housing makt still in the pits

[SOREHOOF]

There is nothing wrong with renting.

[ddthetide]

Originally Posted by SOREHOOF

There is nothing wrong with renting.

i rented for 26 yrs. until Very recently. the reason we bought, prices Finally fell to where we could afford something we Wanted, in a neighborhood we Wanted to live and we're paying about what we were paying per month in rent.
we got this place, $20k Below asking price, because it had been on the market 2 yrs starting a 3rd. AND, it was Almost $100k cheaper than 4-5 yrs ago.

Originally Posted by ddthetide

i rented for 26 yrs. until Very recently. the reason we bought, prices Finally fell to where we could afford something we Wanted, in a neighborhood we Wanted to live and we're paying about what we were paying per month in rent.
we got this place, $20k Below asking price, because it had been on the market 2 yrs starting a 3rd. AND, it was Almost $100k cheaper than 4-5 yrs ago.

This is how it is supposed to work.
Congrats on your new home.
I hope this type of thing happens in the
rest of the country.

It is a nice feeling that the money you
pay every month is going to something
you own.

[ddthetide]

Originally Posted by pgardn

This is how it is supposed to work.
Congrats on your new home.
I hope this type of thing happens in the
rest of the country.

It is a nice feeling that the money you
pay every month is going to something
you own.

IMO, most homes here are still over priced. we just got luck and found the right person.
2 problems here, many people are VERY upside with their mortgages and the state and county tax rate. about $250 a month of our mortgage goes to pay the taxes (this house is only 6-7 yrs old). one development we looked at, taxes would have been $375-400 per month and the neighborhood was not as nice as this one.

[SOREHOOF]

The more houses that are unoccupied and not paying taxes, the more the taxes will rise to make up for it, especially school taxes. I am afraid that if this energy bill goes through it will be a double whammy. Schools use electricity too. School taxes jumped big time where I live due to oil costs and will probably skyrocket with another increase in energy costs. That coupled with a decreased tax base could be murder for me. Sucks when you're careful to buy within your limits and still have enough $ left to enjoy life then oil prices, gas prices, and taxes threaten to take it all away. I believe home assessments were inflated so localities could get more in property taxes while everything was going great guns. That may keep them inflated for a while.

[randallscott35]

Houses are a depreciating asset. Always have been. They are a place to live, not an investment.

[gales0678]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

Houses are a depreciating asset. Always have been. They are a place to live, not an investment.

appeantly the last 2 presidents before Obama both hailed record home ownership in the country , the problem , is there were too many people in too many houses that they couldn't afford to live in over the life of the mortgage

[dalakhani]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

Houses are a depreciating asset. Always have been. They are a place to live, not an investment.

This isnt true over the long haul. Over the course of time, real estate is at very least an excellent hedge against inflation.

A piece of real estate bought in New York City 10,20, 0r 30 years ago is worth more today than it was then regardless of the fact that we are in a mini depression.

Real estate is local. Real estate is local. real estate is local.

[SuffolkGirl]

Originally Posted by SOREHOOF

The more houses that are unoccupied and not paying taxes, the more the taxes will rise to make up for it, especially school taxes. I am afraid that if this energy bill goes through it will be a double whammy. Schools use electricity too. School taxes jumped big time where I live due to oil costs and will probably skyrocket with another increase in energy costs. That coupled with a decreased tax base could be murder for me. Sucks when you're careful to buy within your limits and still have enough $ left to enjoy life then oil prices, gas prices, and taxes threaten to take it all away. I believe home assessments were inflated so localities could get more in property taxes while everything was going great guns. That may keep them inflated for a while.

If there is a mortgage on the property and the loan was set up with escrow impounds, the mortgage holder is paying the taxes and adding it to the borrower's escrow account as an escrow advancement. If/when the property is foreclosed upon, that figure is added in to the principle due. If there are no mortgage impounds on the property the city/municipality can file a tax lien. The city/municipality will eventually get their money, but the forclosure mess does put a cog in the stream of payments they receive.

Real estate taxes are stacked in favor of the city. If the assessed value goes down, then the mil rate (the figure they use to calculate the real estate taxes due) goes up so that they "meet their goal". If the assessed value goes up, the city can crow about dropping the mil rate, while of course, still raking in the same amount of cash and spending it foolishly.

The cost of education is another thing entirely. If you really break down the school budget there is a nauseating amount paid for administration (just like in health care). While increasing energy costs do affect the overall cost, it is mainly the upwardly spiraling cost of special education that is bulging the education budget. As an example of the administrative B.S. that my taxes pay for, children will now get a report on their B.M.I. (body mass index) on their report cards - WTF? My taxes are paying to pinch fat kids' arms and then tell their fat parents that their kids are fat?!!! Turns out, cutting physical education and sitting in front of the TV with XBox 360 don't burn many calories. Grrrrr.

Back to work to pay for the nanny state.....

Originally Posted by SuffolkGirl

The cost of education is another thing entirely. If you really break down the school budget there is a nauseating amount paid for administration (just like in health care). While increasing energy costs do affect the overall cost, it is mainly the

upwardly spiraling cost of special education that is bulging the education budget.

As an example of the administrative B.S. that my taxes pay for, children will now get a report on their B.M.I. (body mass index) on their report cards - WTF?

My taxes are paying to pinch fat kids' arms and then tell their fat parents that their kids are fat?!!! Turns out, cutting physical education and sitting in front of the TV with XBox 360 don't burn many calories. Grrrrr.

Back to work to pay for the nanny state.....

OH MY GOD!

Somebody understands...

The no child left behind stuff requires so many extra aides
for special ed kids. Our district has to pay for so much more staff, etc...
in order to meet the mandated needs that were unfunded. (The funds
come directly from the taxpayers in the school area in this state)

I sit in a room for one whole period (47 minutes) waiting for kids to come in
that need one on one. Sometimes no one shows up. I cannot
leave to go help somewhere else, like double team in a Physics class
for that time, where one teacher is trying to do a lab with 30 kids.
Leaving is against the unfunded mandate. Our school could potentially
lose other money if I go help. I was picked for this job because I can make
the kids understand. But I could help so many more. It is a misuse of
manpower.

And the body fat study. They frggn pulled kids out of my class to
make them walk around a track and pinch them. We have stuff to do.
I lost valuable instructional time. Those are PHYSICS minutes, do I get
my PHYSICS minutes back with those kids? And yes I could have told
you which kids are fat and which are not. But I guess the fed. government
wants exact numbers. I want my time back that I lost with those kids.

You touched a raw nerve.