Buff raises assessments on 7065 houses (Buffalo, West Seneca: sales, city hall, neighborhood)

[ocean2026]

Yeah do you believe your own BS that the housing market in Buffalo is ok and won't be affected by national trends? Sure its not going to fall $100k per house like Las Vegas or Miami but then houses can't have negative assessments ( not a bad idea -make the city pay us for living in this junk!).


Anyway the assessment dept looked for the 7000 families that had tried to make a better life and who still had decent jobs. You tried to move out of the eastside and escaped to the north or the suburbs? We will fix you and make you poor again.

Here's what can be learned from this- if an armed robber was chasiing you would you just walk away if you had a chance to run - and get far from him?

If you're answer is yes than why would you only move to the suburbs of a revenue hungry county that can't sate its tax appetite on slums anymore?

Y'all come to South Texas where there is no state income tax and the property tax is a fraction of Buffalo's. There are actually jobs here too-even in Rockport my little ocean town. I might warn you though that last weekend a cold front came in and it was 61 degrees when I woke up. What happened to global warming?? In protest I stayed in bed for much of the morning- lucky it happened on a weekend as who would have gone to work in such weather!!

Lol actually I love Buffalo because of its old buildings- but the tax policies have detered me before on the brink of a purchase and the Buffalo News won't print any of my columns on how the city can improve and attract people. ( It isn't me -because I just published a guest editorial in many newspapers about the foolish border fence - just google Steve Fischer Border Fence to see )> Buffalo is set in its ways and just won't help itself . You can bet some of these people with higher assessements -especially those who are losing their jobs will put their houses on the market-this will result in lower prices as the economy worsens and guess what LOWER ASESSMENTS and less revenue for the city.

[JustinH]

Taxes in the city of buffalo are dirt cheap compared to the suburbs.

In comparison to the rest of the country they are still very very high..

I bought my house in West Seneca for 43,000. The taxes are 2200 per year. Its insane.

We have a ranch in columbus ohio that should go for 175,000. The taxes were under 1000 for the longest time.

The payment on the house in West Seneca, is equal to the tax and escrow payment.

But where else are you going to find a good house for 45,000 in a good neighborhood?

[ocean2026]

Justin correct - here youd have to pay $90k for a good area. Having said that there are other factors involved though. My house cost $218k in 1999 and its worth and appraised at about $700k (waterfront) now - taxes are $6300. The factor you may not have considered is that places that are growing often have high appeciation too ( although the really booming places like Vegas-Miami can also crash). The Buffalo house bought 10 years for $45k may only be worth $55 now. A "good" neighborhood in Buffalo may have several more burglaries than we do in a good neighborhood here. Finally houses in Buffalo - the nice old ones- look so much nicer to me - than our more modern ones here.

The point ? Its apples and oranges!

[BuffaloTransplant]

The city under mayors way back always neglected to raise anything ( kept the city loving them), so now they need to raise it. If I still lived in the city, I would leave. Having lived here over 35 years, I can't complain... the house is worth over 5 times what we paid, the taxes are low (even after reassessment a few years back) and we have no mortgage.

[12buttons]

Originally Posted by ocean2026

Yeah do you believe your own BS that the housing market in Buffalo is ok and won't be affected by national trends? Sure its not going to fall $100k per house like Las Vegas or Miami but then houses can't have negative assessments ( not a bad idea -make the city pay us for living in this junk!).


Anyway the assessment dept looked for the 7000 families that had tried to make a better life and who still had decent jobs. You tried to move out of the eastside and escaped to the north or the suburbs? We will fix you and make you poor again.

Here's what can be learned from this- if an armed robber was chasiing you would you just walk away if you had a chance to run - and get far from him?

If you're answer is yes than why would you only move to the suburbs of a revenue hungry county that can't sate its tax appetite on slums anymore?

Y'all come to South Texas where there is no state income tax and the property tax is a fraction of Buffalo's. There are actually jobs here too-even in Rockport my little ocean town. I might warn you though that last weekend a cold front came in and it was 61 degrees when I woke up. What happened to global warming?? In protest I stayed in bed for much of the morning- lucky it happened on a weekend as who would have gone to work in such weather!!

Lol actually I love Buffalo because of its old buildings- but the tax policies have detered me before on the brink of a purchase and the Buffalo News won't print any of my columns on how the city can improve and attract people. ( It isn't me -because I just published a guest editorial in many newspapers about the foolish border fence - just google Steve Fischer Border Fence to see )> Buffalo is set in its ways and just won't help itself . You can bet some of these people with higher assessements -especially those who are losing their jobs will put their houses on the market-this will result in lower prices as the economy worsens and guess what LOWER ASESSMENTS and less revenue for the city.

I agree - you prioritize - is an older home worth it - sometimes the dollars aren't the last word..80% of housing is emotional..crucnh the numbers - buy on datat alone and you'll be miserable..what do YOU want?
You can't change city hall..you can only change your POV. Buffalo just IS.
Accept what that means or move on. good luck. I grappled with it too..it's my hometown and that's a hard one to dance a round. Too much history here for any other place to compete no matter how I crunch the numbers. And who knows - maybe it actually does turn itself around - weirder stuff has happened. ALL CITIES will have to raise taxes btw...even in Texas.

[accbqjx]

These assessment values aren't pulled out of a hat. They are supposed to be based on recent property sales in any given area in Buffalo. If you own property in areas where values are going up, then your propery value goes up and your assessed value will go up as well. Why is that no fair.

The following URL is on the City of Buffalo Website. It will give you the sales of homes in the city over the past two years. Use this to rebut your increase.

Sales Reports - City of Buffalo


Property values in select areas in Buffalo have been on the rise now for the past few years. I know because I've been watching them. When someone sells a house on your street for $200,000, when they purchased the house for $90,000 (15 years ago), that sets off a red flag to the city to keep an eye on that street. At some point the homeowners on that street should pay the same taxes as their new neighbor. Providing of course the houses are comparable. I know it causes hardships for people on fixed incomes, but it is what it is.