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Pryor on Fire posted:The nice thing about flood zones is all the insurance is federally subsidized, it's like welfare basically. When I lived in one of those FEMA 100 year flood zones in the most flood prone area in Colorado in was like an extra $10 a month in insurance the loan agent required and that was it. Maybe I misheard or somebody was off the ball, but it sounded like it was going to be much much higher.
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Apr 3, 2015 02:24
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Ciaphas posted:Yeah I ran the numbers again this morning adding in cable etc and the whole thing did, indeed, fall apart. So buying is out for me right now. Yeah year-long leases do suck, but a year is nothing in Condo/Home Ownership terms
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Apr 3, 2015 03:16
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Antifreeze Head posted:Scrape, shovel and shut up. There is not enough asbestos in a popcorn ceiling of a residential home to cause anyone any long lasting harm. A very small percentage of mesothelioma cases can be linked to DIY home improvement projects. The disease does not develop until 30 or more years after exposure.
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Apr 3, 2015 04:10
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Andy Dufresne posted:Off topic, but did you scrape off the popcorn ceilings yourself or have a contractor do it? This is one of the projects I have lined up on my house... I had it remediated by a professional environmental company. It's likely safe to do yourself if you wet everything down, wear a ventilator, and have eye protection, but I have met people with mesothelioma and it's terrifying juju so I didn't risk it. Also I had a $1000 credit that needed to be applied to work done to the home, so that made up the difference for me. I did the test myself, though. Saved like $150 or something ridiculous by just looking up a place and taking a ziploc bag in to a lab rather than have them come test it.
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Apr 3, 2015 07:36
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Refinancing in progress. I'm in California. They assessed my home and found that the value went up. They are raising my monthly taxes from $200 to $250. Some people are telling me that my taxes shouldn't be rising, and other people are telling me that they normally do. Anyone have a definitive answer?
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Apr 3, 2015 10:02
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Steve Yun posted:Refinancing in progress. I'm in California. When the assessed value of your house goes up, your taxes go up. That is how property value assessment works.
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Apr 3, 2015 12:50
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BEHOLD: MY CAPE posted:When the assessed value of your house goes up, your taxes go up. That is how property value assessment works.
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Apr 3, 2015 12:52
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I'm blown away by some of these property taxes, eg $250+ month. I guess that's the upside of living in a small, cheap house in a not very desirable part of town? My taxes are about $60/month.
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Apr 3, 2015 15:12
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Submitted counter offers to two buyers on my house yesterday. House is listed at 190. Buyer one came in at 180, I countered 187.5. Because gently caress that, it's been on the market for a week. They countered back at 184. Buyer two came in at 184. They both got counters yesterday at 187.5. Buyer one just backed out because they gave me their "best offer" and didn't "want to get in a bidding war." The thing is, we had realtors come look at this place. 190 is the lowest end of any range we got. Anyway, Buyer two will probably not get back to me until the deadline at 1pm. This is the part where I get nervous for a few hours because I have no other fish on the line at the moment. Doesn't help that my Realtor is acting like a disappointed grandmother that I countered. Luckily I'm just dealing with the branch manager at this point, but fuuuuck, I never want to let a relocation company pick my realtor again.
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Apr 3, 2015 15:18
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The total assessed value times tax rate is what generates revenue for the town. They are generally paying increasing costs, so they generally go up. You can manipulate one or both factors but at the end of the day the budget is the budget and it generally increases even for flat services.
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Apr 3, 2015 15:38
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Thesaurus posted:I'm blown away by some of these property taxes, eg $250+ month. I guess that's the upside of living in a small, cheap house in a not very desirable part of town? My taxes are about $60/month. Here is a $74k house in the murder capital of Chicago-https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/6613-S-Normal-Blvd-60621/home/40373090 $300/month Here is a $6,600 crack house - https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/6552-S-Sangamon-St-60621/home/13933923 Even that is over double your taxes.
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Apr 3, 2015 15:40
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BEHOLD: MY CAPE posted:When the assessed value of your house goes up, your taxes go up. That is how property value assessment works. Are you familiar with proposition 13? Unless there was a change in ownership or new construction, in California property taxes are limited to 2% yearly increases
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Apr 3, 2015 16:11
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gvibes posted:Lots of regional variation. That's part of why I can't buy a condo in Evanston - everywhere I look it's 3, 4, 500/mo association fees, then you add in approximately equal property taxes per month, and result in 'this would be almost the cost of my rental, not even including the mortgage'.
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Apr 3, 2015 16:49
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Thesaurus posted:I'm blown away by some of these property taxes, eg $250+ month. I guess that's the upside of living in a small, cheap house in a not very desirable part of town? My taxes are about $60/month.  Cleveland, OH.
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Apr 3, 2015 17:16
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No Butt Stuff posted:Submitted counter offers to two buyers on my house yesterday. Yep, your realtor goes into deal closing mode the second you get any remotely acceptable offer. Between the generally optimistic pricing estimates given by realtors who want your listing business and two independent offers at list minus 3% you're probably close to fair market value.
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Apr 3, 2015 18:17
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Steve Yun posted:Refinancing in progress. I'm in California. In California, we have Prop 13, which fixes state taxes (assessed and collected by the county) at 1% of the purchase price of the home. This value doesn't go up more than a maximum of 2% a year, irrespective of what the county Assesses the property to be worth. However, there are multiple caveats to that. First, your county, city, college board, sewer district, etc. etc. can all pile on "ad valorum" taxes. These can and do go up (and down!) over time. They are almost always voter-approved deals. A lot of times it's a voter-approved bond measure, which is then paid back via an ad valorum tax. Second: counties can and do lower your taxes. During the recession, many counties (including mine) re-assessed properties, and lowered taxes to meet the new, much lower current assessed value of them. These lowerings are temporary, though: and as the assessed property value goes back up, the taxes can go back up right along with it, far faster than 2% a year. So, just as an example, I bought in december 2009 for 240k. My property assessed in january 2010 for a lot less than that... because the assessment is automatic, and my very small SFH development is surrounded by apartments, which are worth way less, LOL. In 2011 it was flat, in 2012 the assessment finally went up a little, in 2013 it went up more, and in 2014 it took a big jump. I am now assessing for more than I paid for my house... but my non-ad-valorum taxes will not rise more than 2% a year at this point. Third: the county assessment is completely divorced from the appraisal you or your bank will pay for, as part of your refinance. That appraisal is used to determine your Loan-to-Value ratio, which is important because if you're less than 80% LTV, you'll have to pay PMI. It also may affect your available rates, based on how it affects your creditworthiness. If you are doing an FHA Streamline Refi, the above doesn't apply: you do not need an appraisal for that type of refinance. Your appraisal is likely to be a much more accurate representation of your house's actual value, because it actually involves someone looking at your actual house, and then selecting comps based on knowledge and experience rather than a computer algorithm. Especially an appraisal that isn't at the same time as a purchase, where the purchase price is taken to be strong evidence of the home's value... your refi appraisal will have to be based far more on comps, since (unless you just bought like three months ago or something) can't really be based on your purchase price. Proposition 13 is unique to California. It's really bad and dumb and it's ruined the state's financial base, pushed millions of kids into underfunded school districts, and all kinds of other horrible bullshit. Come to the california thread if you want to discuss the politics of prop 13. Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 18:32 on Apr 3, 2015 |
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Apr 3, 2015 18:29
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Yeah our state's hosed. I'm already hoarding dry food and water for the coming Mad Max apocalypse. Thanks for the info!
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Apr 3, 2015 19:06
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Leperflesh posted:Proposition 13 is unique to California. It's really bad and dumb and it's ruined the state's financial base, pushed millions of kids into underfunded school districts, and all kinds of other horrible bullshit. Come to the california thread if you want to discuss the politics of prop 13. In Massachusetts we have Proposition 2 1/2. Named for the maximum annual tax increase (2.5%), not due to wedging it between Props 2 and 3. Basically* it says whenever a tax increase of more than 2.5% is called for, a vote has to pass. So you then get the people with school-age kids campaigning for "ARE CHILDREN" (for example, it could be whatever hotbutton issue pushes the tax past the threshold) going to war with the senior citizens "fixed income" brigade over the vote. But if you think about where your taxes are going (salaries, pensions, benefits, maintenance, services), all those people are (generally) getting raises or cost-of-living increases, materials and labor is always going up for maintenance, schoolbooks are getting expensive, so you'd sort of expect as a baseline for your tax bill to somewhat keep pace with the cost of living in a loose or general sense. * The kicker is it's a huge convoluted mess and you'll never understand it in its entirety (unless you're an accountant).
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Apr 3, 2015 19:11
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Prop 13 also applied to commercial and industrial property. So now, companies just get 99-year leases from the original owner of whatever property they're using, so the original sale price is from like 1970 and never ever changes ever. You know how Texas is always claiming that because it has way lower business tax rates, it's much friendlier to business? Well, Texas has way higher property tax rates, and when you add on Prop 13, business taxes in California suddenly don't seem so bad.
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Apr 3, 2015 19:14
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Steve Yun posted:Refinancing in progress. I'm in California. I forgot to mention that there is generally an abatement or appeal process. Like if they hit you with this 25% tax increase, if you can find reason it's unfair there is probably a process to get it adjusted. I assume "they" are the county/municipal tax authority, and can you find out the specifics of what has changed on your property specifically. It is unlikely the entire tax levy is going up 25%, so this is hitting you specifically. Find out why this is the case and perhaps you can argue against it. That's what the abatement is for, to make sure everyone carries their equal share of the tax burden. As an anecdote, on our previous house the assessment went up like 100% the second year we were in it because apparently there was a huge tax break (basically a 0.5 factor I believe) on the assessment during the time it was being renovated as there wasn't an occupancy permit. The particular town had decided to give contractors that break so they were still contributing to the tax base, but make it more attractive to do these remodels or whatever. So when we bought the public records basically showed really low real estate taxes, then our second year we got hit with the increased assessment.
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Apr 3, 2015 19:26
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Reading all these numbers and laws, I no longer even care for home buying, even if it were a financially sound idea for me right now. That is an insane amount of quagmire you guys have to think about 
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Apr 3, 2015 19:34
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BEHOLD: MY CAPE posted:Yep, your realtor goes into deal closing mode the second you get any remotely acceptable offer. Between the generally optimistic pricing estimates given by realtors who want your listing business and two independent offers at list minus 3% you're probably close to fair market value. Thanks for the confirmation. Just accepted 185.5. I'm happy with it.
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Apr 3, 2015 19:39
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Ciaphas posted:Reading all these numbers and laws, I no longer even care for home buying, even if it were a financially sound idea for me right now. That is an insane amount of quagmire you guys have to think about Thread success story. 
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Apr 3, 2015 19:41
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No Butt Stuff posted:Thanks for the confirmation. Down payment will be in goats; buyer would like to occupy starting tomorrow through closing.
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Apr 3, 2015 21:05
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Property taxes are dumb, so instead of buying I've started squatting in homes that look empty on Redfin.
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Apr 3, 2015 21:07
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lol what The property taxes on a $330k house in Howard County, MD are like $4000/yr. But then again the area is inhabited by ultra wealthy people who probably vote to keep the tax rate super low.
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Apr 4, 2015 01:12
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Jealous Cow posted:Down payment will be in goats; buyer would like to occupy starting tomorrow through closing. Close. But it's a relo move so as soon as their contingencies clear then the relo company buys it from me and they get to deal with that poo poo.
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Apr 4, 2015 03:48
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psydude posted:lol what
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Apr 4, 2015 04:22
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Leperflesh posted:Prop 13 also applied to commercial and industrial property. So now, companies just get 99-year leases from the original owner of whatever property they're using, so the original sale price is from like 1970 and never ever changes ever. Except then they can just take the difference in the lease? 
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Apr 4, 2015 04:28
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adorai posted:I live in an area of illinois that has an average cost of living, and my taxes on my $180k house are $4800/year. Taxes on my $120K house are $651.74 with a homestead exemption, but our local income tax is 3% and our local sales tax is 1% on top of the state rate.
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Apr 4, 2015 05:00
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Citizen Tayne posted:Taxes on my $120K house are $651.74 with a homestead exemption, but our local income tax is 3% and our local sales tax is 1% on top of the state rate. 1.2% property tax, 3.5% personal property tax (cars. They assessed my new Mazda CX-5 at $55k, 25k more than it was new.), 4% income tax, 4.7% sales tax. My county sure does get its  out of us.
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Apr 4, 2015 05:43
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Jealous Cow posted:1.2% property tax, 3.5% personal property tax (cars. They assessed my new Mazda CX-5 at $55k, 25k more than it was new.), 4% income tax, 4.7% sales tax. Percentage property tax is a new one on me, I'm used to millage. I live in Pittsburgh and what happens here is that suburban communities boast that they don't have the 3% wage tax Pittsburgh city has, but they don't tell you about their millage rate that is 4x what the city charges.
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Apr 4, 2015 06:00
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Eryxias posted:oh, that's not too bad then. Flood insurance premiums are high already and about to double. This is because the NFIP fund is hurting from the increasing incidence of flood disasters due to climate change. FEMA also just redrew the maps and a lot of properties that were not previously in a SHFA now are, and thus are required to have flood insurance if financed. I wouldn't buy a house in a flood zone due to the hundreds of dollars per month it would add to my mortgage payment. You should get quoted by an insurance agent before you make your decision but make sure you do so within your inspection period to preserve your escrow monies.
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Apr 4, 2015 06:20
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psydude posted:lol what We have very low taxes in MD. I'm in Montgomery County and my family in FL and NJ are confused by it.
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Apr 4, 2015 14:32
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therobit posted:Flood insurance premiums are high already and about to double. This is because the NFIP fund is hurting from the increasing incidence of flood disasters due to climate change. FEMA also just redrew the maps and a lot of properties that were not previously in a SHFA now are, and thus are required to have flood insurance if financed. I wouldn't buy a house in a flood zone due to the hundreds of dollars per month it would add to my mortgage payment. You should get quoted by an insurance agent before you make your decision but make sure you do so within your inspection period to preserve your escrow monies. Yeah, right now we are in an odd position. USAA(our insurance, not mortgage) says that the house is outside the zone. Navy Fed(our mortgage) is having their 3rd party flood company take a look and see if the map the appraiser was using is old(it was from the 90s or something) and whether we are actually in said area. Then finally both me and our agent are trying to hunt down the elevation certificate which by 2005 all new construction is required to have in the county. However, we are having a hard time finding it. The current owners don't have it on file, the county public records office is only open till noon, and the company that built the houses was owned by this dude: http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/bellevue-homebuilder-accused-of-stealing-629000-in-sales-tax-collections/ Which of course doesn't exist anymore. So if they kept the elevation cert, I'm pretty sure im not getting it. The cert also costs probably around 300, but in having it the insurance companies can 100% give an accurate payment amount, so I won't get screwed later and they switch it up on me. Eryxias fucked around with this message at 15:04 on Apr 4, 2015 |
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Apr 4, 2015 14:54
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Eryxias posted:Yeah, right now we are in an odd position. Try FEMA for getting the most recent flood maps. It could be recently added. Also I would probably just pay or make the seller pay the $300 for the elevation certificate and know where you stand. Might also look into a loma letter but I would imagine that could take a while. therobit fucked around with this message at 16:05 on Apr 4, 2015 |
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Apr 4, 2015 15:59
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therobit posted:Try FEMA for getting the most recent flood maps. It could be recently added. Also I would probably just pay or make the seller pay the $300 for the elevation certificate and know where you stand. Might also look into a loma letter but I would imagine that could take a while. Funny enough, the map on the FEMA website shows its from 99 and that were actually outside the flood zone, the map from the county website shows we are inside, but I can't seem to find the date For the county maps, though it appears newer. Regardless of which map is correct, I still need the elevation cert for the insurance company to determine insurance rates in my favor hopefully. Either way, should have a determination Monday.
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Apr 4, 2015 16:17
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adorai posted:While i agree with your sentiment, you probably don't want to actually advise anyone of this. Everything has a risk and the risk of mesothelioma is extremely low by a one time removal of a 2% asbestos popcorn ceiling. I can't be 100% certain that someone won't get that one necessary fibre to get mesothelioma anymore than I can be 100% certain the person won't get into a fatal car crash on the way to Home Depot to buy the $40 mask that drops the risk from almost zero to even closer to zero. Knowledge of that risk won't tell me to stop someone from driving to Home Depot anymore than it will stop my from telling someone to just scrape the finish off the ceiling and move on with their life.
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Apr 4, 2015 17:53
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BEHOLD: MY CAPE posted:If you're paying a 0.75% rate penalty for a "no PMI" loan that's probably worse than just paying PMI
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Apr 4, 2015 23:55
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Can anyone explain the benefits of a FHA streamline refinance (sorry if this is the wrong thread for such a question)? I have tried reading HUD's explanation, but I guess I'm still a little confused. We bought a house in June 2014, so I think we are eligible. If I'm understanding HUD correctly, a lender has to guarantee at least 5% less in PIMI, but would we still need to pay refinancing fees? It doesn't seem worth it, if we have to pay any money towards it considering we haven't been in the house for very long.
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Apr 5, 2015 05:10
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