Looking to move to Fort Mill area.

[Mrs. P]

Originally Posted by MikeD

Looking at purchasing a new home in Fort Mill, been in contact with some builders already.

Can someone give me information about this town? I hear great things. I know it is a up and coming city. How are the schools, I do not have children yet but very close and this is where I would be starting my family with my wife.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Me too, I'm looking in this area. My question involves real estate taxes.
I am confused in regards to SC taxes. I read some on line, but it still confused me. A partial exemption on the price (tax base price) of your home before school taxes applied? Is that right?

Estimate please anyone? 100,000 home. What's the property taxes for Ft Mill a year? I have a budget and I need to stick to it. Knowing the general tax price would help me decide what price range to look at.

[Mrs. P]

Originally Posted by Mrs. P

Me too, I'm looking in this area. My question involves real estate taxes.
I am confused in regards to SC taxes. I read some on line, but it still confused me. A partial exemption on the price (tax base price) of your home before school taxes applied? Is that right?

Estimate please anyone? 100,000 home. What's the property taxes for Ft Mill a year? I have a budget and I need to stick to it. Knowing the general tax price would help me decide what price range to look at.

OH and Rock Hill, would like to know the taxes based on 100,000 a year.

[moedog]

Good luck in finding even an approximate real estate tax quote anywhere in SC at this time. Last year the state legislature changed the way tax rates are computed, basically making a law that counties cannot levy real estate taxes to support schools. In the place of that, they levied an additional 1% sales tax with which the state will supposedly reinburse the local school districts. This law came on top of legislation in effect for many years which did the same thing on a smaller scale. Both of these discounts are available only if you occupy the home you own. You have to file an application and provide proof with the tax office in order to qualifiy. As of now local governments have not set tax levies for next year and there is a lot of controversy as to what the effects will be. Most say there will little or no tax abatement for homes under $250,000, with perhaps an increase in taxes for the most modest homes (I won't mention which political party pushed this through). It is thought that homes over about 400,000 will get a huge tax decrease. TO give you an idea of the present tax rate in LANCASTER county, the 2006 tax bill on my entry level $110,000 town house: list price on tax bill was almost $1600, however, under the past tax abatement plan for homeowners it was reduced to about $530. Then, in my particular case, our area has to pay an additional $75 fire district charge, so I paid about $600. Then, in some of the larger planned developments there are additional charges tacked on to pay off bonds the county invested to develop the neighborhood--really weird. Good luck figuring this mess out....

[PharmD/MBA]

I have looked and looked and cannot find anywhere in the legislation that mentions a difference in savings based on the cost of homes.

Here is the actual law for anyone who would like to read it:

Exemption of owner-occupied residential property from school operating millage

SECTION 3. Section 12-37-220(B) of the 1976 Code is further amended by adding a new item at the end to read:

"(47)(a) Effective for property tax years beginning after 2006 and to the extent not already exempt pursuant to Section 12-37-250, one hundred percent of the fair market value of owner-occupied residential property eligible for and receiving the special assessment ratio allowed owner-occupied residential property pursuant to Section 12-43-220(c) is exempt from all property taxes imposed for school operating purposes but not including millage imposed for the repayment of general obligation debt.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, property exempted from property tax in the manner provided in this item is considered taxable property for purposes of bonded indebtedness pursuant to Section 15 of Article X of the Constitution of this State.

(c) The exemptions allowed by this item may not be deleted or reduced except by a legislative enactment receiving a recorded rollcall vote of at least a two-thirds majority of the membership of each house of the General Assembly."

Here is an example of what this means for home owners:

Char/Meck Taxes
(400,000)/100 = 4000 * 1.2775 = $5110 per year for taxes

SC law is a little more complex but still easy to calculate. Here is the formula
Assesed value * 4% (for primary residence) = tax assesed value
Tax assesed value times the millage rate - $422.81(a standard deduction)= your annual tax for that property.

Old Property Tax Law using Fort Mill, SC (274 mils) as an example
$400000 * 0.04 = $16000 * 0.274 = 4384 – 422.81 = $3916 per year for taxes

New Tax Law in SC in Fort Mill, SC (184 mils after removing school millage)
$400000 * 0.04 = $16000 * 0.184 – 422.81 = $2521 per year for taxes

49.3% reduction equates to roughly a $200 a month difference in your mortgage escrow this year compared to living in Charlotte/Mecklenburg County. Of course your current escrow payment is based retrospectively on last years tax bill so you will not see this reduction until this years tax bills are sent in October.

The retrospective aspect of mortgage escrow is what is causing the confusion as no tax bills will show the new law until October.

I would also like to point out that although there was an increase of 1% in sales tax, there was also a decrease in sales tax on food and clothing to 3% from 6%. Guess which political party pushed this through. Oh, it was the same one.

[moedog]

In reply to PharmD/MBA's post concerning the new real estate tax law in SC--I am not a tax expert or MBA, however I have followed the issue closely for the last year and a half. Homeowners of modest homes in Lancaster County have been warned by our county council not to expect any tax reduction with the new law. The former tax abatement law which went into effect in the mid 90s exempted the first $100,000 of ANY home from ALL school tax levies, any value over 100K was taxed at 15% (I believe--don't have figures in front of me) of the former rate, with the state providing a rebate to the local school district to cover the difference. The new law did away with the first $100,000 exemption. Homes valued between 100 and 250k are considered to be in a gray area regarding tax savings, partly due to the following considerations. Since we know that non-school-related expenses of local governments will continue to grow, total taxes owed will surely increase for homes under 100K. In fact, the Lancaster CO. council has already proposed a 4% increase for next year. Also, SC has many quasi-governments, such as water and sewer districts with taxing authority. In Lancaster, the water-sewer authority and the natural gas authority does not impose any taxes, but in other counties that is not the case. Most counties also impose surcharges for additional govermental services. In Lancaster, there is a surcharge for USC-Lancaster and I believe there is a surcharge for York TEC. I already mentioned my fire district surcharge. Other surcharges could be for hospital operations, trash collections, etc.---all of these are subject to increase independently. Usually they are not imposed dependent on the value of the home--the owner of a 50k house will pay the same as
the owner of a 550K house. Also part of the new tax is the provision that tax assessments can only increase by a maximum of 15% within a five year period. Since more expensive properties almost always appreciate more rapidly than more modest properties, the result will be that high-end homes will see more tax savings as time goes on.

MBA, I'm sure you realize that local goverments in SC have the option of imposing an additional 2% sales tax. Of course, both York and Lancaster Co's do this, so sales tax was decreased from 8% to 6% for food. I was not aware of any reduction in tax on clothing, but of course I have not been able to afford to buy any clothing in the past year.

The purpose of the tax abatement law was two fold: 1) To reduce the tax libility of high-end homeowners who had seen large increases in taxes in the past several years (including the present governor who continues to claim his oceanfront home as his primary residence even though he lives in the governor's mansion in Columbia). 2) To further weaken the viability of the public schools----All funds for operations of the public schools will now flow from the state, distributed in a rigid formula which disregards local conditions.

[Mrs. P]

Originally Posted by PharmD/MBA

I have looked and looked and cannot find anywhere in the legislation that mentions a difference in savings based on the cost of homes.

Here is the actual law for anyone who would like to read it:

Exemption of owner-occupied residential property from school operating millage

SECTION 3. Section 12-37-220(B) of the 1976 Code is further amended by adding a new item at the end to read:

"(47)(a) Effective for property tax years beginning after 2006 and to the extent not already exempt pursuant to Section 12-37-250, one hundred percent of the fair market value of owner-occupied residential property eligible for and receiving the special assessment ratio allowed owner-occupied residential property pursuant to Section 12-43-220(c) is exempt from all property taxes imposed for school operating purposes but not including millage imposed for the repayment of general obligation debt.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, property exempted from property tax in the manner provided in this item is considered taxable property for purposes of bonded indebtedness pursuant to Section 15 of Article X of the Constitution of this State.

(c) The exemptions allowed by this item may not be deleted or reduced except by a legislative enactment receiving a recorded rollcall vote of at least a two-thirds majority of the membership of each house of the General Assembly."

Here is an example of what this means for home owners:

Char/Meck Taxes
(400,000)/100 = 4000 * 1.2775 = $5110 per year for taxes

SC law is a little more complex but still easy to calculate. Here is the formula
Assesed value * 4% (for primary residence) = tax assesed value
Tax assesed value times the millage rate - $422.81(a standard deduction)= your annual tax for that property.

Old Property Tax Law using Fort Mill, SC (274 mils) as an example
$400000 * 0.04 = $16000 * 0.274 = 4384 – 422.81 = $3916 per year for taxes

New Tax Law in SC in Fort Mill, SC (184 mils after removing school millage)
$400000 * 0.04 = $16000 * 0.184 – 422.81 = $2521 per year for taxes

49.3% reduction equates to roughly a $200 a month difference in your mortgage escrow this year compared to living in Charlotte/Mecklenburg County. Of course your current escrow payment is based retrospectively on last years tax bill so you will not see this reduction until this years tax bills are sent in October.

The retrospective aspect of mortgage escrow is what is causing the confusion as no tax bills will show the new law until October.

I would also like to point out that although there was an increase of 1% in sales tax, there was also a decrease in sales tax on food and clothing to 3% from 6%. Guess which political party pushed this through. Oh, it was the same one.

That was extremely informative. Thanks for taking your time to write all that.
I did not know you had to pay tax on food in SC. Happy to know it's been decreased a bit.

Other questions I have on SC. What is the sales tax rate currently?
Do you have to pay personal tax on your vehicle every year like NC does?
Do you have to pay a "road tax" when you first go register your car and get SC plates for it?

Thank you again.

[PharmD/MBA]

No problem about the numbers, I had actually posted them a while back and just copied and pasted. I do not want to engage in any political commentary through derogatory or defamatory comments about anyone as, you see, it can decrease credibility through people getting the idea you have an agenda.

I truly do not believe anyone should have to pay personal property taxes on their home. This includes 30K mobile homes to multi-million dollar ocean front properties (It does not benefit Gov Sanford by claiming his family home in Sullivan's island by the way as taxes are ridiculous on the islands). You see when we are forced to pay property taxes we never truly own our property. If you do not believe this, pay off your mortgage then withhold your taxes. See how long it would be before the government would come to take your home. With all that said, I understand there has to be a way to fund our services. Other states have found ways to do so and not use personal property taxes. There are even some states that do not have state income tax.

I would love to see our state move to a more progressive system where you are taxed on what you chose to be taxed on and not the necessities of life so to speak. For example, if you need a 10K car then by the car and pay a tax on it. If you need a 100k car, then buy it, just understand you will pay 10 times the taxes as the first situation. No exemptions, no special situations. Just taxed based on your means. This will be a difficult sell because since world war II we have gotten used to being taxed through payroll before we even see what had happened to our money. Ask a friend how much they make and I guarantee they will mention their take home and be hard pressed to tell you the before tax income. We are okay with the status quo and are afraid of any change. However, this new tax reform on property taxes may be the signs of the wheel of a large ship turning around. It will take a while but with patience in may just be a monumentally great idea!!!

Sorry about the long post but I am passionate about this topic.

[moedog]

I notice PharmD/MBA has not disputed any of the points I made in my previous post. But I think it is strange he says he supports citizens not being taxed for necessities, such as a modest home, when in fact he is defending the very tax plan which does exactly that. But one note--of course Gov. Mark Sanford is paying a high tax for his oceanside house. It is a luxury most of us could not even dream of, and is not a necessity--so he should be paying a high tax. But the purpose of the current tax abatement legislation is to greatly reduce his tax. Meanwhile, owners of basic "necessity" homes will see no reduction or perhaps an increase. We are all paying higher sales tax to make Sanford's tax reduction possible. And I remind you that tax experts maintain that there is no way the increased sales tax will compensate for the reduced real estate taxes collected from high end homes. Funding for schools may very well be reduced (which was one of the original goals of the legislation) and will cause a fire storm of complaints. Unfortunately, there will be little citizens can do, since the original legislation provided that it would take a 2/3 majority to change the law. They should have been paying attention when the changes were being considered, instead of only listening to the words "tax decrease."

[MB2]

Originally Posted by MHord

Hi - I will be happy to tell you about Fort Mill. You have heard correctly - it is a charming place that takes great pride in staying that way. Very family oriented, very kid friendly - all their neighborhoods reflect this. Easy access to Charlotte, but much friendlier SC taxes. Plus, borders Lake Wylie, and the whole area of Fort Mill/Tega Cay is very recreational - walking trails, lake, tennis, swimming, etc. The schools are award-winning and regarded as the best in the state - I am a local real estate agent, and I can't even begin to tell you how many people have moved just a few miles down the road so that their children can be in the Fort Mill schools (the amount of out-of-towners coming here for the schools is huge as well). Fort Mill has a "city" side with more shops, restaurants, etc. (just a bit more commercialized) and a "country" side with historic downtown, more greenspace and parks, and things of that nature. As far as builders go, I will be happy to give you some feedback on the builders you are talking to, based on information I've picked up from residents, clients, and personal experience. You are more than welcome to private message me or email me at megan.brown@yourpru.com (I will get it a lot faster if you email here versus reply on this forum). I hope this helps! I think you'll be very happy with Fort Mill - it's growing and developing at just the right pace and is a great place to start (and raise) a family. Thanks - Megan

Hi there Megan
I do have a question. My husband and I are exploring our options, on where the heck to move to, and find our little piece of heaven on earth. (I guess, at this point it only exists in our heads )
Tell me a little about the people there, the racial make up, as well as the liqour laws there, since my husband would have to find a job in the hospitality industry (Bartender/ barmanager).
We definately don't want to be "housepoor", like we ended up being while living in FL and the out-of-control costs there.
Thank's, advice will be greatly appreciated !