STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Elle · Hermes

Property Taxes?

e_doli · Dooney & Bourke

$3000 being high depends on what the value of your house is. For comparison, we bought our house for $135,000 and our taxes are $1200/yr. (they don't tax you on 100% of the value of your home -- i think we are taxed on $108,000)

what you should look at to see if its high or not is the mill rate. this is the rate that the town taxes you at and it is different in every town. (i am not an expert about this -- this is basically what i understand about it -- anyone else feel free to jump in) i know that the property taxes usually go to pay for town stuff like schools, public water and sewer, local roads.

in my area, towns that have more families sending children to the public schools have higher mill rates. the town i grew up in has a lot of weekend/seasonal residents (being 2hrs from nyc). these people pay property tax (lots b/c for the most part they have more expensive homes) but do not use most of the services that the property taxes fund (like the local schools). therefore, the mill rate in that town is relatively low -- around 16. there is a town nearby that is less wealthy, mostly full time residents and not many expensive homes, lots of families. this town's mill rate is 32, b/c they have more people using the services (most people who pay property tax are sending kids to school).

hope that helps you a little.

Elle · Hermes

Thanks Edoli - the homes we have been looking at are in the $125K to $135K range, but Houston has a very strong system of 'neighborhood associations' that the city has been divided up into. I think this is one of the reasons the taxes have been bumped up. Just one more thing to keep in mind as we look for a house, I guess!

lsubatgirl · Gucci

If I'm not mistaken, Texas property taxes are higher because they don't have state income taxes. Houston is pretty big and traffic is god awful so make sure to live close to where the school or work is for you and him.

dot · Marc Jacobs

for my new apt... my prop. tax is really high about $5000 a year... but you will probably get a big return when you submit your taxes.

JMR · Dooney & Bourke

Being a new yorker that doesn't sound so bad. We pay about $4200 a year on our house...but that is one of the reasons we bought where we did. If we went one county over the taxes on the same house would be more than double. Every county/state/town is different.

LA Gal · Kenneth Cole

Property taxes vary so much by state and city, but I think Texas is high because there is no state individual income tax in Texas (which is another factor to consider, since you'll probably be saving a lot of money in state income taxes, so you can afford to pay a little more in property taxes). I also think that in Texas your property value is reassessed every year and your property taxes will vary based on that assessment (as compared to CA, where your property tax is based only off of your original purchase price).

I would do some research online to learn more about the way property taxes work. I did a quick search, and it looks like you can actually look up a specific address online to see how much property taxes are paid and how it's assessed:

http://www.tax.co.harris.tx.us/chart/begin.asp

halleybird · Hermes

quote:
Originally posted by: LA Gal
" there is no state individual income tax in Texas

say wha?!? Really?

Where I live, we get taxed for breathing (really. I think there is a clean air tax) and for stupid ballparks that millionaires make $$$ off of. I am moving!

Elle · Hermes

quote:
Originally posted by: lsubatgirl
"If I'm not mistaken, Texas property taxes are higher because they don't have state income taxes. Houston is pretty big and traffic is god awful so make sure to live close to where the school or work is for you and him."

Hmmm, I didn't know that. That can't be the only reason though - Washington doesn't have state income tax and their property taxes aren't that much higher than a state with income tax. Does anyone know what the sales tax is in Texas?

lsubatgirl · Gucci

I'm not sure but I know they aren't as high as Louisiana because we are just under or just over in most parts 9% sales tax. I know Houston and TX in general does sales tax free weekends for clothes and stuff so definetly find out when those are for when you want to go shopping.

HeatherLynn · Gucci

Property taxes in Texas are high because the state doesnt have income tax so they make up for it in other areas like the property tax. I'm not familiar with the sales tax in Houston but in Dallas it is 8.25%. It seems like certain things have an added tax on top of the standard 8.25%. I think its almost everything but groceries. Houses are pretty expenisve in Dallas (I know they are in Houston as well) and then with the added bonus of high property tax percentages your property tax will be ridculous.

Here is a link that you might find usful.

http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax/proptax.html

Elle · Hermes

Thanks everyone! Right now in Washington we have an 8.4% sales tax, so 8.25% won't be a shock. LOL Heatherlynn - we were planning on buying a house in Houston because they are so inexpensive!!! Where we come from (Portland) a 3bed/2bath single family home in the suburbs is upwards of $200,000 nowadays. In the actual city, they are more like $300,000 and up! So a 3bed/2bath in Houston for $150,000 sounds awesome to us!!!

-- Edited by LMonet at 17:57, 2004-12-16

JMR · Dooney & Bourke

omg Lmonet....$300,000 in my area buys you a house in the ghetto! I love NY and I never want to leave - but I just shocks me over and over how expensive it is to live here. Good Luck house hunting - it is so fun!

valenciana · Dooney & Bourke

quote:
Originally posted by: HeatherLynn
Houses are pretty expenisve in Dallas (I know they are in Houston as well) and then with the added bonus of high property tax percentages your property tax will be ridculous.

Actually houses are pretty cheap in Houston...you can get a huuuuuge house for the same amount you'd pay for a decent sized one in almost any other city. You know what they say about Texas...

And yeah, it's cause of the no income tax thing, they gouge you elsewhere, but really, the cost of living in Houston is particularly low. My fiance and I were deciding between moving to Houston and Atlanta, so I've done quite a bit of research on the area. Of course I can't find any of the good websites now...but will post if I do.

LMonet, what part of town are you looking at? I know a lot of people love living in Sugar Land, which is to the south. I'm trying to remember where else people love...the Heights? Is that right? I've forgotten all the stored info I had on moving to Houston since I don't need it anymore.

Elle · Hermes

quote:
Originally posted by: valenciana
LMonet, what part of town are you looking at? I know a lot of people love living in Sugar Land, which is to the south. I'm trying to remember where else people love...the Heights? Is that right? I've forgotten all the stored info I had on moving to Houston since I don't need it anymore."

My fiance will hopefully

be working at Debakey Methodist Hospital, so ideally I would like to be close to the medical center neighborhood. However, we have also been looking at houses in Galveston and Sugar Land. I'm not sure if we want to go that far 'out' as I would like to be close to city life. He'll be down in Houston for clinicals from March through June so he's going to be scouting out the 'good neighborhoods' while he's there. I would love to here any other info you have Valenciana!