kansas taxes wtf (Wichita, Overland Park, Augusta: for sale, renting, HOA)

[jackrackham]

I am looking at relocating to wichita augusta or eldorado.
The home prices seem to be reasonable, but the taxes are outragous, 2 thousand is not out of line for a 136 thousand dollar home and then it is nothing to add another 2k for specials, and then add a couple hundred for association dues. wtf, that is out ragous, I asked several people who are realtors and they could give me no answer as to what you get for the sky high taxes, I was just told that I am not the only one who is bitching about it.
I have looked in arkansas near little rock a big city like wichita, and the taxes there are high when you say 1thousand a year. and then you get a 350 home stead reduction. I can see nothing kansas has to offer for the $ and maybe this is the reason, there is no tourisim $ for kansas, it is fly over country at best. so with out the extra $ comming in they need to burden the people more. I dont know but the tax base of unreasonable. Any one have any ideas as to why the rediculous taxes?

[chele123]

All I can figure is we have less people and a bigger state?
Kansas pop 2764075 square miles 82282
Arkansas pop 2810872 square miles 53182

[kmflan]

Wow!! That is nuts! Well, it is not that way in Overland Park. In older ares of Overland Park- around 95th st ,for example- you can get approx an 1800 sq ft house for around 175K with taxes being about 1500-1700 per year.

[mintriver]

So, we'll be relocating to Wichita too & were looking at houses in the area.
How is it that a $160K house can have $12,000 in taxes & specials again?
Is that what you pay every year?
Where is it that doesn't have the 'specials', again? Wow...

[jbdallas]

mintriver, you can look for homes w/o specials. They won't be new homes though. We moved her last August, but we're only here two yrs for grad school, then we're getting out as fast as we can. If you are working w/ a realtor, just tell them you want to look at places w/o specials.
I can't for the life of me figure out why folks think it's cheap to live here. If you are looking for something cheaper, you might also look in Goddard. It is a few miles west of Wichita. We live at 37th/tyler (renting) there are lots of home for sale in the subdivision just southeast of the intersection. All very new though, so you'll be paying specials for a few years. They are in the Maize School district, which may be a selling point. We don't have kids so that wasn't a concern for us.

[wwaynemcg]

<I am looking at relocating to wichita augusta or eldorado. The home prices seem to be reasonable, but the taxes are outragous...>
Augusta has historically higher taxes than other suburbs. IMHO, it's not worth the extra taxes. The home prices are NOT reasonable...they are CHEAP! Compare any comparable size city to Wichita...home for home...and you simply can't beat the price...I challenge you. The taxes are NOT outrageous, are they on the high side? Probably.
<...for a 136 thousand dollar home and then it is nothing to add another 2k for specials, and then add a couple hundred for association dues. wtf, that is out ragous>
The facts; my home in Rose Hill is much more expensive and I pay $1,300 a year in specials (due to retire next year). Not that many nice subdivisions have high HOA dues. Ours, for example, has none.
<...they could give me no answer as to what you get for the sky high taxes>
Specifically, the upfront investment is borne by the local gov't. They pay the paving, curbs, electric, gas, cable, water, sewer, street lights, etc. They take out a bond, and the property owners pay a set amount for a specific number of years. This, in essence, helps explain the CHEAP home prices. BUT, not alone; look at land and labor costs and you'll see the rest of the answer.
<I have looked in arkansas near little rock a big city like wichita, and the taxes there are high when you say 1thousand a year>
R/E taxes are indeed cheaper in Arkansas. However, the home prices MORE than offset the difference in taxes. Don't concentrate on the donut hole, and forget the donut! Simply figure the monthly mortgage payment in Wichita vs same house in Little Rock and you'll see Wichita is much cheaper overall. Besides, we don't do the scorching hot/humid summer thing, AND you might want to compare the crime rates! I've been there, stayed there...and can say NO THANK YOU!!!
<... there is no tourisim $ for kansas, it is fly over country at best.>
Tourism/schmorism; impact of tourism dollars are so exaggerated. If you're Vegas or Orlando or NYC you can point to tourism dollars, elsewhere fuggedaboudit. The aircraft industry sustains Wichita with good paying jobs, we don't really need tourism dollars.
Wayne in Rose Hill

[candacecan]

I see what you are saying but I dissagree with the statment that taxes are not that bad, If you find a home where the specials are off you have an old home of 15 to 20 years. this is not a bad thing if the home has been taken care of. and yes the homes are cheaper but they are built ontop of oneanother. You usualy do not have room to put a RV. it is a selling feature if you have enough room on the side of your garage to park on.
The HOA and POAs are on at least half the subs or more. and usualy give you nothing, and the elect and water that you say are deferd, I am in the trades and it does not cost 25k per home to bring them in, esp. when the subs have 200+ homes to split the cost. Taxes are at least 2 times higher in kansas than arkansas. You buy a home once so it the cost of a home is 20k more, than kansas you are equil to the cost of the same size home in kansas plus your specials, then you have your HOA dues and I would say the top places to live hae HOAs, most every one in andover has them, many in derby. I would not buy in eldorado or agusta as the homes sell very slow there compared to other places, I would not live in wichita on a dime bet.
The crime there is not good. Its not if you get broken into but when.

[Mathguy]

Originally Posted by jackrackham

I am looking at relocating to wichita augusta or eldorado.
The home prices seem to be reasonable, but the taxes are outragous, 2 thousand is not out of line for a 136 thousand dollar home and then it is nothing to add another 2k for specials, and then add a couple hundred for association dues. wtf, that is out ragous, I asked several people who are realtors and they could give me no answer as to what you get for the sky high taxes, I was just told that I am not the only one who is bitching about it.
I have looked in arkansas near little rock a big city like wichita, and the taxes there are high when you say 1thousand a year. and then you get a 350 home stead reduction. I can see nothing kansas has to offer for the $ and maybe this is the reason, there is no tourisim $ for kansas, it is fly over country at best. so with out the extra $ comming in they need to burden the people more. I dont know but the tax base of unreasonable. Any one have any ideas as to why the rediculous taxes?

Kansas property taxes are lower than most places I've lived. They are certainly lower than either IL or WI.

What you are likely forgetting is to look at what the TOTAL tax burden imposed is. Some places have high property but lower income and sales taxes....some have high income tax and low property tax etc.

KS also generally tends to fund their schools better....but after seeing the crime rate comparisons between KS and AR....you may learn the alternative cost first hand of having one of the lowest graduation and literacy rates in that nation.

P.S. I've no ideas what specials you are talking about. My property taxes are about 1.4% of my home value and I pay no specials whatsoever.

[bige723]

I'm in the process of buying a house in Augusta and it does not have any special taxes. Usually on newer houses you have to pay special taxes for the first 15-20 years. You can find some houses that doesn't have any specials if the previous owner have already paid for the taxes so there are houses out there you just have to dig deep.

Originally Posted by jackrackham

I am looking at relocating to wichita augusta or eldorado.
The home prices seem to be reasonable, but the taxes are outragous, 2 thousand is not out of line for a 136 thousand dollar home and then it is nothing to add another 2k for specials, and then add a couple hundred for association dues. wtf, that is out ragous, I asked several people who are realtors and they could give me no answer as to what you get for the sky high taxes, I was just told that I am not the only one who is bitching about it.
I have looked in arkansas near little rock a big city like wichita, and the taxes there are high when you say 1thousand a year. and then you get a 350 home stead reduction. I can see nothing kansas has to offer for the $ and maybe this is the reason, there is no tourisim $ for kansas, it is fly over country at best. so with out the extra $ comming in they need to burden the people more. I dont know but the tax base of unreasonable. Any one have any ideas as to why the rediculous taxes?

[fishbowl]

I don't know what specials are. But I do know that in Kansas we have a small tax base to cover our way of life. When there's a small tax base, it simply costs more to pay for everything.

For instance, in Greenwood county there are only about 7,000 people. Someone has to pay to clear the roads, keep law enforcement active, buy the occassional firetruck, keep buildings up, and so on. It isn't cheap to live.

We own an older house, but the beauty in older homes in small towns in Kansas is that right now they are still really cheap. So, even though the tax rate is high, it's doable.

Janet