Big_Hitter
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I can't believe how high some people's property taxes are.
I.
ours are over $13K a year......
and we have a 7% state income tax
I can't believe how high some people's property taxes are.
I.
Maybe she was thinking about Louisiana. Here, if you are over 65, and your AGI is less than a certain amount, you can apply to have your assessment frozen. If the millage rates go up, your taxes do go up, but at least your assessment remains the same. And millages seldom go up here.I wish that was 100% accurate, but unfortunately it isn't. I'm 72 and pay more in property tax each year.Some places, Texas for example, locks in your prop tax amount once you hit a certain age 65 or 70 or some such. So the tax goes up on paper but the current owner occupant wont ever pay more in their lifetime. Probs arise when they get helpful and gift the house to children to get it out of their name thinking they are gaming medicare assets testing. Suddenly equally poor adult child owes a goctha amount of prop taxes once that lock is removed
+1I can't believe how high some people's property taxes are.
Can't cure stupid!California is a relatively inexpensive place to retire if your home is paid off. But only 18% of homeowners in Los Angeles County own their homes free and clear. Many use their homes as ATM machines and carry large mortgages and complain about the high cost of housing. Go figure!
I read about everyone's HIGH property taxes and I am really glad that I live in California where they tax income not property. Enables us to retire (as income decreases but property increases in value which is meaningless until sold)
The numbers for 2018 were:
California:
No Mortgage
Property tax: $5960
Home Insurance: $1550
Earthquake Insurance: $1120
Electricity: -$146 per year (solar panels cover our consumption)
gas: $236 per year
water: $1026 per year (includes $42 per month for water softening)
garbage collection: $234
Security Monitoring: $180
Pool and garden: $1432
Grand total: $11,592 per year or $966 per month which is not bad for a modern updated 5 bedroom 3 bath home with a pool and outdoor living area. Proposition 13 keeps our property taxes relatively low. A home similar to ours down the street is renting for $4800 per month without a pool.
I hate to break it to you.
Here in New England 12,000/ year is enough to own a new home AND to support a family, as your entire annual income.
I own a new house [built in 2005], also on solar-power, on 150 acres of forest land, with 1/4 mile of river frontage. My property taxes is $850/year.
And how cold is it there?
I thought the topic of this thread was:
"How much do you spend on your home?"
This is a full four-seasons region.
It gets cold enough that our rivers freeze over to allow us to drive across them and to ice fish.
Which are the same temps needed for the production of maple syrup and for our apple orchards to produce fruit.
I go through about 3 1/2 cords of firewood each year, both for heating and for cooking.
My annual heating costs around just under $800/year. I have no A/C.
How much do you spend on A/C?
As the state with the highest average age and the highest percentage of retirees, this would show that a lot of us retirees prefer cooler weather.
I moved to a state that is very rural, so I could re-invent myself to be a long hair hippy living off-grid in the woods. I can ski, sled, hunt, fish, kayak all without leaving my property.
I am about an hour from the ocean, so we can enjoy that whenever we want. But my career was spent at-sea, so I have little desire to really hang-out near the ocean in my retirement.
To me this is 'living it up'.