Why is TN property tax so high? (Memphis: assessor, homes)

[Bones]

Depends on the county and if you're in the city limits...

[CAtoGA]

Okay, so I pulled out a property tax bill from 05-06. Here in northern CA we are paying $1.00 per $100.00 of assessed value. They place the assessed value at whatever you purchased the house for, adding approximately 2% per year. In 05, our home was assessed at $278,500, so the base tax would be $2785. Add to this all the "special" taxes and charges placed on us by the elementary school district, high school, junior college, hospital, etc., and our total bill for 05-06 was $3323.

Figuring that same "assessed value" in Cookeville, we would be paying approximately $2250. $278,500 X 25% = 69,500/100 = 695 X $3.24 (got this from controllers website). Of course, I've looked at what that kind of money can buy in TN! I'd rather pay that for something in TN that for the same value here! If we were to buy this house now we'd be paying twice what we are if not more.

Can't wait to get out!

[jguillot]

I am purchasing a 4 acre lot in Cumberland Cove. My lot is in the Putnam County side of Cumberland Cove. The property has a Monterey, TN address. Can anyone tell me what the property tax rate is? What percent of accesssed value would be taxed? We are building a home on the property in 7 to 8 years. If we were to build a home today worth $300,000, how much would the yearly property tax be?

[JMT]

Originally Posted by jguillot

I am purchasing a 4 acre lot in Cumberland Cove. My lot is in the Putnam County side of Cumberland Cove. The property has a Monterey, TN address. Can anyone tell me what the property tax rate is? What percent of accesssed value would be taxed? We are building a home on the property in 7 to 8 years. If we were to build a home today worth $300,000, how much would the yearly property tax be?

I bet your lot is beautiful! And four acres will give you plenty of breathing room. I'm excited for you!

Cumberland Cove is in rural Putnam County, meaning you pay only the Putnam County property tax; even though you'll have a Monterey address, you won't pay the Monterey property tax because you're outside the Monterey town limits.

The property tax rate in Putnam County is $2.45 per $100 of assessed value of your property, and the assessed value is 25% of the actual value for residential property. So a $300,000 home would have annual property taxes of $1837.50.

[Sniper]

Originally Posted by dgibsonrn

We live in southwest Florida. Our taxes have grown to the point that we pay almost as much each month in taxes and insurance as our mortgage- our mortgage is $827, our monthly payment is $1450- the difference is taxes and insurance. Our homeowners was $712 two years ago, now its $3134. We have never had a claim. We have bought property in TN, and it is out in the "boonies", our taxes will be in the hundreds, not the thousands. We make decent money, our children are grown, we have no debt beyond the mortgage on our house and the land in TN, vehicles paid for, no credit cards, and we live pretty much pay check to paycheck. We save, but its limited, electric is astronomical- two people- $275 a month. A single person cannot live here, our adult children barely survive. We're heading to the hills, and no matter what anyone says, it's cheaper.

It's beautiful here, spent today on Ana Maria Island, beautiful beach, glorious- but not worth the cost. Can't wait to leave.

Originally Posted by J.R.

Tony, don't even think about moving to Florida. You would choke.

Property tax on $350,000 home would run you about $700 per month.

Originally Posted by SolorzanoAssociates

Hmmm, coming from South Florida Ihave to say taxes here are cheaper then what we are used to. We paid $7100 last year and taxes can go up 3% a year I believe. See atleast here you can figure out your taxes in Miami-Dade County the Tax assesor send out an estimate each year and there isn't a darn thing you can do when the bill arrives, Ohh and don't get me started on homeowners insurance, flood, and windstorm, yes since Hurrican Andrew anyone East of US-1 had to purchase a seperate policy incase a hurricane destroyed a home, talk about a rip off. We paid 6900 for all 3 premiums, and this was with a discount, LOL, So most folks down there in South Florida are paying this on an average home of $459K, this is what a Single family residence in a good school district is going for... So most folks would have to get a part time job to be able to afford 14K a year in insurance in taxes. We purchased a 400K home here in TN and only paid 1200 in insurance, no flood, no windstorm, and it was a bit higher cause I wanted to insure the barn, LOL... soo most people should thank their lucky stars and pray for those who are being screwed as South Floridians are....

Originally Posted by JR&Chris

Orlando FL taxable value $275k taxes are over $4k. All in all TN is a good place to live and the cost of living I believe is reasonable.

I read this thread while watching The Weather Channel's coverage of Hurricane Dean churning away at 100MPH. I understand that Miami (where I live) is not in "the cone of death", but I'm keeping tabs on its movement, nonetheless. I mention this only because there were a few posts in this thread that made reference to the exorbitant costs of homeowners insurance in Florida. Currently, I'm looking at ~$6,000 per year with a high hurricane deductible and a policy that really doesn't cover much (as I found out two years ago when the adjuster didn't cover my patio tables, antenna, wood fence, aluminum fence, etc.) I was born and raised in Miami and have seen it turn from a place where I enjoyed living to a place I can't wait to get out of. I'm not going to get into the specifics of why because this is not the place for it, but I can tell you that the vacation home our family has in Pigeon Forge has roughly 16 times the property size of our primary home here in Miami and we're only paying $643 per year in property taxes, versus a whopping $4,061. Oh, and I consider myself to be FORTUNATE!!! Why? Well, I purchased my current home 14 years ago, so that's why my property taxes are (here it comes) SO LOW. If I were to buy my primary home today, my property taxes would easily be way over double what they currently are! Oh, and the fact that I have (unlike most people down here) been able to maintain a reasonably priced homeowners insurance policy, it just means that I can continue to live down here longer than the others that are fleeing the state in search of an affordable place to live. My point is this - Everyone has their own opinion and I always respect the opinion of others. The original poster started this thread because he felt that Tennessee had "high property taxes". From my perspective (and I imagine from the perspective of those posters I've quoted above), Tennessee property taxes are, in my opinion, inexpensive. If you would like a taste of cost prohibitive property taxes, take a ride down to South Florida. It might help you to appreciate what your current property tax situation is!

[Bones]

Originally Posted by CAtoGA

Okay, so I pulled out a property tax bill from 05-06. Here in northern CA we are paying $1.00 per $100.00 of assessed value. They place the assessed value at whatever you purchased the house for, adding approximately 2% per year. In 05, our home was assessed at $278,500, so the base tax would be $2785. Add to this all the "special" taxes and charges placed on us by the elementary school district, high school, junior college, hospital, etc., and our total bill for 05-06 was $3323.

Figuring that same "assessed value" in Cookeville, we would be paying approximately $2250. $278,500 X 25% = 69,500/100 = 695 X $3.24 (got this from controllers website). Of course, I've looked at what that kind of money can buy in TN! I'd rather pay that for something in TN that for the same value here! If we were to buy this house now we'd be paying twice what we are if not more.

Can't wait to get out!

$2250 is not bad, save over another $1000 in Cumberland county....

[sthepoet]

Originally Posted by Tony1790

No problemo,

We all have bad days, mine just happens to always be at tax time , I don't mind paying taxes, I just hate seeing the dollars wasted and then the govt wanting MORE taxes afterwards.

Speaking of expensive, didn't someone on here say that they paid $1200 for homeowners insurance in TN? That is 3 times the going rate in WA state as well. Why so expensive in TN, are there more claims due to storms?

It's weird how different locales pay more in taxes and insurance, when most houses are of similar construction methods and similar price to build.

Here's an online toast to efficient govt and low taxes and hopefully we'll have both one of these days!

Tony

here's hoping that day comes for all, thanx Tony, and sorry.

[Diane Giam]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

"Cheap" is relative. To me, the taxes you guys are talking about are dirt-cheap. My house here in NJ has a market value of around $350k, and the property taxes just went up to $4,900/year. That's on top of the state income tax. So, to me TN's taxes are "cheap"- especially when that $300k house with the $1700 taxes is almost 3 times the size of mine, with almost 10 times the acreage.......

Bob

bOB, and thats cheap for NJ. The house I sold there 2400sq feet, Tax-$7200-Sold for $462,000-Bought in Nashville, $430,000
House in Nashville-4200sq feet-tax-$3500
btw, The house i used to own in NJ, tax went up to $12,000 a year.

[KewlGuy]

Originally Posted by Diane Giam

bOB, and thats cheap for NJ. The house I sold there 2400sq feet, Tax-$7200-Sold for $462,000-Bought in Nashville, $430,000
House in Nashville-4200sq feet-tax-$3500
btw, The house i used to own in NJ, tax went up to $12,000 a year.

New Jersey does have the highest property taxes in the entire country. Which is one of the many reasons so many are fleeing this state. We also have the honor of having the country's highest car insurance rates.

[Johnny B.]

Property taxes in Tn. are not as high as many places, but are rising rapidly. A major cause is school funding. Most areas have bought into the idea that the level of School funding is the sole determinant of the quality of education and that the relationship is infinite. There is no meaningful accountability for funding provided and most locales fund the schools with no accountability for expenditure of the funds.The upward trend will continue unabated.