Questions about Eagle (Boise, Nampa: appointed, transplants, real estate)

[Steamboat45]

My wife and I are seriously considering Eagle for a retirement location. We were both raised in Nampa, but we've been out of the area for many, many years.

What is the general attitude about Eagle? I've read many positive posts about the city along with a number of negative ones.

The number of foreclosures in Eagle is obviously troubling. Moving into a neighborhood with many vacant homes is a concern for a number of reasons.

Are there financial problems in the city due to the number of foreclosures? I see they are hiring a new mayor, (interesting that the position is appointed by the city council, with no election). I see that they have reduced the salary for the part time position from a current salary of $70,000.00 to $30,000.00 for the new mayor. Quite a drop in compensation.

What do locals see in the long term for Eagle?

Any insight and advice about the city is appreciated.

[grmi66]

I live right next to Eagle and for the most part think that it is the nicest suburb of Boise. About the only thing that I can think of that most people make fun of Eagle for is that it seems to have a higher percentage of California transplants. Whenever I go to an event in Eagle I always notice a bunch of 50+ year old guys chasing down two year old kids. Mentioned this to a friend who lives in Eagle and he said that Eagle is a popular place for rich guys to start their second or third family.

Nothing else bad to say about Eagle, has a great location, a variety of shopping choices, one of the better libraries in the area, overall a decent place to live.

[Steamboat45]

Thank you grmi66, that's good to hear. Apparently you don't see any financial disasters lurking in the foreseeable future.

[grmi66]

Now that I think about it, Eagle's financial situation has only impacted our family in that the library has really cut back in the number of hours it is open and the number of new books it is buying. Don't live in Eagle proper, so don't know how property tax has been affected. From driving around new development has come to a standstill. Rumor had it that there was going to be a new shopping center with a movie theater built on Eagle Road just north of Chinden, but I do not see any sign of something coming any time soon.

[Steamboat45]

Originally Posted by grmi66

Don't live in Eagle proper, so don't know how property tax has been affected.

Thank you for your reply. I'm interested in your above quote about property taxes in Eagle. Aren't property taxes the same for the entire county, or are there assessments for the city?

Thank you for your help.

[grmi66]

Just looked at my property tax bill and the biggest chunk of my bill goes to the city of Boise, about 28% of the total bill. So I can only assume that the city of Eagle gets a percentage of your property tax as well. The other thing that I would guess is that most of the subdivisions in Eagle are fairly new and still have HOA's, so you would have that on top of your tax bill.

[Steamboat45]

Originally Posted by grmi66

Just looked at my property tax bill and the biggest chunk of my bill goes to the city of Boise, about 28% of the total bill. So I can only assume that the city of Eagle gets a percentage of your property tax as well. The other thing that I would guess is that most of the subdivisions in Eagle are fairly new and still have HOA's, so you would have that on top of your tax bill.

Cities most certainly get a part of the tax, but I don't think it influences the total of your tax bill. I read the Idaho formula somewhere. I could be wrong.

And yes, from what I've seen, some of the HOA fees in Eagle are prohibitively high. I find it interesting that most of the real estate ads that I've seen don't disclose the HOA fees. Realtors probably don't want to offer any additional unpleasant news to a prospective buyer. Here it is in most every ad.

Thank you for your helpful responses.

[Hometown Josie]

I do not live in Eagle itself, but in the general area. The complaints I have heard are about water increases and assesssments, not tax rate, being an issue. Eagle has beautiful homes and is a nice area. There does seem to be a keeping up with the Jonses mindsest, but overall people seem nice enough. If you are in the rural areas you should plan for a firebreak and be wary of traffuc paths that lead up to the BLM land outside of town. All income brackets are counting their pennies in this market, so it is no surprise that there are significant listings and foreclosures. Happy retirement!

[Steamboat45]

Thanks for the response Josie. I'm just trying to line up all the ducks. We certainly don't want to make a major investment in a community that is headed for trouble.

Can you give me any more information on the assessments? Thanks.

[BigTrace]

Steamboat, I too will be relocating to Eagle in the near future. I currently live in San Diego and have been researching the area for sometime. I came to the conclusion that there IS going to be some drawbacks, but also there WILL be some major advantages for me. Eagle was hit hard by the R.E. crisis simply because it was the newest area being developed over the last few years. People buying into the area bought with little money down just like here in Southern CA. The communities here in Southern CA that got hit the hardest had all of the newest product. No one saw the collapse except those that knew better. You simply don't make that kind of money that quickly in RE.

As for everything else, for me, most everything else is cheaper. Gas, not so much, but water, electricity, insurances etc. are pretty much all cut by 30% or more for me. The property taxes run about 1% just like here in So Cal, BUT the Homeowners Exemption is much larger (around 100k versus 7k for us). Depending on what kind of money you plan on spending on a home, that's a significant savings