Suggestions - Sticker shock

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by moughie

Don't forget though, you can deduct your property tax on your income tax returns

True

And sales tax,

And professional license taxes,

[mainebrokerman]

Originally Posted by BadgerNut

I'm not trying to be brainless here but this whole tax thing is confusing me. I've heard some people say ME's taxes are terrible but then someone else comes back and says it depends... The same goes for NH. Can someone clarify this? I also hear it depends on where you are. I guess I look at it as high taxes are high taxes no matter where you are in a state, help me out. Thanks.

badger, taxes are relative,,for example,,,i have a waterfront home,,,13 miles south of augusta (state capitol) worth approx 200k with property taxes, of under 800 a yr
if i resided in the next town over, it would be double that much,,,
All depends on the individual town and mil-rates..

its good to do your research, check out the employment opportunities,,,and then the surrounding towns,

and i agree n.h is a good place to VISIT

[dmyankee]

In my town you might have say, a $2500 tax bill, due to the valuation and mil rate. We have services.

Two of the abutting towns have little in the way of services and a comparable home may have a $1000 tax.

The other abutting entities are UT's and close to town. The same home might have a property tax bill of $500. It's the way it works.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by dmyankee

In my town you might have say, a $2500 tax bill, due to the valuation and mil rate. We have services.

Two of the abutting towns have little in the way of services and a comparable home may have a $1000 tax.

The other abutting entities are UT's and close to town. The same home might have a property tax bill of $500. It's the way it works.

Yes, very good example.

I look around and see the mil rates in abutting townships, and that is exactly what we see.

One neighboring township has a mil rate that is double ours. And another abutting township has a mil rate that is exactly triple ours.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by BadgerNut

I'm not trying to be brainless here but this whole tax thing is confusing me. I've heard some people say ME's taxes are terrible but then someone else comes back and says it depends... The same goes for NH. Can someone clarify this? I also hear it depends on where you are. I guess I look at it as high taxes are high taxes no matter where you are in a state, help me out. Thanks.

The way that this sort of stuff is calculated goes like this: the state, local and property taxes are added up for the year and then that total is divided by the population of the state to arrive at a figure that is the individuals tax burden. The amount of tax money that the state received divided by the amount of the population places Maine as the forerunner for highest taxes per capita. So you can see that it is purely mathematical and not economical.

This however does not mean that Mainers actually pay the highest taxes. It's all numbers.

The funny thing is that property tax is generally used as the marker for tax burden and New Hampshire has really high property tax, on average, compared to Maine, but New Hampshire consistently ranks 48th to 49th for total tax burden.

[dramamama6685]

Originally Posted by BadgerNut

Hey Maine,

My family and I are considering moving out east to one of these states (ME, MA or NH). The problem I'm having, and I'm hoping some of you could help me with this, is the cost of living compared to Wisconsin. I bought a 4 BR home on about 1/2 an acre of land (full basement, 2-story) for $43,000 10 years ago (got a VERY good deal - similar houses at that time were going for $75-90,000). Although I had to put some work into the house it was still very liveable when purchased. It is not appraised at $115,000. I was looking at housing pricing out east and I almost had a heart attack ! LOL! ! I'm a Chaplain at a maximum security prison and also a pastor - so I don't make a whole lot. I have a family of 5 (including myself). I've always tried to be very frugal with money and I'm hoping I'm just looking at this all wrong. Am I worrying too much? Suggestions??? I've heard tremendous things about the beauty out in that area. And being a fisherman, with all that water out there, the fishing has got to be wonderful! Thanks for your help!

Wow I simply saw 4 bedrooms and $43K,10 years ago.... here in ohio we have 2 bedrooms, same acreage, and purchased in 1995 within 24 hours of the sign going up in the yard, we made a bid for the asking price (for the record it was a steal even then) of $70K. Somebody else tried to bid about an hour and a half after us and they were also going to give the asking price.

Good luck in your search. We are frugal as well, but even when we were young, we were too concerned about rising college costs for any children and opted to have one only. Even though, she has chosen the least expensive 4 year college in our area, it will be 13 1/2 years before we can purchase in Maine (that's if we save every dime).

There are fixer uppers though that are very reasonable. Also, further away from the ocean = cheaper.

[kellsquam]

Badger Nut,

I grew up a Wisconsinite and currently live in NH. We currently live near Concord, NH. We are moving back to the Appleton (WI) area because we cannot afford to buy a decent house here. I don't know if you are still looking at NH, but you had mentioned a few places in NH. Just wanted to let you know the following:

-Keene is a college town, on the smaller side, but in a nice area. However, it is isolated from other larger towns/cities in the State. Other than the college, not a ton of jobs.

-Berlin is a mill town in Northern NH. It is considerably more affordable to live there than in other places in NH because it is a mill town that is losing its mills. Jobs are an issue and Berlin is very isolated (2-3 hours) from Concord/Manchester.

-Rochester is closer to bigger cities (Portsmouth, Concord) but from what I know it is more run down than other parts of NH. Probably more affordable because of that.

Hope this helps!

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Aside from climate which is very similar, Maine and NH are vastly different in philosophy. They are so different that the boundary between the two states is referred to as the Maple Curtain. On one side you have the highest tax burden per capita income in the entire nation. On the other side you have NH which is #49 in tax burden in the nation. (Alaska pays you to live there.)

Maine is #1 in the nation because our legislature wants Maine to be #1. We need a new legislature. NH has no sales tax, no income tax, better roads, better schools and better prisons.

NH is #49 only because they have no oil wells where they could pay more than Alaska to have people live there. New Hampshire has a legislature of about 600 citizens. They think of themselves as citizens, not lawmakers. They are paid about $200 a year to serve so their legislative sessions are short. They have to go home every night and face their neighbors and any office holder who tries to start an income tax will simply be voted out next time.

As to property taxes, a $100,000 home in a town similar to Maine will have a lower property tax in NH than it does in Maine. Bear with me for a minute. I'm not talking about a town in Maine where they have an olympic pool for the school kids. I'm talking average towns. The difference lies in home prices. You can't buy much of a house in NH for $100,000. Why not? It's because everybody wants to be there and NH is friendly to business. A house that costs $100,000 on our side of the Maple Curtain would cost $239,900 in NH. There's your difference and the reasons why.