LCOL discoveries

[Rianne]

PS. Why is walking distance to Starbucks an asset? I find there coffee bitter, over roasted and honestly I do not like it. They are very over rated IMHO.

I grind the beans and make espresso at home. Starbucks positions itself in areas of development and high traffic due to popular restaurants, shops and grocery stores. Our Starbucks draws people from all over and they support other businesses in the area. Living close to a Starbucks draws people, business. The recent development (in the last 5 years) has appreciated our home value considerably.

 

[NoiseBoy]

I pay $2,500 a year for 1,500 square feet with a 2 car garage in a downstate Illinois city. $1525 of that goes to the school district with another $175 going to the community college. The city and county combined take another $600 and the library gets $80. I don't mind the library tax because I have two different e-Readers on my iPad so I can read and watch TV shows and movies using my library card. The water district, airport, and township get the rest.

I feel that we have a high level of city services but I've been shopping for a small house with a little more land, and the property taxes I'm seeing on 10 acres are close to $7,000 which is a big turn off for me. I think Illinois will continue to be my home for at least 5 years (Dad is here, as is my sister), so I keep looking but can't make up my mind about buying now versus waiting until I could move away.

 

[Red Badger]

3200sqft here, $5,500 Taxes, everything we need within 5 minutes away.

PS. Why is walking distance to Starbucks an asset? I find there coffee bitter, over roasted and honestly I do not like it. They are very over rated IMHO.

I think SB is a hit for folks who like "coffee-ish" beverages. I like dark roast coffee like my whisky - straight and no chaser. SB coffee is the absolute pits.

 

[ychuck46]

Life is Great in a LCOL Place

Nice, where is LCOL you found? We're in a university town that offers many services. Our property taxes are stupid high ($5500) for a 2500 sq. ft. 60 yr. old ranch.

We moved from a HCOL state (blue) to a LCOL state (red). Our taxes in the former abode were $7-8000 per year for a 2500 sq ft home as well on 1/3 of an acre; our taxes in our home for the last nine years are $1900 on a 5000 sq ft all-brick home on 4 acres in a development. I also worked for four more years after we moved, saving a large amount on income taxes (we have no state income tax here). Everything was lowered with the move. Life is good when you leave profligate states.

 

[VanWinkle]

Well c'mon down! We have lovely forest preserves, very little traffic. Can get from Champaign to Urbana in < 15 minutes. Walk to football, basketball, concerts, grocery stores, Starbuck's etc. And our Middle Fork Forest preserve just got designated as an International Dark Sky Park (only 62 in the world). Sorry, it's nice to be near Chicago. It is a beautiful city. We used to live in Elmhurst.

That's interesting as I didn't know about the dark sky designation. I enjoy astronomy and may make a trip to this park. My son graduated college there, but I never heard about this park. Thanks for the tip!!

 

[iloveyoga]

That's interesting as I didn't know about the dark sky designation. I enjoy astronomy and may make a trip to this park. My son graduated college there, but I never heard about this park. Thanks for the tip!!

I had the same thought. I know there is one in Texas, but I could drive to Illinois.

 

[Rianne]

That's interesting as I didn't know about the dark sky designation. I enjoy astronomy and may make a trip to this park. My son graduated college there, but I never heard about this park. Thanks for the tip!!

Just got designated this year. We're listed here:
https://www.darksky.org/our-work/conservation/idsp/parks/
Middle Fork River Forest Preserve.
I am on the Citizens Advisory Committee that worked, for 2 years, on the application. The Dark Sky Org is very specific and our application was a bear to complete.
I have to add it was one of the best challenges of my life. All volunteer.

 

[ivinsfan]

3200sqft here, $5,500 Taxes, everything we need within 5 minutes away.

PS. Why is walking distance to Starbucks an asset? I find there coffee bitter, over roasted and honestly I do not like it. They are very over rated IMHO.

It's not really about the Starbucks it's about the shops and things around the Starbucks, that's a sign you have a bustling community.

 

[Souschef]

Our taxes are $400 on a 1400 sq ft home in Ventura CA

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Our taxes are $400 on a 1400 sq ft home in Ventura CA

You have Prop 13. Here taxes are ~1% of the home price so you can work it out.

 

[ivinsfan]

Our taxes are $400 on a 1400 sq ft home in Ventura CA

talk about golden handcuffs and similar to ACA subsidies other homeowners are subsidizing your property tax costs...

 

[VanWinkle]

talk about golden handcuffs and similar to ACA subsidies other homeowners are subsidizing your property tax costs...

Wish I could get some to subsidize mine in Illinois.......... $5400 on 1750 sq ft.

 

[Souschef]

talk about golden handcuffs and similar to ACA subsidies other homeowners are subsidizing your property tax costs...

I was paying over $3000 on my condo. When I married DW, part of her dowry was an exemption on her old home that we could transfer to our new home. Bless her

 

[Urchina]

Amateur. Try $13,500 for 1750 sq ft. 59 yr old three bed, 1 1/2 bath. (That was for 2018, an increase is in the works.)

Right there with ya, MarielG. $10,000+/year for a 1600 sq. Ft 60+ y.o. house.

It's a lot, but we're pretty happy with what we get in return -lots of great public parks, excellent public schools and libraries, responsive local government and outstanding fire, police and EMS services. All within a friendly, walkable, safe mid-sized town biking distance to the beach and with fantastic weather year-round. My kids will attend a nationally ranked public high school and the community norm is for everyone to go to public school.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Our property taxes are really low. They figure age of the house into the formula. So 1400 sq ft house is worth 320 and we pay 700/year. House is 69 years old. We would pay more if it was newer.

 

[Dtail]

You have Prop 13. Here taxes are ~1% of the home price so you can work it out.

~1.5% here if one includes CDD fees.

 

[imoldernu]

A few points....

Depending on state and local laws, two breaks for senior house taxes.
Senior Tax Freeze- into effect on the home purchase for seniors. It means that the base tax rate at time of buying, will not change. For us based, on 2004 purchase an annual saving compared to today... $1300/yr.

Homestead exemption from Nolo:

Under the Illinois exemption system, homeowners may exempt up to $15,000 of their home or other property covered by the homestead exemption. The Illinois homestead exemption requires that you be a legal owner of record to claim the exemption, meaning your name is listed on the deed to the property.

.........................................................................................

When considering a relocation... some things that should be mandatory.

1. Go to City-Data to find the statistics and general rating of all homeowners considerations compared to that of the state. This is an absolute necessity, IMHO.

2. Search Google for Real Estate Dealers in the town being considered. The websites givea good picture of the age and value of the home in the interest area.

3. A long hard look at Google Maps... to check the local roads and kind of businesses that are important to you. Check the distances and type of travel that's available. Zero in on "Street View" to see the types of roads, housing and traffic. An hour on "maps: will save days of driving around.

4. Determine your own likes, which may not be those that others care about. Know what you're looking for and not be swayed... example... schools, theatre, hiking lakes and trails, big shopping centers, golf courses, sports venues, night life, 'views', hospitals and doctors, retirement communities (for later on). It's nice to say "look at where I live", but more important that the area is right for you.

5. If moving far from family, and close friends, realize that your life will change. For close families, this can be devastating.

In short, a two or three day trip to look at a town you've heard about may not be enough to pick out a home that you could be happy in, for the rest of your life.

 

[Montecfo]

I was paying over $3000 on my condo. When I married DW, part of her dowry was an exemption on her old home that we could transfer to our new home. Bless her

Cool. And the rest? Negotiable instruments? Livestock?

 

[MarieIG]

Yikes! You can't take your property taxes as a tax deduction this year? Am I correct?

Hi Rianne, I took my property taxes as a deduction for the NYS income tax; but not for the Federal, as SALT deductions were limited to 10k - and the vast majority of my Federal deductions were SALT.

 

[MarieIG]

Property taxes on a 1,568 sq ft condo in So California are $14,350. Used to be around $10K when we bought the place in 2003, but have increased over 40% despite Proposition 13. Lots of voters in LA County and CA like to pass “improvements” that are funded by property taxes. Then they wonder why rents go up so much, and call for rent control to “strike back against greedy landlords.” The average voter here clearly didn’t take Econ 101. :facepalm

Yep, I hear ya. You condo is probably lovely; and would sell for a whole lot more than my house, but there comes a point where it just gets too painful.

 

[MarieIG]

Right there with ya, MarielG. $10,000+/year for a 1600 sq. Ft 60+ y.o. house.

It's a lot, but we're pretty happy with what we get in return -lots of great public parks, excellent public schools and libraries, responsive local government and outstanding fire, police and EMS services. All within a friendly, walkable, safe mid-sized town biking distance to the beach and with fantastic weather year-round. My kids will attend a nationally ranked public high school and the community norm is for everyone to go to public school.

Glad that you are happy with your quality of life. That is very important.

Our fire department is excellent, they are volunteers. EMS, they respond for free, but of course, if we get on an ambulance to travel to the hospital, the bill is HUGE. Police Department is great at handing out parking tickets: quotas. I got a ticket due to the placement of my GPS. There are additional assessment County fees on tickets. The police were called by one of our neighbors for a large rowdy group of high school kids, and wouldn't follow them into the woods, said it was out of their jurisdiction. After the high school kids ran down the block breaking the windshields on the majority of cars parked on the street, we eventually got a camera installed. Another neighbor was burglarized, the thieves were not caught.

I will say that the police in the neighborhood where I used to work, caught the bank robber on the block where my office was located. Third time was the charm. He kept coming back.

We have taxes, on top of assessments on top of fees. But the vast majority of the taxes based on home ownership goes to the schools, for the payment of salaries, benefits and pensions. (Of course it costs the school employees a lot to live here.)

Our roads congested, and there seems to be constant work, and constant lane closures resulting in miserable commutes. That notwithstanding, the roads are in poor shape (potholes).

We also pay high state income tax, and high sales tax. If we need to commute into the City for work, we are gouged. One of the bridges into Staten Island just obtained the dubious distinction of being the most expensive in the Country - up to $19 if you do not have a discount. I will be crossing it twice next week.

Services are also funded by State income tax, but many of the services for which we are paying, we don't qualify. Public transportation is slow, late, and expensive. On the bright side, they have very entertaining excuses as to why they are slow, late and expensive. Now NYC which itself causes a great deal of congestion, is going to be charging a congestion tax.

Car insurance is expensive, home owners insurance is expensive, and utilities are expensive.

Weather varies. Sometimes nice, sometimes not so nice. The local library is fine. We have nice parks. We can drive to the beach: and can swim three months a year. (Of course we are working 6-7 days a week to pay our bills and taxes, which doesn't leave much time for the beach.) Our neighborhood is a cute blue collar neighborhood (barring the pot holes).

 

[VanWinkle]

Yikes! You can't take your property taxes as a tax deduction this year? Am I correct?

In Illinois you can take your property taxes off of your Illinois tax return. You can also take them off the federal return, but the new standard deduction is usually more than you can get by itemizing. Couple over 65 gets 26,600 standard deduction this year.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Our property taxes are .3% because of Prop 13. ACA plan premiums last year were $24, so between the two it has helped keep our fixed expenses in retirement relatively low for a high cost of living area.

 

[Bamaman]

Amateur. Try $13,500 for 1750 sq ft. 59 yr old three bed, 1 1/2 bath. (That was for 2018, an increase is in the works.)

For your property taxes, we only have one house in our county for more, and it's a relatively new 28,000 square foot home on a 2,000 ft. lakefront property--$15,000 taxes. And his $25 million superyacht sitting over at the yacht club is without any personal property taxes.

 

[aja8888]

For your property taxes, we only have one house in our county for more, and it's a relatively new 28,000 square foot home on a 2,000 ft. lakefront property--$15,000 taxes. And his $25 million superyacht sitting over at the yacht club is without any personal property taxes.

Yeah, but it's ONLY lake front property, not Long Island Sound!