Quote:
Originally Posted by mattpoulsen
Marg. Jean,
Hastings is a very clean and nice town. Its small (25,000ish), but its nice. I wouldn't worry about drugs in Hastings. Obviously, it can be found but Hastings is definitely not a "drug town". Clean, middle class, friendly town. Also, you're right about property taxes (they are often higher in the midwest), but you need take a few things into consideration. Mainly, what $150,000 will buy you. It will buy you much much more in Hastings than in San Diego. Property taxes do not work the way you are suggesting. Its not as though high population centers in California are more justified in having a higher property tax. That's simply not how levies are defined. In fact, you could argue that lower population cities are more justified in having a higher levy than high population cities because the cost of property is higher in large population centers thus providing more tax revenue. Look online and see what $150,000 buys you in San Diego and then look in Nebraska to see what it gets you. In order to get an equivalent home in San Diego you'd have to pay much more than $150,000, which then will cause the amount of property taxes to increase. This is part of the reason they have a lower tax rate...high property valuations. You could look in Omaha for example, but keep in mind Hastings homes will even be lower than that. Even with the $300 a month figured in its not comparable. Plus, you have to factor in other sorts of cost of living concerns. Living is just way way way cheaper in Hastings, NE than it is in San Diego...anyone will tell you that. Its dramatically different!!
I would also add that its not $3600/year...its 2850/year...making it about $240/month. Not to mention a $150,000 home will not be assessed by the assessor at $150,000...probably more like $135,000 to $140,000. Its kind of a no brainer...if you really want to come to the Hastings area you shouldn't let a 1.9% tax rate stop you.
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I have a comment about property tax rates in Nebraska vs. San Diego. All the counties in Nebraska I've checked so far have tax rates around 2%. California has a frozen rate of 1% (proposition 13, circa 1978), often plus additional assessments, but usually not more 1.25%. Sounds good so far.....2% of a $150,000 property in Nebraska is $3000 a year.
There are no $150,000 homes in San Diego, maybe a modest lot on which to build! A home comparable to your Nebraska $150,000 will be upwards of $550,000 in San Diego; taxes will be around $7,000 a year in addition to mortgage, interest and insurance. You might get a distressed "fixer" in San Diego for $250,000 or less, which will be small, thrashed, and cost another $250,000 to fix. I lived in San Diego 40 years, had a real estate license in California, prefer Nebraska where young families can still afford a "starter" house, and will take the tax rates any day. San Diego is beautiful and has near perfect weather; it's also overcrowded, polluted, expensive, and the freeways are parking lots during rush-hours and speedways the rest of the time. There's a lot of aggression and generally people aren't happy. So, I transplanted and love the clean air, slower pace and friendly people in Nebraska.
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07-06-2008, 09:27 AM
Ogallala NE
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