80% Property Tax Increase... Loosing my Home? (salary, prices, move to)

[stingray427]

We pick up the tabs for other peoples children. That isn't right.
They use that one here too for the sake of the children or for better education all of this is just an excuse to get more $$$ and raise taxes. How stupid the voters are to fall for it not once but many times over.
It's the same here but not to the degree of property taxes like washington. They don't go up that high at one time. People in Wash. who are retired or on fixed incomes will loose their homes when increases are that high at one time. What do they do then?

[stingray427]

The IRS is the Gestapo of this country

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by stingray427

... People in Wash. who are retired or on fixed incomes will loose their homes when increases are that high at one time. What do they do then?

Live under a bridge, it is pretty popular in my neck of the woods.

get a high capacity grocery cart and get in line at the local soup kitchen. You will meet all kinds there EXCEPT politicians, tax collectors, tax assessors. (I have begun to enjoy the company apart from those tax dollar leaches. )

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by stingray427

Here in California we have Prop. 13 passed in 1978 so our taxes can only go up not more than something like 1% and there is a time period to that. Not sure but it isn't as bad as Washington's property tax increases which seem too much at one time.

Washington voters voted in I 747 which is similar only to be declared unconstitutional several years later by the WA Supreme Court.

Prop 13 limit of 2% increase per year makes taxes predictable and voters always have the option to increase taxes above Prop 13 limits... but local and state goverment do not

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by stingray427

We pick up the tabs for other peoples children. That isn't right.
They use that one here too for the sake of the children or for better education all of this is just an excuse to get more $$$ and raise taxes. How stupid the voters are to fall for it not once but many times over.
It's the same here but not to the degree of property taxes like washington. They don't go up that high at one time. People in Wash. who are retired or on fixed incomes will loose their homes when increases are that high at one time. What do they do then?

If you qualify by age and income, WA will allow you to defer taxes that must be eventually paid with interest. It's a short term work around but not a solution.

[ukiyo-e]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

If you qualify by age and income, WA will allow you to defer taxes that must be eventually paid with interest. It's a short term work around but not a solution.

That is also the case in CA. When the homeowner dies or sells the house, the back taxes and interest are paid out of the proceeds.

I'm possibly locating to WA state and am curious about the property tax situation. Some of the numbers I've seen thrown around on this thread make no sense based on what I'm seeing on the real estate sites, or is there a huge discrepancy by county? I'm looking at homes in the under $350K range on the Olympic Peninsula and most of them have taxes under $2000 a year; my taxes in CA are $6800 on an assessed value of $455K because my town has some supplemental taxes for a new school, etc. PLUS I pay state income taxes which are fairly high - a bit over 9% marginal rate. I have relatives on the east coast who are paying nearly $12K a year in property taxes on fairly normal, middle-class type homes. So the property taxes in WA seem low to me, especially given the lack of state income tax. What am I missing? I don't want a nasty surprise if I relocate.

[ukiyo-e]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

Prop 13 limit of 2% increase per year makes taxes predictable and voters always have the option to increase taxes above Prop 13 limits... but local and state goverment do not

Prop 13 seems great, until you find out that your well-to-do older neighbors in their peak earning years are paying 1/6 what you do for property taxes on a house that's 30% larger, simply because they were smart enough to be born earlier and buy a house while you were still in junior high. True story - my neighbors in SF were paying about $700 a year while I was paying $3900, and their house was much larger. But you are right in that at least your taxes are predictable, even if they're applied unfairly. I can't quite imagine two people earning the same salary paying such disparate amounts of income tax!

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by angelbug

Prop 13 seems great, until you find out that your well-to-do older neighbors in their peak earning years are paying 1/6 what you do for property taxes on a house that's 30% larger, simply because they were smart enough to be born earlier and buy a house while you were still in junior high. True story - my neighbors in SF were paying about $700 a year while I was paying $3900, and their house was much larger. But you are right in that at least your taxes are predictable, even if they're applied unfairly. I can't quite imagine two people earning the same salary paying such disparate amounts of income tax!

This is the case since Prop 13 is based on acquisition price...

I'm in the same boat... the original home owners of the home I bought paid $1200 total in Property tax... My first property tax bill was $9000 I only hope my neighbors 50 years from now will say the same about my "Low" taxes in 2055.

They built the home in 1955 and lived there for 50 years until health issues forced them into a retirement home. I knew the taxes going in and made my decision to buy...

The big difference I see between CA and WA is individual annual Property Tax increases are limited by law to 2% in CA and I have experienced no limits in WA...

At least in CA, I have some predictability and it is something I took for granted until I experienced how outrageous Thurston County WA can be...

WA property taxes went from $8500 to $13,000 in 3 years and this is on a home built in 1977 that still has 1977 GE appliances, kitchen and baths... it's very hard to appeal Thurston County Assessor's opinion of value on a residential property.

The assessor explained my bill increased dramatically because the land has appreciated dramatically over 3 years... and even in today's market, my neighbors and I had another round of increases...

Prop 13 saving grace is it limits how much taxes can raised without voter approval and sadly, WA no longer has this protection.

A WA home that with a $2000 property tax that goes up 25% is still only $2500... but what if this happened several years in a row?

[ukiyo-e]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

Prop 13 saving grace is it limits how much taxes can raised without voter approval and sadly, WA no longer has this protection.

A WA home that with a $2000 property tax that goes up 25% is still only $2500... but what if this happened several years in a row?

I agree that the predictability is nice, and as you say, you know going into the purchase what your property tax is and what it WILL be in the future, and you can purchase accordingly. That's why I'm wondering how much faith to put in the tax figures I'm seeing. I know from looking at individual properties on the Jefferson Co. assessor's website than the taxes there go up and down, so at least it's not just constant increases. My friends' property tax this year, for example, was less than last year, according to the site.

It does seem like it might be a county-by-county quagmire to navigate.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by angelbug

Prop 13 seems great, until you find out that your well-to-do older neighbors in their peak earning years are paying 1/6 what you do for property taxes on a house that's 30% larger, simply because they were smart enough to be born earlier and buy a house while you were still in junior high. ... least your taxes are predictable, even if they're applied unfairly. I can't quite imagine two people earning the same salary paying such disparate amounts of income tax!

oh, to be sure there is the same disparity in income taxes based on someone being 'smart' enough' to work in certain overseas occupations that are tax exempt, or employers that subsidize tax rates for employees they relocate, or earners who position their assets in particular ways to shift income, or those using offsets such as section 179's.

and then we come to the disparity in income, where in my case my CA based company required me to pay my own move when I relocated from Colorado to WA (my other choice was to be laid off). They wanted me to keep my low CO wages, but I didn't buy that suggestion. After I moved, CA had excess employees, so they paid their move to WA, + 12 month bonus for pain and suffering of the move, and they retained their CA wages (about 30% higher than WA). They were very poor performers and were threatened to be placed at a comparative wage AFTER 2 yrs They squawked so loud that their retained pay was granted, and all locals got a drop in performance ranking so the CA transplants could occupy the top of the pay curve. Fast forward 10 yrs, lay-offs come, some of us with 30+ yrs of experience get laid off (6wks prior to retirement). The CA transplants are still leisurely employed (weasels)

Oh well life is not fair, on to the next bridge to sleep under. Lower taxes there, often a waterfront view.

Predictable the property taxes in WA are not. Mine went from $800 / yr in 1994 to $12,000 / yr 2007. 50% increase in taxes and 100% in valuation in 2007 alone. My mill levy dropped, but is going back up to cover gov insatiable appetite for spending and growing to meet development demand .