80% Property Tax Increase... Loosing my Home? (Seattle: house, taxi, income)

[stingray427]

Originally Posted by angelbug

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.

In this respect California is better (I can't believe I said that) but that's crazy as you can get taxed out of your home. It doesn't sound like a reasonable system. Kudos to California as far as property taxes go I hate to say. I pay $1,600 per year and I have it wrapped into my mortagage payment. I can't imagine 5,000 a y ear for property taxes.

[stingray427]

Originally Posted by 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.

iN CALIFORNIA THEY GET YOU BIG TIME WHEN YOU SELL THE HOUSE AND THE BUYER TAKES ON THE NEW 8,000 OR 7,000 (DEPENDING ON PURCHASE PRICE) A YEAR PROPERTY TAX BILL

[stingray427]

Originally Posted by janb

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...

Well trained neighbors? Who needs neighbors if you are surrounded by trees 360 degrees. You don't have to worry about fence issues like we do in the suburbs or kids running up and down your streets playing football and damaging all the cars that are parked along with making all of there noise pollution. At least that is my understanding of Custer, What com. and Skigit Counties..the rural areas.

[Artful-Thang]

Originally Posted by cdelena

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

Yeah, I know there are many ways State's have of taxing; CA is one of the higher overall tax states. But I'm thinking that I'd rather pay a high income tax than a high property tax. You can have NO income but still have a huge property tax, whereas if you have no income in a high income tax state, you don't have to worry so much.

I'm trying to destress my life, so I'm not looking for a house as an investment or to continue my current city/officeworker lifestyle. I figure after my future move I will be making a lot less, probably working for myself...but in a (hopefully) less populated area.

It'd be sad to have property taxes force you to move away from a house and town you love.

[cdelena]

Thanks to a ridiculous State Supreme Court ruling we have now lost our reasonable tax cap (one of the reasons I felt comfortable moving here). I plan to email my State representatives urging a fix and suggest you do the same.

Local News | Q&A | What I-747's demise could mean for you | Seattle Times Newspaper

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by cdelena

Thanks to a ridiculous State Supreme Court ruling we have now lost our reasonable tax cap (one of the reasons I felt comfortable moving here). I plan to email my State representatives urging a fix and suggest you do the same.

Local News | Q&A | What I-747's demise could mean for you | Seattle Times Newspaper

I'm truley afraid it is now Open Season on property owners... especially Home Owners because the value of business property is generally a function of the income it produces...

Home Owners are expected to just "Suck It Up"... We have passed the tipping point!

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by Artful-Thang

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.

I checked several CA sources and Seller Paid Real Estate Tax on Sale is completely dependant on where the property is located.

Some areas have almost none and other areas, like Oakland CA, the tax excedes the WA rate.

[sean98125]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

I'm truley afraid it is now Open Season on property owners... especially Home Owners because the value of business property is generally a function of the income it produces...

Home Owners are expected to just "Suck It Up"... We have passed the tipping point!

There's still a 2% cap in place.

[seahawksweetie]

I have never owned a home and I more than likely never will, all because of property taxes. I don't live in WA yet, I live in CA, but either way, each place is too expensive to own property.

It seems to me regarding Thurston County and foreclosures, the government might wake up some day and wonder where all their extra money has gone to (from excise and property taxes) when there are no homeowners left-or very few anyway.

Hopefully you get someone to listen to you and get that tax lowered. That is way toooo much, especially when it is not investment property and it's your long time residence.

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by Fat Freddy

Property owners never seem to complain when out of control development and real estate hype make their property values soar out of sight, especially if they plan to sell and make a killing.

But they cry and whine when they realize that they have to pay taxes on the inflated values.

Nothings wrong with that. We all have to eat, we all want to do better. Why are you beating us up for being scared about losing our homes. When property goes up in value, unless you move out of state to somewhere no body wants to live, you see very little gain. Usually the other homes also go up in value. There is very little advantage to rising home prices unless you just love to pay more taxes. Most of us DO NOT MAKE "A KILLING".