county/raleigh historical property tax rates:
http://www.wakegov.com/NR/rdonlyres/5E81E9E2-18F9-43FC-8B51-0BF92B9B44C4/0/TaxRates2005.pdf

I have seen that tax rate number, however the big building boom and the schools and infrastucture that is built can only do one thing bring people in.

I am gonna take a long hard look before I move in 3 years.

 

[SteveR]

I have seen that  tax rate number, however the big building boom and the schools and infrastucture that is built can only do one thing bring people in.

I am gonna take a long hard look before I move in 3 years.

This is just the begining of the migration South. As more folks retire from the frozen North and Midwest, they will flock to warmer climates like NC, SC, TN, FL, AL, GA, TX, AZ, NM etc. These states will continue to grow and will have significant increased in RE prices and taxes along the way. Get in now while the costs are still "reasonable". It is also worth noting that some of these same states have no income tax. How long will that last? RE Tax will have to bear a greater proportion of the state's funding to pay for infrastructure growth to support the increase in population.

Waiting for stability in prices and taxes in these favored areas may be a long wait.

 

[justin]

I have seen that tax rate number, however the big building boom and the schools and infrastucture that is built can only do one thing bring people in.

I am gonna take a long hard look before I move in 3 years.

We have had high population growth and "building booms" for the last decade. In spite of that, taxes have remained stable. As always, do your due diligence on a place before you move there, but if you are afraid of a huge increase in property taxes, I wouldn't worry too much, unless the influx of liberal Northerners starts influencing local politics.

Here's the way things work - the City Manager's budget department proposes a very tiny budget increase. The mayor and city council freaks out and says "no tax hikes on my watch". City Manager goes back to the drawing board, cuts out the fat, gets more efficient, and brings back a budget with no tax increase. I know it is hard to believe, but a 1 cent tax increase gets a lot of airtime on the 5 o'clock news here. The city politicos (liberal and conservative alike) are very responsive to the concerns of taxpayers (voters).