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Pigs Are Flying...
Old 05-10-2010, 11:29 AM   #1
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Pigs Are Flying...

And in other news...

My property tax appraisal just posted, and it dropped by over 21%...

Looks like everyone appraisals went down somewhat, but mine more than most because I was probably paying more per square foot than most (though I got it down some 2 years ago by challenging it). They seemed to try to bring the value per square foot more in line this time around.

Looks like most folks in the neighborhood are down 5-10% from last year.

Now it remains to be seen how much they jack up tax rates to make up for the shortfall...
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Old 05-10-2010, 11:59 AM   #2
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Ours went up 5%. Oh well...could have been worse.
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Old 05-10-2010, 12:13 PM   #3
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I haven't received my property tax appraisal yet but since city schools are broke, I wouldn't be surprised to see our tax rates go up (I have heard as much as 10% is possible).
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Old 05-10-2010, 01:47 PM   #4
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Ziggy29, congratulations!!!

My property tax (paid in December) was based on the price I paid for my home in 2002, and that is the highest appraisal my house has ever had.

To explain why appraisals were not decreasing in a declining market, our Parish Assessor sent out a stern letter saying that while sales volume was way down, prices were not. Yeah, right? When pigs fly, indeed.

A new assessment is required by law every four years, and it was last year so I guess I'm good until I am 65 (should I choose to stay). The assessment is frozen from age 65 to death. My property tax is $864 so I have no complaints about it.
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Old 05-10-2010, 02:08 PM   #5
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My town is going thru an assessment right now. I got a letter and have to call them to make an appointment to get the inside of my house looked over. Dang, I just repainted and remodeled a bathroom.

If my appraised value goes down (and I think it must, given that it was last done mid bubble) I am sure the town will just increase tax rate so they get the same $$.
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Old 05-10-2010, 02:39 PM   #6
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We got our reduced valuation as well. The real questions are: Do we protest like we did last year? Did they really lower the valuation enough? Or did they make a calculated attempt to make people fall asleep?
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Old 05-10-2010, 03:08 PM   #7
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My property tax is $864 so I have no complaints about it.
Yeah, that's definetly a good deal. My condo is only worth $42,000 and I pay $950/yr in property taxes. That's 2.25%. Even if the appraised value goes down that doesn't mean taxes will go down. We're getting charged more to pay for underfunded education costs.
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Old 05-10-2010, 03:16 PM   #8
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My property tax is $864 so I have no complaints about it.
Louisiana is the best state to be in for property taxes.

The bottom 10 counties in median real estate taxes paid over 2006-2008 are (all from Louisiana), from highest to lowest amount, De Soto Parish ($129); Evangeline Parish ($127); Jefferson Davis Parish ($127); Webster Parish ($125); Sabine parish ($124); Richland Parish ($122); Avoyelles Parish ($120); Vernon Parish ($120); Allen Parish ($119); and Franklin Parish ($117).
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Old 05-10-2010, 04:05 PM   #9
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I was wrong. Due to increased millage it was $872 in 2009, $864 in 2008. I was over at Frank's without my records. Oh well. I'm not complaining, that's for sure.

Assessed value here is 10% of the real(appraised or purchase) value. We get a $7,500 homestead exemption, which means the first $75,000 of the home's value is tax free. In much of rural Louisiana, houses are often worth no more than $75,000 and require no property tax payments.

I paid $160K for my house in 2002, so I pay more than the median property tax for the state. That is to be expected since I live in New Orleans (location, location, location), and my house was just about exactly the median price for my suburb when I bought it.

Any excess money that one might accumulate due to the low property taxes in Louisiana, is absorbed by our high homeowners+flood insurance costs. Oh well.
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Old 05-10-2010, 05:53 PM   #10
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I remember a mind-blowing sales tax when I bought some t-shirts in the French Quarter on the way up north 7 years ago. Isn't the sales tax there near 10%?
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Old 05-10-2010, 06:20 PM   #11
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I remember a mind-blowing sales tax when I bought some t-shirts in the French Quarter on the way up north 7 years ago. Isn't the sales tax there near 10%?
Yes, our sales tax is very high!! Almost 10%. I guess if they don't get you one way, they'll get you another.

I like the idea of low property tax, though, in case of financial Armageddon. I can always hold back on buying things in an emergency but I can't hold back on paying my property tax. (pulling my tinfoil hat firmly down over my eyebrows)
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Old 05-11-2010, 10:25 AM   #12
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Here in NH we have on income or sales tax. Property tax is killer tho!
I think its still one of the lowest tax burden states tho.
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Old 05-11-2010, 11:11 AM   #13
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Lowest taxes since 1950:
Tax bills in 2009 at lowest level since 1950 - USATODAY.com
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Old 05-11-2010, 11:25 AM   #14
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No pigs flying here. My town and county didn't get the memo on property tax assessments. A little higher this year from last, which was a little higher from the year before, which was massively higher from the year before.

And 7.25 percent sales tax. And 3 percent income tax. Yet the state is more broke than ever. Chiggers and scorpions and hurricanes are looking better all the time.
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Old 05-11-2010, 05:41 PM   #15
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Got a nice surprize at the lake .... property tax drop over a GRAND! Seems VT raw land has taken off and is now carrying a higher tax burden (vice developed land). A nieghbor with 25+ acres reports his tax TRIPLED and he's been fighting with the town ever since.
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Old 05-17-2010, 05:08 PM   #16
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My appraisal just showed up today - reduced by 2.3%. City council is cutting the budget and swearing no tax increase. The bureaucratic moron that runs the school district is pleading poverty and asking the school board for a tax increase. Over my dead body - I've voted for all of the past bond elections and then seen how they've screwed that up. Never again. Any school board candidate that wants my vote is going to have to swear to forego tax increases until the district learns how to spend money intelligently.
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Old 05-17-2010, 05:20 PM   #17
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Just peeked again to make sure it wasn't a mistake. Nope -- still down 21% from last year. :-)

I read in a local paper the other day that the average appraisal countywide was about 2%. I think the high-rent "resort" lakeside community about 20 miles from here took the brunt of the increases.
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Old 05-17-2010, 06:29 PM   #18
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Our county commissioners just decided to leave tax rates stationary vs. 2009. We only see reassessments every 8 years, so I'm good for 6 more years. Another year of flat property taxes (3 in a row). Unless the City comes knocking with a couple of cents tax increase... grrr!!!
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Old 05-17-2010, 07:09 PM   #19
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Well, it will be interesting to see what happens this year here in Florida with property taxes. My guess is that everyone on my block will be hit with something different, some will go up and some will go down, this seems to be the norm here.

Taxes here are like the stock market, you never know what's going to happen.
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Old 05-31-2010, 10:26 AM   #20
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The pigs are still grounded in my neck of the woods. My appraisal arrived yesterday and is up 4.7%. With the prospect of a rock quarry looming next door I suspect there will be a torchlight parade on the county tax office if my neighbors don't get the decreases we were anticipating.

Now where did I put those matches...
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