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Old 03-20-2012, 06:44 AM
 
Location: West Texas
2,449 posts, read 5,955,185 times
Reputation: 3125

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aquitaine View Post
FYI, 3.8 must be the very highest end - the range is from around 1.9 up (with most of Austin 'proper' at around 2.13). Tough to get a good picture because it can vary from one block to the next, though usually you can see what the range is within a particular county.
This is a very good point!!

Based on this quote (below) I would probably move out of Texas myself!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by JayBrown80 View Post
Texas has a HUGE property tax rate. As you will probably own a house, this DOES effect you. And when I say huge, I mean like 3.8%. In case you think I am exaggerating, just know that a $200,000 house (probably modest by Michigan standards) will cost you $7,600 a year in JUST taxes, not upkeep.

My house is only valued at approximately $130k, but I only pay about $2500 in property taxes. The rates do vary depending on where in a city you live (better areas, etc.). But even if my house appraised double of what it's worth, I still wouldn't pay near what the poster above said. I think people that live in the best areas of town (houses at $350k and up) pay near that amount.
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Old 03-20-2012, 06:46 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
1,825 posts, read 2,831,459 times
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Oddly enough, at least in Austin, it's not really tied to the "best" areas, at least not that I could see in our recent search. Property tax is a combination of so many factors from local entities that it's tough to pin it on just one. My in-laws live out in Lakeway and have a higher rate because they're in Rough Hollow, which is a newer area, so fewer people have the burden of supporting the local government (or that's what their guess was, I should say) but they also thought that was likely to change once more got built.

Our house was right around $350 in Circle C in Austin and has a rate of 2.13 as most of Circle C (that we saw) does. Areas North of Austin have significantly higher rates though I don't really know why that is.
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Old 03-20-2012, 10:53 AM
 
Location: Where I live.
9,191 posts, read 21,893,832 times
Reputation: 4934
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rathagos View Post
This is a very good point!!

Based on this quote (below) I would probably move out of Texas myself!!


My house is only valued at approximately $130k, but I only pay about $2500 in property taxes. The rates do vary depending on where in a city you live (better areas, etc.)....
When you have gotten used to living elsewhere, even the amount you pay stings! My house here in NW NM (in a nice newer development) is valued somewhere between $215-225K, 1870+ sq ft....and my taxes this round are less than $1700/year.

My combined property taxes for both NM and CO are less ($2000) than what you pay in San Angelo for one property.

High property taxes are one big reason why I'm struggling with moving back to the Alpine/Fort Davis/Marfa area of Texas. It has become so expensive to live there.

So.....even without a state income tax, the relatively high combined property taxes and homeowner's insurance (mine is half of what it was in Midland) need to be taken into consideration by anybody, especially retirees!
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Old 03-20-2012, 11:15 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
16,787 posts, read 49,116,977 times
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Insurance rates are higher in Texas also, because of the potential for hail damage, hurricanes, tropical depressions, both of which spin off tornados, and flooding. See Texas Risk Maps here: https://www.city-data.com/forum/membe...#vmessage45943
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Old 03-20-2012, 12:07 PM
 
37,315 posts, read 59,954,536 times
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property tax depends on local communities and the home you buy--
just because one town/neighborhood is very high doesn't mean they all are

this link shows the avg humidity index in most larger towns of US--so you can compare different areas
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

this one from city data itself has a map with cities marked so you can see how far from DFW you might have to go to get lower humidity
https://www.city-data.com/top2/c485.html

the area around SA in the Hill County is generally counted to have a somewhat lower temp/humidity index than SA itself--lots of retired people chose it--and land values have gone up and up--
but it is really nice part of TX to me--
you also might consider the area along the Highland Lakes--Marble Falls being one of the larger towns

if you are retiring you are older--to me that would suggest you want access to good medical care--
so a "small" town might not be the best option even if that might come with a small property tax bill

Last edited by Yac; 03-27-2012 at 05:38 AM..
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Old 03-22-2012, 08:25 AM
 
37,315 posts, read 59,954,536 times
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Insurance rates in TX are higher than they need to be because the TX legislature and the state insurance board are pandering to insurance companies vs standing up to protect Tx residents

admittedly our area is prone to certain natural disasters that other areas are not--but other areas also have weather conditions that lead to insurance claims that TX does not--
excessive snow/flooding being one
and Eastern states in past several years have had more hurricane, storm damage on large scale than Tx has
tornado disasters have been moving away from Tx/Oklahoma area to the east into Kentucky--
so when will those states start to see increased premiums--
it all depends on how weak their state insurance commissions are in dealing with insurance companies
TX commissioners SUCK because our laws don't require ins companies to submit their raise in rates for approval before putting them into effect--
Totally in favor of insurance companies...they don't have to ASK PERMISSION and you don't have to justify why you are raising that rate...

Texans paying highest home insurance rates nationwide | Texas Regional News - News for Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Morning News

The never ending review of homeowners' insurance rates inTexas | Opinion Blog | dallasnews.com

It is difficult to go line by line and compare TX and other states like FL and LA or OK which share some of our same weather-related insurance issues because TX uses a different form and states don't report insurance costs for some types of coverage--
but that just enables the insurance companies to play hide-the-pea in the old shell game of keep policy holders and oversight agencies guessing about true costs and required increases...
MAKE all insurance companies and states use the same type of forms and reporting documents--so that everyone is one the same page when evaluating the damages incurred/claims filed, the types of insurance coverage offered, the rates, and the costs of offering coverage under different policies...

You will never have all the info presented fairly as long as there are deliberate pricing policies that aid companies to conceal true costs...

and remember the stock market debacle not too long ago--where do you think insurance companies had their funds invested????
They were in the stock market and too high losses just like many other investors--part of their losses were covered by increasing premium costs to policyholders...
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Old 03-22-2012, 11:09 AM
 
Location: Cedar Park, Texas
1,601 posts, read 2,986,278 times
Reputation: 1179
If you're wanting to stay an easy drive from your daughter, look east of Dallas along the I-20 corridor (Terrell, Canton, Van, Lindale, Tyler) or north up 75 at Allen, Sherman/Denison areas. The humidity will be a bit higher than in farther south Texas, but it isn't unbearable. It will be warm, though! And I certainly can't imagine that taxes in NE Texas are 3.8% - we have land, lots of land with a house and barns, near Tyler and the taxes there are neglible compared to our 1/4 acre and house NW of Austin.
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Old 03-22-2012, 11:51 AM
 
Location: Shelby Township, Michigan
3 posts, read 4,822 times
Reputation: 14
Thank you to everyone for the great input. FYI I was looking at San Angelo only because of the weather and low humidity. Also was looking at New Mexico and Az. We've got two years before I can call it quits on the job scene and have to make a decision. It's a sure bet that Michigan will not be where we stay. One other consideration is our son who will be moving with us, for two reasons, one to help me with his dad and because he HATES SNOW!! Also he lives with us and we do get along very well. Go figure. He's in I.T. so we will also have to look at the job market. Once again thank you for the great input.
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