Hopefully a first time home buyer soon!

[Duck-Billed Catechist]

WHAT?!?!?!? How in the world can that even be legal? How do all those little old ladies in their little houses pay property taxes like that from their social security checks?!

 

I come from California, where property taxes have been kept at a lower rate (not to exceed 1% of home's cash value) due to prop 13 since the late 70s.

 

I guess this is all just so shocking to me!

Isn't the average value of a house in California like $700,000, though? So $7000 for an average place in an average community?

[alison the wilca]

Isn't the average value of a house in California like $700,000, though? So $7000 for an average place in an average community?

 

oh, no, not at all. Maybe it is that high in SF but my brother is about to buy a 3 bedroom home in northern San Diego county for under 300K. My parent's home in San Diego with 4 bedrooms, large property and view of the ocean (on a clear day!) is valued at under 600K. It really varies on the neighborhood/city.

[jff]

WHAT?!?!?!? How in the world can that even be legal? How do all those little old ladies in their little houses pay property taxes like that from their social security checks?!

 

I come from California, where property taxes have been kept at a lower rate (not to exceed 1% of home's cash value) due to prop 13 since the late 70s.

 

I guess this is all just so shocking to me!

 

Some places decrease the taxable value of homes owned by the elderly. When we bought our house from an elderly couple, the taxable value of the house tripled.

 

Taxes on our house (a 3/2 brick ranch on something like 1/4 or 1/3 of an acre) ten miles from Atlanta are in the $2500-$3000 range. We have low taxes, I guess, because most of the taxes go to the public schools and our schools are basically the laughingstock of the industrialized world.

[cryptique]

$5k/year for a modest home?! I can't imagine that much money going towards just property taxes every year.

I pay that in Ann Arbor, and let me tell you, our house is definitely in the "modest" category.

 

Ann Arbor city taxes are notoriously high, but we do get decent services in return, and the school system is pretty damn good (not that I have kids or anything).

[lamradio]

I probably shouldn't post what I pay in property taxes then.

 

It's good to live in the South.

[solace]

that makes me feel pretty good about our property taxes here in Minneapolis then... (they even went down last year )

 

wish we could have done 20%, but we would have had to save a pretty good chunk of our income for 4-5 years just to hit that and were so so sick and tired of renting for the last 8 years. like Austrya, we're hoping in a year or so we can start doing double payments.

[EL the Famous]

i know it's been said a bazillion times...but a good home inspector is worth his/her weight in gold. mine was a super nice guy, but missed soooo many things he should have warned us about. this is even more key if you are looking at older homes.

 

also, allison, you and tully should move out my way...there is a home for sale right across the street in fact. he and i can build a clubhouse in my backyard.

[solace]

we used our Realtor's recommended home inspector and loan office, but we're also related to said Realtor

 

our inspector was actually really really stringent/strict, especially compared to the Mpls city inspector. we actually had an almost dealbreaker that we got resolved with regards to the location of the breaker box in the basement that the Mpls inspectors missed 3 sales in a row.

[redpillbox]

To go along with some others, make sure to spend the extra couple of hundred bucks for a sewer inspection (does not come with the standard inspection)...and you even get a DVD copy.

 

Other than that...remember that at this moment in time...the buyer has the majority of the power in negotiations (in most parts of the country) so don't be afraid to negotiate.

 

I would also advise, getting quotes from at least 3 lenders, having them set all the "good faith estimates" in writing and then settle on someone who you trust. The trust thing, I think is huge, because you are spending more money then you've ever spent in your life and it will affect you for years. Some agents really try and steer your toward "their guy" but at the end of the day, it's your money and you can put it with whomever you like.

[EL the Famous]

our inspector was actually really really stringent/strict, especially compared to the Mpls city inspector.

 

which is EXACTLY what you want. i think ours may have been telling us what we wanted to hear versus what we needed to hear...or he was really just that bad of an inspector. granted, some of them can be a bit 'gregarious' from what i've heard as well, but better that than someone who is just kind of checking boxes.

[bigshoulders]

Before you buy, drive the route you would take, at the time you would drive it, were you to already live in the neighborhood.

[alison the wilca]

also, allison, you and tully should move out my way...there is a home for sale right across the street in fact. he and i can build a clubhouse in my backyard.

thanks for the idea. Is there a big tree that i can build a treehouse in? then i can throw fun things onto your clubhouse roof and shoot nerf arrows at you both from the sky.

[LouieB]

kris and i are planning on looking for a home late winter (feb/mar 09) here in chicago and the thing that freaks me out the most are the property taxes. holy crap... $5k/year for a modest home?! I can't imagine that much money going towards just property taxes every year. So I've been looking at neighborhoods in supposedly lower tax Niles. Niles also offers what looks like an awesome community gym for $29 bucks a month! I was hoping for Jefferson or Portage Park in the city, but I don't know if we'll be able to do it.

 

Anyone with recent Chicago home buying experience?

Actually property taxes are lower in the city than in most suburbs. Not to say they are low. I think five grand sounds high though. I don't believe I pay that much. Expect to spent several 100k for a house however.

 

LouieB

[a.miller]

I recently became a home owner (June 08) and I'll share my anecdotes:

 

If you get a warranty on the home, make sure you know exactly what it covers. I'll give two examples that have gotten me since I moved in:

 

1 -- 2nd week in the house I flush the toilette and start smelling something really nasty -- sewage coming up in the shower. Great. Turns out that roots have grown through our sewer main. So, I figured this would be covered on our warranty -- NO. Because roots aren't something called "natural use", they weren't covered. Only paper towels, ladies' pads, etc. So, be sure to really carefully read the warranty if you get one.

 

2 -- 1st weekend in the house my buddy and I were super excited, as a jacuzzi was at the place we moved into. It looked great! When we were closing on the house, the previous owner showed it to us and it looked super. After we bought a couple hundred bucks worth of chlorine and what not, we got all of our friends excited to come over and opened the cover -- and....no water. None. Totally dry from just a couple days before. Turns out it had a leak in the body. This wasn't covered on the warranty either because the jacuzzi wasn't an "essential" part of the house, like a water heater or furnace.

 

On the upside, being a home owner has been awesome for doing improvements and changes. Coming from only renting before, I really have liked to ability to change paint, lay sod...things like that.

[alison the wilca]

Actually property taxes are lower in the city than in most suburbs. Not to say they are low. I think five grand sounds high though. I don't believe I pay that much. Expect to spent several 100k for a house however.

 

LouieB

Yeah, the home price I've got a grasp on. I also was recently able to find a listing of property tax ranges for all of the suburbs. Some are extremely high (Skokie comes to mind) and others and pretty low (Niles, for example). Ive seen places in the city with fairly low recent tax year property tax payouts and other spots that were totally nuts. I'll just have to make sure I do my homework!

[LouieB]

One thing about having a house...something always needs to be fixed.

 

LouieB

[Party @ the Moontower]

WHAT?!?!?!? How in the world can that even be legal? How do all those little old ladies in their little houses pay property taxes like that from their social security checks?!

 

I come from California, where property taxes have been kept at a lower rate (not to exceed 1% of home's cash value) due to prop 13 since the late 70s.

 

I guess this is all just so shocking to me!

 

It's BS..that's why the aging population have to leave their roots and move to Florida.

 

Jerry Seinfeld: "My parents live in Florida now. They moved there last year. They didn't want to move to Florida, but they're in their sixties, and that is the law. ...

[lamradio]

Before you buy, drive the route you would take, at the time you would drive it, were you to already live in the neighborhood.

 

Yeah, I'd say this is the only negative with my house. It's not that far of a drive from my work (18 miles) but it's down a main rd with lots of stop lights.. Not very happy about that, but that's literally the only thing wrong. Everything else, house, location, school district, neighborhood is perfect.

 

So in a nutshell, don't let one negative keep you from buying the house. It's not going to be perfect.

[watch me fall]

I recently became a home owner (June 08) and I'll share my anecdotes:

 

If you get a warranty on the home, make sure you know exactly what it covers. I'll give two examples that have gotten me since I moved in:

 

1 -- 2nd week in the house I flush the toilette and start smelling something really nasty -- sewage coming up in the shower. Great. Turns out that roots have grown through our sewer main. So, I figured this would be covered on our warranty -- NO. Because roots aren't something called "natural use", they weren't covered. Only paper towels, ladies' pads, etc. So, be sure to really carefully read the warranty if you get one.

 

2 -- 1st weekend in the house my buddy and I were super excited, as a jacuzzi was at the place we moved into. It looked great! When we were closing on the house, the previous owner showed it to us and it looked super. After we bought a couple hundred bucks worth of chlorine and what not, we got all of our friends excited to come over and opened the cover -- and....no water. None. Totally dry from just a couple days before. Turns out it had a leak in the body. This wasn't covered on the warranty either because the jacuzzi wasn't an "essential" part of the house, like a water heater or furnace.

 

On the upside, being a home owner has been awesome for doing improvements and changes. Coming from only renting before, I really have liked to ability to change paint, lay sod...things like that.

 

Home warranties are a sham. After renewing mine this year, I had a problem with my dishwasher. Of course, the actual problem (a drain line) wasn't covered. Same thing regarding a problem with my hot water heater. I'll definitely think twice when the renewal comes up next year.

[Edie]

Get an actual mortgage -- not just a pre-qualification -- before you look and begin to bargain. You'll have a much better position if you have cash in hand.

 

Second/thirded about the 20% down.

[Winston Legthigh]

Definitely make sure the house wasn't build over an Indian burial ground.

 

You should also make sure the house doesn't smell like farts. Nasty farts.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

WHAT?!?!?!? How in the world can that even be legal? How do all those little old ladies in their little houses pay property taxes like that from their social security checks?!

 

I come from California, where property taxes have been kept at a lower rate (not to exceed 1% of home's cash value) due to prop 13 since the late 70s.

 

I guess this is all just so shocking to me!

 

 

And that is probably the reason why you have a major budget defecit in California.

[alison the wilca]

And that is probably the reason why you have a major budget defecit in California.

Hey! That budget deficit isn't mine. I'm a clear and free Illinois resident!

 

Funny how states with higher property taxes also have budget deficits (IL)?

 

This is another discussion, but raising property taxes up the wazoo should not be the answer for budget shortfalls. Governments could really benefit from a few Six Sigma black belts coming in and leaning out their processes.

[bjorn_skurj]

Hey! That budget deficit isn't mine. I'm a clear and free Illinois resident!

 

Funny how states with higher property taxes also have budget deficits (IL)?

 

This is another discussion, but raising property taxes up the wazoo should not be the answer for budget shortfalls. Governments could really benefit from a few Six Sigma black belts coming in and leaning out their processes.

Do they not have those sinister all-powerful death machines known as "teachers' unions" in your states?

[alison the wilca]

Do they not have those sinister all-powerful death machines known as "teachers' unions" in your states?

I have no clue... Louie would know.

 

I was a member of the California teacher's union and it sure was expensive.