80% Property Tax Increase... Loosing my Home? (Seattle, Olympia: foreclosure, how much, custom home)

[ruthpurple]

I'm just curious - we live in Wisconsin, a high tax state, and have a 2400 sq ft house on a 1/3 acre lot. The house is about 40 years old with 4 bedrooms and a 2-car attached garage. We pay almost $4,000 in property taxes a year. We are considering retiring in the Wenatchee area - does anyone know about how much the property taxes would be on a similar house in WA?

Someone said they pay $8,000 a year in property tax, but what size house and lot is that for?

Thanks.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by ruthpurple

Someone said they pay $8,000 a year in property tax, but what size house and lot is that for?

Thanks.

The 30 year old home previously mentioned is in Thurston County and every year the assessed value has increased.

The 2007 assessed value is a little over 600k. The area is currently zoned 5 acre minimum lot size per home.

For 2008 the assessed value jumped to $1050k... that is a 450k increase in one year.

I spoke to the Assessor's appraiser and explained that nothing in my area is selling and many properties have been taken off the market and that I would be very happy to sell my home for anywhere close to a million... she laughed and said that I could always appeal...

The entire point of my post is that a person can really be taxed out of their home in Washington State based simply on the Assessor's "Opinion" of Value.

I no longer see Washington as a viable state for retires with homes. How can it be when property tax is so completely unpredictable?

[KOCMOC]

Can't you sell your house for 1M or 800K or whatever and move to a different state?

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by KOCMOC

Can't you sell your house for 1M or 800K or whatever and move to a different state?

Won't know what it will sell for without actually selling.

I'm up against a double standard in that only by selling would I have incontrovertible evidence to refute the Assessor's OPINION of what my home is worth... kind of winning the battle only to loose the war.

In answer to your question, I believe I would be very lucky if my home would sell for 700k in today's market and yes... leaving Washington is probably inevitable.

Three times the voters in WA have approved measures to limit tax increases and three times the courts have found issue with the will of the voters.

This state has no personal income tax which is a tremendous benefit for folks with high incomes...

No doubt about it, Washington is a great state for those that can afford it.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by KOCMOC

Can't you sell your house for 1M or 800K or whatever and move to a different state?

1) - point is; that homes are not really moving at a premium price
2) - Assessor values your home as if it was ready to sell... (not as a worn out heap it may be)
3) - at retirement age who has the time or energy to rebuild a custom home, and place that you spent 20-30 yrs, developing soils, (picking rocks, adding cover crops, removing 5' dia stumps...) adding plants, trees, berries, barns, fences, wells, ponds, ...
4) moving many years of accumulated junk that was to be left as 'pay-back' for the kids

finding new friends, stores, banks, churches, doctors, moving away from your family (new grandkids), part-time jobs... GOOD (and well trained) NEIGHBORS - it all comes with a price - life... it just ain't fair, oh well suck it up and move-on...

[ukiyo-e]

I don't know how it works in WA, but here in CA the assessment has nothing to do with market value of the house. It is not an appraisal, and therefore no one cares how old the appliances, roof, etc. are. Here it's just the purchase price plus the cost of any capital improvements done with a city building permit (which is how they know the cost, as the contractor has to report it).

But one thing people from out of state don't realize it, that while our property taxes are a set percentage (depending on the county), voters can approve all sorts of add-ons. In my town, I pay an extra $42 for the libraries, about $75 for the (fantastic) parks and bike trails, and a few hundred a year that finances the 3-year-old additional middle school. It adds up.

We have state income tax here, so although your property taxes are bad, I wonder if your total tax burden is any worse? It would be interesting to compare. At any rate, it would be extremely upsetting to have sudden, arbitrary property tax increases.

[Ultrarunner]

Property Tax in CA is based on the PURCHASE PRICE plus any improvements made. The amount of tax paid can only increase by 2% per year (Plus additional voter approved measures like parks and such.)

Property Tax in WA is based on the county Assessor's OPINION of FAIR MARKET VALUE without ANY REGARD to the purchase price.

The up-shot is that the ASSESSED value in Washington State can double from one year to the next based on the Assessor's opinion of what your home would sell for today.

As JanB stated, the tax paying homeowner really has no say in the matter. Homeowners have the option to appeal, but in reality, who has time to fight the county every year?

At least in CA, homeowners have the ability to forecast their property tax burden with some certainty... unfortunately, WA property tax is completely unpredictable and can easily wipe out homeowners on fixed incomes...

In addition, every time WA property is sold, the seller must also pay 1.5% to the State in the form of excise tax on the sales price. If I were cynical, I would think Washington is trying to get folks to sell for the excise tax. (Last I checked excise was 1.5% of sales price)

The Olympian stated recently that a large part of the Washington's State Surplus is due to excise tax revenue collected when property is sold.

No State income tax is a certainly a benefit to folks with high incomes and almost no benefit to folks with little income like most retirees. The theory with income tax is that you a paying a portion of your INCOME in taxes... no income equals no tax and low income equals low tax.

[chris]

I don't know if anyone saw the news this week but foreclosures are up 150% from last year in Thurston county. I can't imagine why!

It doesn't seem right for people to get taxed into another state.

[Artful-Thang]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

At least in CA, homeowners have the ability to forecast their property tax burden with some certainty... unfortunately, WA property tax is completely unpredictable and can easily wipe out homeowners on fixed incomes...

In addition, every time WA property is sold, the seller must also pay 1.5% to the State in the form of excise tax on the sales price. If I were cynical, I would think Washington is trying to get folks to sell for the excise tax. (Last I checked excise was 1.5% of sales price).

I don't know how anyone can budget for their property taxes in WA. I certainly couldn't afford to live in my condo if taxes in CA were figured like WA, and I'm not on a fixed income. I'd have to take a 2nd job.

By the way, CA also expects the seller to pay a real estate tax on the sale of a house/property. I don't know how much it is though.

Sounds like WA doesn't want people of moderate means to own their own homes.

[cdelena]

Originally Posted by Artful-Thang

I don't know how anyone can budget for their property taxes in WA. I certainly couldn't afford to live in my condo if taxes in CA were figured like WA, and I'm not on a fixed income. I'd have to take a 2nd job.

By the way, CA also expects the seller to pay a real estate tax on the sale of a house/property. I don't know how much it is though.

Sounds like WA doesn't want people of moderate means to own their own homes.

I moved to Washington from Texas to lower my property taxes!

Texas is another state with no income tax but property taxes are highest (on appraised value) in the country generally ranging from 2.0% to 3.7% of appraised market value. My 1200 ft condo in Dallas cost me more in taxes every year than my 3000 ft home here.

Taxes vary alot depending upon how old you are, how you live, and where your income comes from, as much as where you are. A high income is really taxed some places, a high value home in others, and both in some places. Over age 65 is a pass sometimes, but other times a high income will cause you to lose the age break. Some places retirement income is taxed, others it is not.

Don't look at any of those charts and expect you are seeing the whole answer.