Topic: land rich and money poor

[74cb750]

The tax adjusters just re-adjusted house values in the serveral villages
and town to raise taxes....now many people have mobil home trailers worth more
than $5,000 and houses are worth more than $45,000!
So many of us now have expensive houses we can no longe
afford to live in.

Does this mean, if my motorcycles were adjusted for inflation they would
now be worth about $63,000/$1,000per cycle? 
peace,
michel

[supersport_CB400F]

Wow I live 200 miles from London and I'm not in a special area and the average price for a house is £180,000 and  £120 tax a month on the house in my area  don’t know what that is in $’s …I’m selling up, cheap bikes cheap homes I’m movin to the US of A this little Island is getting full 

[Tim.]

I was going to say - I didn't think there was anywhere in the developed world you could buy a house for less than $45K anymore.  Average price of a home in Toronto is over $300K.  Mine is currently worth well above that, and I have a 17 foot x 120 foot piece of property.  Thankfully I bought a while back when prices were much more reasonable.  I couldn't afford to buy my house today.

I pay $3,000 in taxes on my place - what sort of taxes are paid on a $45,000 house?

BTW - £180,000 = $360,000 or thereabouts.

[my78k]

Hey Tin Tin, taxes are even worse outside of Toronto...my place (in Oshawa) is worth around 200-210K and I pay about 3500/year in taxes

[supersport_CB400F]

I was going to say - I didn't think there was anywhere in the developed world you could buy a house for less than $45K anymore.  Average price of a home in Toronto is over $300K.  Mine is currently worth well above that, and I have a 17 foot x 120 foot piece of property.  Thankfully I bought a while back when prices were much more reasonable.  I couldn't afford to buy my house today.

I pay $3,000 in taxes on my place - what sort of taxes are paid on a $45,000 house?

BTW - £180,000 = $360,000 or thereabouts.

In London I’m sure you have to pay around £500,000 for a house with a garage. I don’t know what the council tax is like around those parts......I felt rich when I seen those $'s conversion  

[martini]

House prices went up 55% in the past year in Calgary. My house has doubled in value in just 3 years! Older people in my neighborhood are selling and moving into condos because they can't afford to pay the taxes on the houses they have owned their whole lives. Nuts

[74cb750]

Seriously,
my house went from $65,000 value to $160,000 last month,
taxes went from $1,600 to $2,500.

But I would never pay $160,000 for this dump! To me it is worth
less than $45,000.... considering I probably still have another
tracktor-trailer load of garbage to remove. Having already removed
3 tacktor-trailer loads of garbage and done extensive work to the
buildings I am becoming tired of the constant work....

I know...#$%* and moan, right?

peace,
michel.

[Tim.]

Density is important when figuring taxes.  I had a house out in the country with a 90 foot wide lot.  In that same footprint, there are 4 lots in Toronto.  So, for the same 90 feet of road, water pipe, sewer etc. they collect 4x the taxes in Toronto.

[Gordon]

If it makes you feel any better, Michel, my wife and I just bought our first house a few months ago.  A small 4br 2ba for just under $300K.  You couldn't even get an empty plot around here for $45K!  Oh well, at least our property tax is only $1000/yr. 

[Bob Wessner]

Bought our house in '72 for $24,900. Like an earlier reply, there is no way I could afford to buy my house today. We have made some additions, etc., but still. Taxes are about $4,200/yr. Fortunately, Michigan voters approved some restrictions on property tax increases years ago that limits any increase to no more than the rate of inflation. Now, when the house changes hands in a sale, the new tax rate is based on the sale price so new owners get hit pretty hard sometimes. That doesn't include special local millages, but at least you get to vote to approve or reject them. Living in "The Heart of Whine Country" has its price. Google is apparently moving a major operation here so I guess things are only going to get more expensive now. 

[74cb750]

The new Google operations I have heard about are related to
their new online banking operations. Therefore, being local
you might be able
to get a cheaper online loan to help pay them Michigan taxes
peace,
michel

[Bob Wessner]

Actually, I believe it is their "click" ad division, like the links Glenn has on this site. Don't forget to click on them occasionally, Glenn gets a little revenue for them. 

[6pkrunner]

Here on the ocean front for the last 20 years or so foreign rich people have been buying up the seashore properties like crazy and building mansions on them. The government in its infinite greed has started to reassess the properties by factorials of 10s and 20s. One poor fellow lived in a run down shed on 20 acres of land that was in his family for the last 100 years or so. His taxes went from $395 a year to $45,000 per year. Had to sell the land. And there are many in that boat. The taxes now are more than the land and house was worth just a few years ago. The government will allow appeals but very few are winning.

[GroovieGhoulie]

The government in its infinite greed has started to reassess the properties by factorials of 10s and 20s.

I forget who said it:

"There's no amount of money the government can't outspend." 

[dusterdude]

If it makes you feel any better, Michel, my wife and I just bought our first house a few months ago.  A small 4br 2ba for just under $300K.  You couldn't even get an empty plot around here for $45K!  Oh well, at least our property tax is only $1000/yr. 

gordon,how many square feet is a "small 4br 2 ba" house.

[BobbyR]

If it makes you feel any better, Michel, my wife and I just bought our first house a few months ago.  A small 4br 2ba for just under $300K.  You couldn't even get an empty plot around here for $45K!  Oh well, at least our property tax is only $1000/yr. 

gordon,how many square feet is a "small 4br 2 ba" house.

Well that modest 4 br house here in this part of NY would go for $500K and have a Tax bill of 12K in taxes.

[upperlake04]

Saskatchewan, Canada

http://www.pin.ca/for_sale_by_owner/sk/default.htm     

[seaweb11]

Bought my 1/2 acre of water front here in BC 5 years ago for $110,000 and spent $200,000 + building the house.
It's now worth about $800,000 

Taxes $2800.00  "Rural"

And no, I couldn't buy my house either.

[huntman58]

kind of sounds like what happend in Calif a time back . lots of poor and older folks lost there home from this . I know i have been looking into homes and land in the 20 or more acer area . What I did find is a state that yes homes and land in this amount can still be gotten for about $125.00 and under for 3 bed and 2 bath homes that is . also the taxes are low some of the lowest in the US. . now I am not going to say were this is tell I get there and have mine so that i can complain about all the newbees moving in LOL No really found things like this IN Missouri and that is were i plan to move to in about two years unless i win the lottery first . one reason for moving is I can not afford to stay in Calif were the average home is now over $400,000.00 and most over the $700,000.00 mark .

[Stormer]

OK, you guys who live in US, UK, Canada and so on pay big taxes, but have some public services to use.
Try to come to Brazil.
Here we pay as much taxes as you, and have NO public services at all.
We have to pay for medical services, our police is a joque, our social security sistem is going to hell, etc, etc, etc.
We here say our contry is a "Belindia", i.e., we pay taxes like in Belgium, and have the public services like in India (no ofense).
So, where the money go to? Do you guys have any idea?
Please, HELP!!!!

[supersport_CB400F]

Don’t know how they spend the money in Brazil but in the UK the political people local and national just get fat and waste the taxes. 

[Gordon]

gordon,how many square feet is a "small 4br 2 ba" house.

1600 square feet.  800 main level, 800 finished basement. 

[seaweb11]

OK, you guys who live in US, UK, Canada and so on pay big taxes, but have some public services to use.
Try to come to Brazil.
Here we pay as much taxes as you, and have NO public services at all.
We have to pay for medical services, our police is a joke, our social security system is going to hell, etc, etc, etc.
We here say our contry is a "Belindia", i.e., we pay taxes like in Belgium, and have the public services like in India (no offense).
So, where the money go to? Do you guys have any idea?
Please, HELP!!!!

Don't you get a rebate on thongs and waxing

Sounds like someone is getting rich

[supersport_CB400F]

UK house prices 

http://www.whitegates.co.uk/

[BobbyR]

UK house prices 

http://www.whitegates.co.uk/

No offence Biff, but with those prices I will stay here in the USA, when my Son is out of School, move to another State with cheaper taxes and pocket my ridiculous profits.

[supersport_CB400F]

UK house prices 

http://www.whitegates.co.uk/

No offence Biff, but with those prices I will stay here in the USA, when my Son is out of School, move to another State with cheaper taxes and pocket my ridiculous profits.

I'm selling up and going to live next door to you in the cheap home and bike USA! I may buy a house with a pool that would be a dream   

[quietlikeachurch]

Wow...I can't wait to buy a house!  I'm not bragging or anything, but if I stay at my current job as a line cook I can buy a house like Gordon's in just under 34 years...oh boy!  I might have to get a loan that I can never afford to pay off though.  Ah well...that's what kids are for!

[Bob Wessner]

Ann Arbor, being a Univ. town has developed an interesting phenomenon. Parents buy a house for their kids to live in while at school (Uni to our friends across the pond  then sell it when they graduate. Makes sense in a good housing market, they save on room and board expenses and may even make a profit. There is a small half-cape next to us. Mom and Dad bought for their son while attending grad school at U of M. They paid $249K for a 900 sq ft house three years ago. Back in my day when I had to finance my education.. never mind, won't bore you with the old guy's story. 

[Tim.]

Brazilian women are all the reason in the world to pay taxes.  Someone down there is doing something right.

[Zeke]

Here in Santa Cruz, CA, the median home price is $729,500!!!!   Ahhhhh!!!!!!!

Needless to say, I rent.  I like it here, but if not for my job I probably wouldn't be here.  Being able to ever afford a home here seems like it'll never happen.

I've talked with a friend here at work about buying some land and putting up some Yurts or something cheap.  To build a proper house here with approval can take 5+ years and cost over 50K!  Too many rich people in nearby Silicon Valley (think google).  They had to inflate the building permit costs to slow development.  As a result, there are many unpermitted structures here in the mountains, because us regular folk can't afford it.

Bob W, my brother has a house in Ann Arbor, on Dexter Rd about 7 miles out of town.  He moved to Russia to get language fluency, and debated about selling his house before he left.  Well the house market there is weak right now, so he couldn't get what he paid for it several years ago.  Now he's renting it for a discount rate.

out,

Zeke

[Gordon]

Wow...I can't wait to buy a house!  I'm not bragging or anything, but if I stay at my current job as a line cook I can buy a house like Gordon's in just under 34 years...oh boy!  I might have to get a loan that I can never afford to pay off though.  Ah well...that's what kids are for!

It's not like I walked in and plunked down 300 grand on the table.  Due to our relatively low income and good credit, we were able to get an FHA loan which allows the seller to pay the closing costs and down payment instead of the buyer.  So basically we bought our house with less than $500 out of pocket, and our payments aren't much more than what we had been paying in rent the past few years. 

If you can pay rent and have good credit, chances are you can buy a house.  That is unless you live in California!

[supersport_CB400F]

Wow...I can't wait to buy a house!  I'm not bragging or anything, but if I stay at my current job as a line cook I can buy a house like Gordon's in just under 34 years...oh boy!  I might have to get a loan that I can never afford to pay off though.  Ah well...that's what kids are for!

It's not like I walked in and plunked down 300 grand on the table.  Due to our relatively low income and good credit, we were able to get an FHA loan which allows the seller to pay the closing costs and down payment instead of the buyer.  So basically we bought our house with less than $500 out of pocket, and our payments aren't much more than what we had been paying in rent the past few years. 

If you can pay rent and have good credit, chances are you can buy a house.  That is unless you live in California!

Yep same as the UK if you can pay rent you can buy any house you may never own it, but you can try and buy it

[Gordon]

The worst part about it all is that our loan is owned by the bank we have our checking and savings accounts with, so whenever I log onto my account online, down below where it shows how much money I have, it shows how much we owe on the mortgage!

That's a very depressing thing to have to look at...

[BobbyR]

Wow...I can't wait to buy a house!  I'm not bragging or anything, but if I stay at my current job as a line cook I can buy a house like Gordon's in just under 34 years...oh boy!  I might have to get a loan that I can never afford to pay off though.  Ah well...that's what kids are for!

It's not like I walked in and plunked down 300 grand on the table.  Due to our relatively low income and good credit, we were able to get an FHA loan which allows the seller to pay the closing costs and down payment instead of the buyer.  So basically we bought our house with less than $500 out of pocket, and our payments aren't much more than what we had been paying in rent the past few years. 

If you can pay rent and have good credit, chances are you can buy a house.  That is unless you live in California!

When we bouht our place Mr. Carter was in the White House. The interest rate was 16 1/4 percent. That is with perfect credit and a 25% down payment. The good part was the higher interest rates brought the house prices down. When interest rates dropped we were able to make the same payment we had been making and pay the place off 10 years early. I think houses in some parts of the US are going to come down in price, which is good if you can make the down payment and cover the loan payments.

Yep same as the UK if you can pay rent you can buy any house you may never own it, but you can try and buy it

[Bob Wessner]

Bob W, my brother has a house in Ann Arbor, on Dexter Rd about 7 miles out of town.  He moved to Russia to get language fluency, and debated about selling his house before he left.  Well the house market there is weak right now, so he couldn't get what he paid for it several years ago.  Now he's renting it for a discount rate.

Small world! Yes, things have slowed a bit. Here in town houses still sell pretty much around the asking price, but they are on the market longer for sure. Back a couple of years, sometimes folks got more than they were asking for a house. Those days are gone.

[74cb750]

OK. So the housing market is driven by demand, not actual building costs in most cases.
I do not understand how housing markets can get so overpriced that the majority of
locals can afford to buy.
Wouldn't the result be that most youngsters move to other
areas, like is happening in BOston, Ma? That was the main reason we moved
out of the city.
peace,
michel

[BobbyR]

You are right Mike. Here in the NY suburbs the local kids are not coming back to Town to buy houses, they can't afford to buy in their home town. The price increases are driven by outsiders moving away from the City, where a one bedroom apartment can be $4K a month. It has come to a point that when people's kids graduate from High School, they move. So, the old timers that give a town it's charm and history no longer exist.