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A very positive outlook. Economically South Tex is a good place to live if you do not have to earn your income there. A low cost of living buys you nothing if you are earning ... Read More 

A very positive outlook. Economically South Tex is a good place to live if you do not have to earn your income there. A low cost of living buys you nothing if you are earning minimum wage or just above it. Now while the economy is bad in the rest of the country any job is better then no job. All those companies will have a problem when the economy get strong. Skilled workers decide that even a cost of living that is 20% higher is worth the trouble when your income is 40% or more higher.
The Tex great business environment, low wages, low benefits, will not help you keep those employees that got all that great training. As the economy returns Tex could replace Florida as the retirement state. Snow birds will come south as the college grads and skilled workers go north.

 

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Apparently, they can use the last 2 years to assess property. So, that goes back prior to the big downturn. It will be interesting to see if the assessments go down next ... Read More 

Apparently, they can use the last 2 years to assess property. So, that goes back prior to the big downturn. It will be interesting to see if the assessments go down next year. Care to bet? I fear the rate will jump instead.
But, thanks for the advice on the comps. I hear some folks just automatically file a protest every year.

 

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"Rock", if you feel the increase in value is unwarranted, for a relatively small fee, you can probably get 2 or 3 CMA's from local realtors and protest the increase ... Read More 

"Rock", if you feel the increase in value is unwarranted, for a relatively small fee, you can probably get 2 or 3 CMA's from local realtors and protest the increase if the CMA's show anything other than what the Tax District show (lower of course).

I'm in the Austin area, and most of the properties that I have evaluated over the last year in Austin have shown slight decreases in value. And, I'm guessing Austin has a slightly better housing market than Wilson County. So, it sounds like you might have a good argument to keep that appraisal value down and save a little money.

 

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I agree, Washington ain't no place for a Texan, and I pity any that might get stuck there.

However, your argument only holds up if in fact the values in Washington are ... Read More 

I agree, Washington ain't no place for a Texan, and I pity any that might get stuck there.

However, your argument only holds up if in fact the values in Washington are twice as high as here. I do know that my assessment went up $20K over last year. So, your logic won't hold up forever at that rate.

 

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"Rock"...the point is: The money coming out of a taxpayer's pocket in Texas is actually 'less' for basically the same property than comes out of the taxpayer's ... Read More 

"Rock"...the point is: The money coming out of a taxpayer's pocket in Texas is actually 'less' for basically the same property than comes out of the taxpayer's pocket in Washington...the tax rate is not important, it is the actually amount paid that is important....So, take the value of your house and double that amount (that is approx what it would be valued at in Washington)and apply the Tax rate in Washington and you'll find that what you pay in Texas is less than what you would pay in Washington if you put your house on a trailer and moved it to Washington and I doubt that they have a tax feeze for age and homestead exemption breaks ....Just comparing the tax rate between the two states is really comparing apples and oranges. There are other things like cost of living expenses that also figure into the picture.

And, beside, Washington is one of the most 'liberal' states in the bottom 49 and if you want to be surrounded by liberals and pay equal or more property taxes, then Washington might be a good place to go. I've lived in other states (Colorado and California) but I always come back to Texas...I happen to think Texas is the best place to be in the whole wide world and when I die I want to have my own small piece of Texas for eternity.

 

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Tex, I'm kinda shakin' my head on that one. I'm afraid I don't follow your logic. If the rate is nearly twice as much, (12.5 there to 23 here), seems to me like you proved ... Read More 

Tex, I'm kinda shakin' my head on that one. I'm afraid I don't follow your logic. If the rate is nearly twice as much, (12.5 there to 23 here), seems to me like you proved my point. I realize values are much lower here, so agree you get more for your money going in, but not THAT much more, especially when you figure how much more you will pay in taxes over 20-30 years. Plus, values keep going up. Plus, values in Washington have nose dived while ours are still rising a bit, or were.

 

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Yes, the cap covers only School taxes, but school taxes amount to roughly 60% of all the property tax.

And, the Washington Property taxes are not such a great deal if ... Read More 

Yes, the cap covers only School taxes, but school taxes amount to roughly 60% of all the property tax.

And, the Washington Property taxes are not such a great deal if you analyze them...For instance, the median sales price of a house in Seattle is $321,500 and the Median sales price of a house in San Antonio is $152,800.
The tax rate for Seattle is $12.52/thousand and in San Antonio Approximately $23/thousand. So, if you do your math, the property tax on a median priced house in Seattle is $4025 and for a median priced house in San Antonio it would be $3514. And, I can almost assure you that the median priced house in Seattle is not nearly as large and nice as a median priced house in San Antonio.

And, in addition to a tax deduction for property taxes we get a federal tax deduction for Sales Tax.

And, it appears that Washington, although a much smaller state in population and size than Texas, is facing a $9,000,000,000 deficit in their state budget. Guess where they're going to come up with the additional money? My guess is that they'll have to raise property taxes, sales taxes, and reduce spending to make ends meet...is Texas looking any better to you, now?

No one likes to pay taxes, but I believe that Texans probably pay less taxes than almost anyone else, but I could be wrong.

 

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Tex, I normally agree with ya. But on this one, pard, I gotta say I disagree. Property taxes in this State, my place of birth by the way, is a nightmare of major proportions. ... Read More 

Tex, I normally agree with ya. But on this one, pard, I gotta say I disagree. Property taxes in this State, my place of birth by the way, is a nightmare of major proportions. It is a virtual hot potato that very few in politics will touch with a 10 foot pole except to raise them. Well, except for Perry's tax rollback that went into that legislative limbo black hole and has never been seen or heard of since. It was killed, of course, by the smarmy, bleeding heart, hand-wringing Liberals in the courts, I believe. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes, we have no state income tax, but neither does Washington state, and their property tax rates, though high, are about half of ours. They have a higher sales tax, but that hits you where you spend, not where you sleep. A person doesn't have to spend, but he does have to sleep. And I don't want to be forced to live in a shack because the government can't control it's greed for more and more of my life blood!

The age cap, as I understand it, caps the rate for ISD only, but not the assessed value, so the taxes continue to increase over time regardless. Correct me if I'm wrong on that.

The way the system works in this great State is, unless you live in an older mobile home on ag exempt land, or have a myriad of other sweetheart "exemptions", you are getting SHAFTED on your property taxes. It is the same old politics that has the unlucky few paying for the greed of the many. The Great Republic of Texas has become the Socialist Republic of TAXus.

The standard deduction on federal income tax has essentially erased any benefit for most folks, certainly for me, of deducting property tax. So, while it sounds good, it's smoke and mirrors. What has happened is that the home owner gets the same deduction as the guy paying rent, with no mortgage interest deduction, or property tax deduction. More liberalism. Spreading the wealth.

 

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And, with no sales tax, the tax burden is relatively low compared to many states.

The above sentence from previous comment was incorrect...what I meant was "income ... Read More 

And, with no sales tax, the tax burden is relatively low compared to many states.

The above sentence from previous comment was incorrect...what I meant was "income tax" not "sales tax"

 

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The property tax structure is not too bad...a large portion of that property tax is deductible from your federal taxes, there are deductions for age, and taxes can be frozen ... Read More 

The property tax structure is not too bad...a large portion of that property tax is deductible from your federal taxes, there are deductions for age, and taxes can be frozen for senior citizens. And, with no sales tax, the tax burden is relatively low compared to many states.

I have lived in California where everything that moves or sitting still is taxed plus the housing and other commodities are much higher. And, wages are not sufficiently higher to offset the added cost of living and taxes.

Texas fortunately has the wisdom to be very conservative and spends tax payers money more efficiently than many areas. And, Texas has to operate on a balanced budget. So, in a time of economic downturn, the state has to squeeze the budget a little but that's a doable proposition. I hear that California is facing a $15 Billion deficit this year. And, last I checked, Texas still has a 'rainy day fund' of about $9 Billion. So, why do you suppose a big, wealthy state with massive taxes coming in like California is bleeding red and Texas is not? Has a lot to do with fiscal responsibilty and an attitude, I believe.