That is nuts man, prop. taxes in Wyoming are super super cheap. 250 k house with land maybe 1400-1500 a month.
What is weird is that Wyo has no income tax and I believe in the top five for lowest property taxes. It's all the mineral royalties, which by the way are obviously plummeting.
Im in N. California and my property taxes are just over 3k per year. About 300 dollars of that is Mel Roos so its not that bad for me.
Not sure where some of you guys who claim to live in Florida are, but my taxes went down this year. I pay $5,500 and a home of equivilant value in Illionois I'm looking at the taxes are $11,000. On the other hand, contrary to what someone else said, insurance is going up like crazy. Mine's $4500. In Illinois it would be about 2K. Still less expensive here though for the same house plus they can only raise your taxes 3% once your homesteaded. And it doesn't snow or get cold either.
Michigan not only has the highest unemployment rate, but many communities are trying to raise taxes and fees (sewer and water, etc.). We have a bunch of union government workers here and county employees can retire at 50 with a full pension and medical/dental and life insurance benefits for life. In some areas like Grosse Pointe and Bloomfield Hills, property taxes on a $800,000 house would run $30,000 per year. The lowest property taxes I've ever seen were in Kentucky, but I'm sure some Plain States are probably even more reasonable.
No offense seriously, but there's a reason why Wyoming is unpopulated and cheap. Other than Jackson, Dubois ( Yellowstone area ) no thanks. It is a barren wasteland. I drove by a few villages that had official signs that had population 3, the other was 12. I was laughing they even gave them a government sign. I realize Casper is decent size, but it looked like the high desert of CA. But hey different strokes as the say.
Yeah it's defintely a lot different than anywhere else, I was born and rasied her so I obviosuly love it. But parts of the state certainly are an acquired taste. Casper actually only has about 50 k maybe a bit more, but not too sure. Cheyenne is by far the biggest city with over 60 k, people always laugh when I tell them that.
The best place to make up budget shortfalls in local governments is property taxes. Add that to insurance, closing costs, realtor commissions, repairs, and now throw in declining values. Housing - industry of leeches. And you're actually living inside your money loser night and day to remind yourself of the situation. Ouch. Many just hang on and hope for a reversal in prices - because that works so well in trading. I know, I know. Write you're story of what a great investment housing really is here............... A family member swears his house hasn't gone down in value - but everything else in his neighborhood has.
Suburb of Houston, TX. (No income tax state) House appraoised at 210k, property taxes + HOA + PID are roughly 7k a year. Add on another 1.5k for insurance. It's nuts.