property taxes in Briargate? (sale, to rent, low crime)

[needrain]

Are the property taxes higher in Briargate compared to Rockrimmon or the Powers corridor?

[Bob from down south]

Depends on what school district you're in. All of Briargate is in D-20, which is the most expensive in town. And part of Briargate is actually in the Powers corridor. I think all of Rockrimmon is in D-20 as well, but not sure.

It's easy enough to look at properties on the El Paso County assessor's site...you can see the taxes broken down there.

[needrain]

Oh, thanks, I will do that. I will be homeschooling so I don't want to pay extra for something I won't be using. But if it is not too much more taxes, it would be worth it to be in a family area with low crime.

[kjd]

I bought a house in Briargate for 246k in February of this year. I think I pay about $1400/yr in property taxes. I think it's worth it even if you home school. It's a nice place to raise a family.

[needrain]

Wow, that is a lot better than Las Vegas. We payed 285k for a house and our taxes our 2500 a year. I've lived here 3 years now and I just can't seem to get used to it. I'm a very conservative christian and Las Vegas reallly makes me feel like this world is not my home, I'm just a passing through, like the old hymn says. I'm in a good area and people's homes get robbed anyway. There is nothing to do here for kids and people that don't like smoking,drinking,gambling, etc. Anyway, didn't mean to get on that. We have a chance to get out of here because they are building another Costco in COS starting May to be open in August and it looks likely that we can go because he is a manager. Thanks for the info.

[COflower]

Originally Posted by needrain

Oh, thanks, I will do that. I will be homeschooling so I don't want to pay extra for something I won't be using. But if it is not too much more taxes, it would be worth it to be in a family area with low crime.

I live in Briargate and while I do rent, I also pay taxes for the school district via my rent check...I don't use the schools - no kids - everyone pays their share no matter if they use the schools or not.

Briargate is pretty safe, close to shopping, quick to the interstate, lots of trails, etc...but property taxes alone based on "I'm not using it so I wanna minimize my damages in property taxes..." is not the way to go about it. Find the home you can afford to rent or buy in a location that suits you best.

Just my opinion.

[needrain]

Seems like a wonderful place to be. I love walking. Are the trails in the neighborhoods where you can walk with a 5 year old? Also, I was wondering what's the difference between the Powers area vs. Briargate? Does it have more crime because it is more south and closer to the airport? I'm talking about north Barnes and Powers. The houses are newer and less expensive, but the area is growing and not established like Briargate. I'd really like a one story like we have here in Vegas with no basement and some privacy in the backyard. Is that possible is COS? Just wondering what the purpose of the basement is? I know it adds more room? Is there anything else I'm missing. I've never lived anywhere where they had basements? Sorry, I was concerned they wouldn't have much light down there and the house would have uneven heating.

[Mike from back east]

The Powers "corridor" runs for many miles, from HWY 83 on the far northern edges of town all the way to the south edges. Essentially a local version of I-25. Powers is slated to be upgraded to interstate highway standards in the future (when the sky pours money). Let's not hold our breath on that one.

Just south of Hwy 83, the Powers corridor goes through the eastern side of Briargate and is part of what COflower alluded to when she said "quick to the interstate" in her posting. It is a very nice area. In the index are a couple of postings with a photo tour and one with a discussion. It's in school district 20, one of the best around here, which gives you two benefits:
- If you want to or have to stop home-schooling, you're in a great district.
- You can *usually* resell a home in a good school district easier and for more money than one in a so-so district.

A rule of thumb for calculating taxes is to take the sale price and multiply it by 0.6% which means $3k tax on a $500k home.

There is more in the forum on taxes. You'd have to use the Search tool with a keyword like taxes to find the older threads.

[Bob from down south]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

A rule of thumb for calculating taxes is to take the sale price and multiply it by 0.6% which means $3k tax on a $500k home.

I looked at houses in Wolf Ranch and Cordera (Briargate area) that were over $3000/yr in taxes for a ~$400K house. The D-20 school taxes alone were north of $2K on those houses.

[Bideshi]

Expect property taxes to go up soon.