Maybe Treating Housing as an Investment Was a Colossal Mistake

Re:Maybe Treating Housing as an Investment Was a Colossal Mi... by bmitc on Monday March 06, 2023 @12:46PM (#35044497)

My property taxes are about a third of my total payment every month, where the other two thirds are the actual mortgage. The property taxes are over 50% of what my total rent was before I got a house, which was not low. I'm happy with my town's management, who seems to use their budget quite well, but property taxes can really get you.

I think taxes should be increased on those with investment homes, second homes, mansions, and the income and wealth of the wealthy rather than just nickel and diming the middle class.

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Re:Maybe Treating Housing as an Investment Was a Colossal Mi... by ascagnel_ on Monday March 06, 2023 @01:09PM (#35044977)

Does your local government provide a breakdown of property taxes? If they do, it's well worth checking, because it can become one of those things where you don't like the total amount, but you find each element of it to be reasonable.

Just looking at my latest report on my property tax bill (which was about $3k USD for 2022):

- about 45% of the amount went to local city administration, which includes civic services like police, fire, etc.; the city had a nearly balanced budget for the year (<$1k US away from balanced)

- about 55% of the amount went to the local school board (who are directly voted on by the city's populace and can directly levy property taxes) for teachers, administrators, building maintenance, etc.; the school board did not have a balanced budget on account of bond issues for new construction in anticipation of ongoing new housing construction

- 3% went to the local library (whose board is partially appointed by the mayor and partially self-selected), which had a small budget surplus

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Re:Maybe Treating Housing as an Investment Was a Colossal Mi... by bmitc on Monday March 06, 2023 @02:09PM (#35046054)

I'll take a look into that. Thanks for the suggestion! As I said, I'm pretty happy with my town's management so far. The town I rented in had far worse management, but it is a town of landlords and not really homeowners.

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