Relocating to St. Louis....Property Taxes (Chesterfield, O'Fallon: house prices, school district, closing)

[jasenwallace]

Hello -

My family is moving to the St. Louis area. We have noticed that house prices are substantially cheaper on the Illinois side of the Mississippi. Could somebody explain to us the property tax differences between Greater St. Louis and Illinois? If one does not mind communting, does it make sense to live in Illinois?

Thank you.

[Juice13610]

I live in Illinois and work in Missouri, and trust me, the Illinois side of the river is growing in leaps and bounds because so many people DO commute. One thing you need to consider is I-64 (the main highway through downtown STL) is closing for 2 years starting in 57 days. I already have an alternate route mapped that only added about 5 minutes each way for me (I drive from Fairview Heights, Illinois to Creve Coeur, MO, an inner suburb of St Louis). I drive about 45 minutes.

Gas is higher in Illinois by usually 10-20 cents per gallon. However, Missouri charges property tax on your vehicle, while Illinois doesn't. So you may get a $3-700 tax on your vehicle, depending on its value.

I don't know a lot about property taxes, but from what I hear, the taxes in Illinois (on your home, etc) are much higher than MO.

Illinois has better access to downtown than many suburbs in St. Louis county, and we have the advantage of the light-rail system in the metro-east (as it is called).

If you do choose Illinois, hit me up, I currently live in Fairview Heights, IL which is situated 13 miles to downtown St. Louis.

[CellarBelle]

Taxes on the Illinois side are higher. If you look in my town, Edwardsville, you will find that you are going to pay around $5k (give or take some) in the $250k range. We are a bedroom community - many of the people in our town work outside of Edwardsville. So... our tax base is not like what you see in St. Louis. Many of the homeowners get stuck picking up the "slack". But, in Edwardsville, we have a great public school system and a lot of family-friendly amenities - that takes some of the "bite" out of the tax situation. You will get more house for the money on the Illinois side, but I won't lie to you - the tax man cometh and he will take what he can. I think you will find there are tradeoffs to both sides of the river. What you save on housing on the Illinois side, you make up for in taxes. What you spend on housing costs on the MO side, you make up for in tax savings.I recommend you visit both sides of the river and see what suits your needs. If you are in the area this Sunday, you can come by 3914 and 3916 Shale Drive in Edwardsville (mapquest 4000 Staunton road as Shale is too new for mapquest) and visit with folks about Edwardsville. The homes are going to be open and there will be area information and people on hand to answer questions you have about the area. Juice can tell you all about Fairview and O'Fallon - O'Fallon has a great school district and lots of shopping, restaurants, etc.

On the MO side, I really like Kirkwood and Chesterfield. My kid plays hockey in those areas and the moms and dads are always very nice and the communities seem real nice.

I encourage you to go out and explore. Consider temporary housing for a couple of months, if you can, and learn where you feel comfortable.

Good Luck!

[jasenwallace]

Thank you for the advice.