Do Retired Texas move out of state due to high property taxes? (Corpus Christi: homeowners insurance, homes)

[eagle318]

What a lovely home, and I love the hardwood floors! Thank you for explaining that the over 65
ruling is not a discount, but a freeze. I still am not thrilled about the very high property taxes, but if we move there, I will have to move to the taxes of Texas.
Thanks to everyone who responded and helped me to further understand these taxes.

[loves2read]

of course the low taxes in New Mexico are one reason that the state's schools are in bad shape--

[mpgerma]

Originally Posted by eagle318

What a lovely home, and I love the hardwood floors! Thank you for explaining that the over 65
ruling is not a discount, but a freeze. I still am not thrilled about the very high property taxes, but if we move there, I will have to move to the taxes of Texas.
Thanks to everyone who responded and helped me to further understand these taxes.

If you move to Houston area, you can probably get a 4,000 sq ft. house in a nice area for 500k. Do you really need that big of a house? Pay the higher taxes on a smaller house and you'll still have plenty of money left over from selling your house in FL for 500k...that you could use to pay the higher taxes for the rest of your life.

PS....please don't retire to Houston..pick somewhere prettier please.

[GayleTX]

And many people retire to Texas because of taxes. My brother, who is retiring from an upper level management level position with the RR 'up north', is retiring to Texas because his retirement check will not be taxed here.

[Houston3]

Originally Posted by latetotheparty

if grandma is buying THIS house, i'm guessing she can pay someone to clean it for her......

And the taxes shouldn't bother her.

[Houston3]

Originally Posted by eagle318

What a lovely home, and I love the hardwood floors! Thank you for explaining that the over 65
ruling is not a discount, but a freeze. I still am not thrilled about the very high property taxes, but if we move there, I will have to move to the taxes of Texas.
Thanks to everyone who responded and helped me to further understand these taxes.

Depends where you live in Texas I guess.. My school taxes dropped by 50%, my city taxes dropped about the same or more and my county taxes went to zero...and they are froze at that.

You can also get a deferral in some areas where you pay zero taxes but they become due when you pass away or sell.. Plus there is about an 8% interest rate per year on the back taxes when they have to be paid. This probably varies county to county tho. NOT a good deal for your kids tho.

[texdav]

No ;because Texas overall is one of the most reasonable states .Its the total taxes and fees you have to look at. There are cheaper places but its in not very good locations.That is why so many move here both working and retired.

[eagle318]

Ouch!! Paying past due taxes after death may sound like a good deal, but with 8% interest, is no bargain!
A 4,000 square foot house for $300,000. sounds much cheaper than Florida during a better economy. Although with foreclosures and high unemployment here, you never know what the actual selling price of a home will be. There is an article in the paper today that home sales are up, but prices are down.
Thanks again to everyone who replied.

[Bowie]

In the state I lived in before moving to Texas, there was a growing trend of tax-exempt non-profits building retirement communities from which seniors could buy "right to occupy" from the non-profit and avoid paying taxes. I don't know if those are allowed under Texas law, but they could certainly be a way around the issue.

The downside is that the schools suffer because that approach takes a lot of property off of the tax rolls.

[1979]

Originally Posted by eagle318

My husband and I are only a few months away from retirement thanks to
a very poor job market here in FL and him losing his job of 30 years due to a reorganization. I am researching other areas to live, and hopefully where
there are jobs available.
I am stunned by Texas' extremely high property taxes. A house costing
$500,000 at 3% taxes would cost $15,000. a year. I can't imagine coming up with that much money for taxes every year during retirement. Does Texas
give a substantial discount to those over 65? If not, do many Texans leave
the state during retirement for this reason? If so, to what state do they
choose to relocate?
We have no state income taxes in Florida, and yet our property taxes
are much more reasonable.
Thanks for your insider's information.

I don't understand why you would want to leave FL? Especially for TX?