Cities & Townships Are Getting HAMMERED w/Lost Property Tax Revenue

Discussion in 'Economics' started by ByLoSellHi, Jul 4, 2009.

  1. morganist

    morganist Guest

    #11     Jul 4, 2009

  2. Simply stated, situations can occur in urban areas where the taxes can equal or exceed the mortgage payments. Property values decline, the mortgage is affordable but the taxes are not.

    One could argue the ratio between the mortgage and taxes, if the total outlay is the same what difference does it make? Plenty. This is how ghetto's are born. No one will maintain or impove the property for fear of higher taxes.

    Another scenariio is where someone who has lived in the same home for years, paid off the mortgage and find the home still unafforable on social security because of the monthly taxes.
     
    #12     Jul 4, 2009
  3. morganist

    morganist Guest

    this f**king sucks. i had no idea america was this harsh. it just goes to show that you have two real wealthy classes in america the ones who work and the ones who live of the taxes of the downtroden namely the politicians and senior civil servants.

    i must confess when this is putting people out of their homes it is hard hearing Obama say he is trying to keep people in their homes. surely at the end of the day he is accountable for these taxes by allowing councils to get away with this.
     
    #13     Jul 4, 2009
  4. I'm sorry, but you have no idea what you are talking about.
    I suggest you learn more about "America" before making grandiose claims about things that you have no fundamental working knowledge of.

    If anything, it is the State that comes in and RAIDS the coffers of the local townships and municipalities here in California in order to pay for the education budget. This has nothing to do with Obama or anyone else at the Federal level of government. Your claim that there is a "connection" between property taxes and the President Obama is totally absurd.

    In California people are having their counties re-assess their property values due to the real estate market decline. A previous poster indicated that there are situations where the property taxes can be more than the mortgage payment. While I'm sure that can be the case, if property values decline ( which they have ) then so does the property tax when a new assessment is requested. That's just common sense. Life does not operate in a static vacuum, folks.

    Prop. 13, which was passed by California voters back in 1978 rolled back property assessments to their 1976 values and limited property taxes to 1% of their assessed value.

    It also limited property valuation to 2% per year unless the property was sold. In addition, Proposition 13 required that all state tax rate increases be approved by a two-thirds vote of the legislature and that local tax rates also have to be approved by a 2/3s vote of the people.
     
    #14     Jul 4, 2009
  5. This is why i call housing "the industry of leeches". As soon as you buy one, everybody's got their hand in your pocket.

    The worst ones are not even mentioned here - real estate agents.
     
    #15     Jul 4, 2009
  6. morganist

    morganist Guest

    i agree i don't know the american system. but what i do know is that in a republic people can vote for governments and it is the government that can change how the country is run. they can chose to centralise power or decentralise power. the government could (i assume, they can do it in any other country) stop states from being able to set their own property taxes and set it nationally.

    if people are losing their houses to it as previous posts claim then surely the central government has to intervene. perhaps i am ignorant but to me it seems difficult to understand why a government would allow people to be paying effectively a rent like amount on top of a mortgage especially at the moment. in any other country the government would be able to act even if the only form of action is to centralise some of the local power.

    so yes i do still think the government has an obligation to act if it is as extreme as the other posters have made out. but i admit i do not know your system so this may not be possible.
     
    #16     Jul 4, 2009
  7. The worst ones are not even mentioned here - real estate agents.
    ----------------

    My favorite leech? Title insurance.
     
    #17     Jul 4, 2009
  8. jprad

    jprad

    My town moved away from that during the last assessment. Taxes are based off of market value now. So, you're screwing yourself on a rehab compared to a teardown.

    But, the way things are going I would expect that municipalities move to a simple rate based only on acreage and zoning regardless of if the lot is improved or not.

    It cuts down their cost of assessments and eliminates the cost to defend the challenges that always occur after each one is completed.

    It's also good defense against builders and banks tearing down empty homes to reduce maintenance costs.
     
    #18     Jul 4, 2009
  9. I always get a laugh out of the idiot locals who claim their house is zoned in a "business area" so the asking price is sky high.
    No such thing in this part of Texas.
     
    #19     Jul 4, 2009
  10. There is going to be a tax revolt in this country. It's already begun, and any local official who thinks the anger will subside has it backwards.

    What pisses me off is that we plan on sending our children to a private school, yet we still have to pay incredibly high property taxes (which are used to fund public schools, which do a terrible job educating children).

    Vouchers need to be allowed, or government needs to allow parents sending their children to private schools an exemption from the taxes used to pay for public schools.
     
    #20     Jul 4, 2009