Has anyone moved to Austin and regretted it? If so, why? (Houston: neighborhood, property tax)

[rickc007]

Originally Posted by TCBTEX

Florinator - out of curiosity - what was the ballpark value of your Cali residence that generated the $7,250 in property tax in relation to the value of your new Austin home with the $4,400.00?

When I was in Cali a few years back, taxes were roughly 1.25 percent

So that would equate to about a $580,000 house

And in all honestly, where I was in Orange County, $580k barely got
you a decent condo

Single family homes "started" at about $650k
Anything half nice was $800k
But I was there for the peak, my understanding is things have cooled off a bit

P.S. that $800k got you about 2000 to 2500 sqft "NOT" near the water

[Florinator]

Originally Posted by rickc007

When I was in Cali a few years back, taxes were roughly 1.25 percent

So that would equate to about a $580,000 house

You are right on the money, we paid $577,500 for a 3 bedroom 3 bath, 2 car garage, 1,626 sq ft townhome.

Originally Posted by rickc007

And in all honestly, where I was in Orange County, $580k barely got
you a decent condo

Single family homes "started" at about $650k
Anything half nice was $800k

+1

Originally Posted by TCBTEX

Florinator - out of curiosity - what was the ballpark value of your Cali residence that generated the $7,250 in property tax in relation to the value of your new Austin home with the $4,400.00?

So, as I wrote above, $577k. Because of the severe downturn on the housing market, the tax assessment has been going down over the last 3 years, so my 2011 tax bill was $5,455. That's a 24% drop, thank you California! %&#*%&$#@^!!!

The house we're renting right now (3 bedroom 2 bath, 1,920 sq ft) would go for about $185k these days, says the owner. The tax bill for 2011 according to public records was $4,646.

No matter how I look at it, $4,646 is smaller than $5,455...

Did I mention CA state income tax? $4,400 for 2010

Also, the registration fee for my 2010 Mazda was $238 a year in CA. Here, I think it's like $55 a year

[TCBTEX]

Thanks for the info. Another way to look at it is:

Austin prop tax of $4,600 = residence with value of $185K

Cali prop tax of $5,400 = residence with value of $577K

So for $1,200 more in property taxes you get a residence that is worth $392K more than what you have in Texas. When I view this ratio of tax vs. property value Texas still appears excessively high to me.

[rickc007]

Originally Posted by TCBTEX

Thanks for the info. Another way to look at it is:

Austin prop tax of $4,600 = residence with value of $185K

Cali prop tax of $5,400 = residence with value of $577K

So for $1,200 more in property taxes you get a residence that is worth $392K more than what you have in Texas. When I view this ratio of tax vs. property value Texas still appears excessively high to me.

Not sure where you got those numbers
They are inaccurate

A 577k house would have taxes of roughly 7200
To afford it, you would need at least 100k salary, so
add at least 8000 in income tax
So you are at 15,200 in California tax, minimum
And $4600 for Texas

$10,500 savings
If your income is higher, you would take a bigger beating in Cali
No extra penalty in Texas

[jdrtx]

That's assuming one has a taxable income.

[TCBTEX]

My figures are from Florinator's post above mine and what he/she was personally experiencing.

[Florinator]

Originally Posted by TCBTEX

Thanks for the info. Another way to look at it is:

Austin prop tax of $4,600 = residence with value of $185K

Cali prop tax of $5,400 = residence with value of $577K

So for $1,200 more in property taxes you get a residence that is worth $392K more than what you have in Texas. When I view this ratio of tax vs. property value Texas still appears excessively high to me.

Originally Posted by TCBTEX

My figures are from Florinator's post above mine and what he/she was personally experiencing.

I'm sorry if I was confusing, but the property tax on the $577k purchase price was $7,250. I wanted to be fair and not compare the high tax bill of 3 years ago in San Jose with the current tax bill from Austin.

The current tax bill of $5,400 is due to the decreased assessed value of $424k.

I tried to refinance my loan before I moved to Austin and the actual appraised value was $395k.

That's a loss of $577k - $395k = $182k in 3 years.

And this is not some silly boom development in the middle of nowhere, it's half a mile from San Jose downtown!

If I hadn't bought the damn townhome, I could have bought a house here, similar to the one we're renting right now without a loan, write a check, done. No mortgage!

[Florinator]

Originally Posted by jdrtx

That's assuming one has a taxable income.

How else would one make a $2k mortgage payment every month?

[Florinator]

Originally Posted by TCBTEX

Texas still appears excessively high to me.

I'm pretty sure in a few years, after having got used to it, it will seem excessive to me too... Human nature I guess

[Roadking2003]

Originally Posted by TCBTEX

Thanks for the info. Another way to look at it is:

Austin prop tax of $4,600 = residence with value of $185K

Cali prop tax of $5,400 = residence with value of $577K

So for $1,200 more in property taxes you get a residence that is worth $392K more than what you have in Texas. When I view this ratio of tax vs. property value Texas still appears excessively high to me.

Texas property taxes are high. Very high. That's because there is NO income tax.

So, for people with high value properties compared to their income, they pay more in Texas. For people with high income and low or no property value, they pay much less in Texas.