love/hate delaware?

[mjk2374]

You can research how the DMV works here:

State of Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles - Motor Vehicle Fees

The big fee that everyone complains about it the title documentation fee. It's 3.75% of selling price or current NADA Bluebook value. It is a one time fee.

As far as how things get done on small real estate taxes goes.... I think it might be a combination of things.

First the state is pretty damn small. There are only 3 counties.

We don't have same governmental structure as NJ. DE doesn't have all of the townships, boroughs, etc. There are towns, but many of the areas don't have there own police force. County/State police are the only police forces even in the mid to large size suburbs. The same goes for fire protection. The way I understand it, pretty much every town in NJ has it's own PD/FD.

I think the political environment is a difference as well. NJ has always been one of the most corrupt states in the US. Not that DE is prefect, we just gave some dude a bunch of money to develop a french fry machine, but corruption is easier to expose in a small state.

Originally Posted by JERSEY MAN

I'm trying to get an accurate read on car registration in Delaware. I pay about 45 a car in NJ BUT I pay about 15K in property taxes. No thats not a misprint it's 15K as in 15,000 US dollars. We are just trying to get a feel on how Delaware does it. How do they survive on anywheres from 1,000 to 3,000 in property taxes. How do they pay for schools,police,mun.govt,pensions. Please shed some light on how you guys do it, because we are heading your way as soon as I retire. Thanks Jersey Man.

[little eggplant]

(As far as how things get done on small real estate taxes goes.... I think it might be a combination of things.

First the state is pretty damn small. There are only 3 counties.)

I agree with this. The smaller the area geographically, the less spread out the funds are. I live in Maine, which is a very large state geographically, but yet we are a very poor state and taxation is rampant here. More roads to maintain, more towns to provide services to and yet a smaller population from which to derive these funds leads to more taxes. Try buying a single apple at a convenience store as a snack and you will be taxed! I think many people overlook geography as a factor when it comes to revenues.

[JERSEY MAN]

Thanks mjk2374 and little eggplant. Another question? Purchasing or selling a house, is there a percentage of the sale price that goes to the state. Is there any sales tax on the purchase of autos in state. Thanks again.

[mjk2374]

I recently purchased a new car. I'll have to double check the bill of sale, but I'm pretty sure there isn't a sales tax. You will have to pay the documentation fee of 3.75%

To the best of my knowledge, I don't think the state takes a cut of the real estate transaction.

I can tell you that when we purchased in 2006, we were required to pay for a real estate attorney to close the deal and do all of the paperwork. The closing process happened in the lawyer's office. I think the legal fees were something like $375 - $400.

I'm not a real estate person, but I know there are some RE agents on city-data that can chime in.

I hope that helps!

Originally Posted by JERSEY MAN

Thanks mjk2374 and little eggplant. Another question? Purchasing or selling a house, is there a percentage of the sale price that goes to the state. Is there any sales tax on the purchase of autos in state. Thanks again.

[Charley]

Originally Posted by mjk2374

To the best of my knowledge, I don't think the state takes a cut of the real estate transaction.

To the best of my knowledge, there is a real estate transfer tax in Delaware. It is 3%, with the seller and buyer spliting the tax 50/50. One half of the total goes to the state, the other half goes to the county in which the sale is made. Can one of our realtors confirm this? Thanks.

[mjk2374]

I pulled the bill of sale out of my filing cabinet. Purchase date 4/16/09 at Dover DE 19901 on a new vehicle.

Here are the fees I was charged:

3.75% on the cost of the car - trade
State Clerical Fees: $131.75
State Messenger Fees: $160.25
Registration Fee: $100
Title Fee: $25

Then they took off rebates, down payment, etc to get the bottom line price.

Originally Posted by JERSEY MAN

Thanks mjk2374 and little eggplant. Another question? Purchasing or selling a house, is there a percentage of the sale price that goes to the state. Is there any sales tax on the purchase of autos in state. Thanks again.

[queenofbavaria]

We live in Middletown.

pro: small town, good community, lots of soccer (and all three kids play, dad is coaching), was happy with public schools (now we got all three to MOT charter, which is even better)
houses are inexpensive, lots of little shops on main street, great movie theater (everett)
people are nice and open.
love the gibby art center ! together with the Everett they add so much culture to our daily life here
and love the dog park at levels road !

cons: air and water quality - the cancer rate is scaring me and one of the main reasons for us to move to WNC within the next 1 or 2 years. too many chemical and nuclear plants, not enough recyling (but is getting better right now)
it was a lot of work and fighting to get the permission for installing solar panels
... and - even I like the ocean, I really miss some (smaller) mountains. but - we've lived close to the alps in germany, not easy to find a nicer place to stay
traffic in Middletown is painful, takes me 20 minutes to get to our school, which would be soooo close .....
so far I could not find a single great greek restaurant in whole delaware and overall the variety of food seems to be very limited.

[queenofbavaria]

ooops, forgot a very important point: I don't have much clue how inexpensive the DMV is around here - but I know for sure, that shopping in delaware is a pretty good experience. tax free shopping and even tax free outlet shopping in rehoboth beach is a great thing, I would say
christiana mall in Newark has all the major shops and just got a make-over.

speaking of shopping: the dutch country market in Middletown with amish goods and other local produce and the big farmers market in new castle (route 13). there you can a basket full of fresh produce for a fraction of the cost.

something else came to my mind: Fort Delaware (ferry departs from Delaware city) is a great destination. people there are dressed up in colonial clothes and love to talk about former times (with a lovely british accent, if you're lucky )