[nomccainforme]

Property taxes are high all over michigan. There was an artical a few weeks ago about how assessors are not adjusting home values down but up, even though the real value is going down.
MI doing everything it can to grease the slope into the the pit of dispair.

[Jim_A]

The taxe rate can vary considerably for several reasons.

The main reason would be the homestead tax credit which reduces the taxes for primary residences.
Another reason might be the cap. The tax cap limits property taxes to a maximum each year tied to the rate of inflation. That cap is lifted at the time of a sale. That might explain why someone has a much lower tax situation in a similar house in the same neighborhood.

[Jim_A]

Originally Posted by Sparrow_temp

Traditionally you could always expect the taxes to go up because the new owner would have paid more than the original owner did. I doubt many places are selling in MI for significantly lower amounts than what the original owners purchased at. Housing owners lost a lot or all of their paper gains lately but I'm not sure too many (unless they are very recent purchasers) lost a significant percentage of their original purchase price -- especially enough to make a difference in taxes.

Don't bet the farm on that statement. Property that is selling is down about 33% from the peak values. Most of that loss occurred in the last two or three years. I lost 30% on two different properties that took me two years to sell. Both sold last year and I know for a fact that both property owners lost more again this year.

[h8bread]

high taxes are not exclusive to just large cities in Mich. I live in the Upper Peninsula where they are quite hefty compared to larger cities out of state where I've lived. The problem being a lot of people are leaving the area because of the declining economy. The math is simple: Declining economy + declining population = higher tax load on remaining residents.

[reverberation]

Here is a chart to get an idea of where Michigan ranks Nationally in terms of property taxes (18th), along with such taxes as % as home value (14th), and as % of income (16th). We aren't really the highest or lowest.

Property taxes: Where does your state rank? - MSN Money

[lilbear]

Thank you for posting that link. We're in the situation of deciding where to move and that was very helpful information. Thank you.

[Great Lakes Pirate]

FYI- Local assessment can not exceed inflation, per the state's Headlee Amendment, modeled on CA's 13th amendment. It's been in place for almost 30 years. So, your locality can not - under law - raise your property taxes beyond the inflation rate (that is, without a millage-rate increase approved by voters).
Headlee Amendment - Michigan in Brief

[djmilf]

Originally Posted by Great Lakes Pirate

FYI- Local assessment can not exceed inflation, per the state's Headlee Amendment, modeled on CA's 13th amendment. It's been in place for almost 30 years. So, your locality can not - under law - raise your property taxes beyond the inflation rate (that is, without a millage-rate increase approved by voters).
Headlee Amendment - Michigan in Brief

The Headlee Amendment restricts tax increases without voter approval.

It's another Admendment to the Michigan Constitution (can't remember which, but the early 1990's Proposition A comes to mind) that keeps homestead property assessments limited to the rate of inflation or 5%, whichever is lesser. This homestead taxable value assessment gets reset whenever the property is sold or when the property is significantly improved (i.e. a second floor addition is added).