Why are property taxes so HIGH in Texas?? (Happy: closing, subdivisions)

[8sm]

Originally Posted by thejackalope

Property tax is NOT fixed. It is a percentage of the property value, which can double or triple within a decade.

Point well received......... yet my point, not well described by me, is your point exactly.

Property taxes are as long as you own real estate " a constant forever larger expenses to a retirees budget " and as mention above can increase over time. Ouch!

Thanks for bring it to my attention.

Best regards.......... 8sm

[8sm]

Originally Posted by AverageJoe83

It's kind of funny seeing a topic like this.

I actually find the property taxes to be a dream...mainly because I used to live on Long Island. The difference?

Prop Taxes on long island = a second mortgage payment. In some areas, prop taxes can be as high or HIGHER than your mortgage payment.

Its also harder right now since prop values are skyrocketing which is leading to higher taxes. 4 - 5 years ago was the best time to get a house...now? You will be hard pressed to find anything affordable.

Having come from (2) Arizona and (1) Nevada properties were my $550K, $320K and $250K single family homes are tax at $3600, $1800 and $1400 yearly respectfully. You can see my sticker shock at Texas taxes.

We struggle with our decision because family is important and thought just bite the tax bullet and pay it. But, justifying it now is hard enough let alone the future tax bill is scary.

Best Regards......... 8sm

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by Novacek

Please explain how the value can "triple within a decade" appreciating at a homestead capped 10% /year.

My taxes went from $2K to $7K in the span of a decade.
The value of my home shot up, came down when I refianced and then shot up again.
So while the cap is 10% it does become more if the value increases dramatically.

[8sm]

Originally Posted by HappyTexan

That's just a temporary reprieve though done by your choice.
Your new home is not going to be frozen in value and your taxes won't be frozen either.

Now you get to watch them go up all over again.

Our Realtor pointed out .... did you notice how many new build home owner sell 2-4 years. As the subdivision comes to a sell out the country comes in and now assess the land with the BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS. Ala .... larger property tax bill. LOL

We did notice that trend in the resale home market within the new home subdivisions we were looking to purchase in San Antonio.

Best Regards....... 8sm

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by HappyTexan

So while the cap is 10% it does become more if the value increases dramatically.

No, it doesn't. The appraised value could quintuple in one year, and as long as it's your homestead, the assessed value will only go up 10%.



In your case, I can only assume you either didn't have the homestead exemption or improved the house and triggered a higher value.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by HappyTexan

My taxes went from $2K to $7K in the span of a decade.
The value of my home shot up, came down when I refianced and then shot up again.
So while the cap is 10% it does become more if the value increases dramatically.

Assuming a maximum increase of 10 percent per year, your property can theoretically go up by a factor of 2.6X. If your tax rate was also up 16% in year 10 from where it was in year 0, you would have a 3X increase; however, I think it is highly unlikely that values would skyrocket like that over 10 years and there not be somewhat of a tax rate roll-back.

Now, if the property was extremely low value to begin with, then the HSE value ($15k?) might have been more significant and caused a skew of the numbers. If you start with a $100k property, and see 10 years of 10 percent growth AND a simultaneous 10% increase in tax rate over the 10 years, then you would go from ~$2,000 to just over $6,300 in taxes.

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by Novacek

No, it doesn't. The appraised value could quintuple in one year, and as long as it's your homestead, the assessed value will only go up 10%.



In your case, I can only assume you either didn't have the homestead exemption or improved the house and triggered a higher value.

Neither. I lived on the property and did no improvements. And I was Travis county, not even in the city or ETJ of Pflugerville.


My refinance got $80K chopped off the value.
Recall home values shot up all over.

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Assuming a maximum increase of 10 percent per year, your property can theoretically go up by a factor of 2.6X. If your tax rate was also up 16% in year 10 from where it was in year 0, you would have a 3X increase; however, I think it is highly unlikely that values would skyrocket like that over 10 years and there not be somewhat of a tax rate roll-back.

Now, if the property was extremely low value to begin with, then the HSE value ($15k?) might have been more significant and caused a skew of the numbers. If you start with a $100k property, and see 10 years of 10 percent growth AND a simultaneous 10% increase in tax rate over the 10 years, then you would go from ~$2,000 to just over $6,300 in taxes.

I was out in the county..Travis county so far out I couldn't even get DSL.
I bought the 6 acres for $32K. Tilson home was $140K. This was back in 1997-1998.

As everything grew the and sprawl approached my value kept going up.
At one point they valued my home over $300K and it took a refinance to get it back in sync.

Much of the increased value of my property was due to sprawl as Pflugerville grew further east.

I just check my old home and 2015 taxes are $10K.
The land alone is valued over $100K now.

[thejackalope]

Originally Posted by Novacek

Please explain how the value can "triple within a decade" appreciating at a homestead capped 10% /year.

+10% property tax every year compounds to 259%... So if your house value triples, no you won't pay 3x the property tax, "only" 2.6x. LOL, great.

[Trainwreck20]

As everything grew the and sprawl approached my value kept going up.
At one point they valued my home over $300K and it took a refinance to get it back in sync.

I guess my confusion is why your HSE did not keep the taxes down. Even if your appraised value went up to 300k, the assessed value should have been some fraction of that.

Not sure why your would refinance to 'get it in sync'? Our house is worth almost twice what we paid for it years ago, but there is no reason to refi it.

If you sell it, ofc, then the HSE protection goes away for the next owner, at least long enough for the assessed value to jump.