East Austin's gentrification problem (College Station, Bryan: community college, property taxes, living in)

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by scm53

I don't think the point is being missed at all. If one's property tax becomes onerous, one can move - either to a jurisdiction with a lower rate, or to a place with a lower valuation. Just like one can control their exposure to sales tax.

Look, I get it. We are hopefully five years away from semi-retirement. There is no way we can stay in this house - for multiple reasons, including the taxes. But we knew that going in - that Texas is highly dependent on property tax. No surprise, no shock, and not expecting any free ride because we will one day be retired. Probably means downsizing - probably means moving out of Austin and Travis county. OK. So what is the fix? Turn the historic fiscal structure on its head because it doesn't work for me? Or vote with my feet to a place that does work? Seems kinda simple, but I'm a simple man.

I'm having a hard time coming to terms with being taxed out of the family home simply because someone now says it's worth more so pay up or get out... in simple terms.

Just seems un American... at what point do you run out of places to move and decide to take a stand?

It also seems a shame to move and lose services that were bought and paid for from years of paying your property tax.

It could just be that I come from a long line of small family farmers... in hard times too many of my Grandparents friends and neighbors lost their family farms to tax lien sales...

Gentrification is real as are the effects... all depends on what side you happen to fall... one thing is clear... it is very good for local government.

Where is Willie Nelson when you need him?

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by gpurcell

The fundamental issue in Texas is that sales are private and as a result businesses and the wealthy are able to keep their assessed property valuations much smaller then they should be. This means that the burden of property taxation falls more heavily on SFH.

Agreed, the state should have access to actual sales prices to properly set values.

You would not believe the *huge* mismatch on acreage properties, lakefront properties etc.

Heck they should be able to use asking prices in the determination as well. There are plenty of Million dollar acreage properties with valuations of 100K.

[orngkat]

Probably means downsizing - probably means moving out of Austin and Travis county.

There will be a lot of us old-timers moving away in a few years as you said for various reasons. Primarily though because of the property taxes.

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

I know he is in the county and the only permit he needed to build his dream home was septic approval... something someone living in the SF Bay Area can't even imagine... my city actually has a say in the type of gutters you can put on your new house, type of landscaping and require a permit to replace a toilet or change out a window.

Sounds like you've always lived within the city limits.
This is your local government that you vote into office.

Local governments are just that..LOCAL.
I lived just outside the Austin city limits in Travis county.
The county has very little regulations and rules compared to cities.
And cities even differ among themselves.

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by tom331

One can has a choice whether to pay more or less of sales tax by controlling spending. But, you will be forced out of your property if you can not afford the tax. The property owners in fact are tenants. They lease the properties from government forever. They will be evicted if they fail to pay tax.

But you guys in Austin vote FOR almost every bond measure that comes up.
Your high local tax problems are of your own doing.

My property taxes consist of county and ISD.
No extra services.
Look at Austin's prop taxes..city, county, ISD, hospital district, community college
You voted for these services.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

I'm having a hard time coming to terms with being taxed out of the family home simply because someone now says it's worth more so pay up or get out... in simple terms.

Just seems un American... at what point do your run out of places to move and decide to take a stand?

Or being forced out of the family home because the price of gas went up, and you can no longer afford to keep it.
Or being forced out of the family home because income taxes went up, and you can no longer afford to keep it.
Or being forced out of the family home because Social Security went broke and payments had to be cut by a third.

It's all unAmerican. As soon as I buy a home, the government should guarantee me that exact quality of life in that exact location for the rest of my life.

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

The property was private... the guy defaulted on his loans when he was not able to subdivide... price paid would have been in the ball park if he could have put in the 60 homes he was trying to do.

State picked up the property for a fraction of what was owed and what the county used to hike everyone's property taxes...

My point: the county used one example to reset value for everyone in the area... and it took years before the guy realized he paid to much to make the project viable and walked away.

In the interim... it was the local property owners taking it in the shorts... with every appeal, the county cited the price paid on the single sale...

The irony is the goverment was able to pick it up for a song after putting local property owners through hell...

This simply could not have happened with a Prop 13 type of law...

I'm not sure how the county cited the price he payed, since as others have noted in this thread, valuations aren't based on sales prices (and they don't have that information).

[Novacek]

Originally Posted by tom331

FYI
Washington state does not have state income tax, but Seattle (King county) property tax rate is 1/2 of Austin property tax rate since you mentioned Washington state.

Comparing rates is meaningless (due to vastly different valuations). You have to compare the total tax bills.

[Trainwreck20]

My property taxes consist of county and ISD.
No extra services.

No ESD districts or Health Care Districts, either?

Anyway, most of the 'higher' taxes in the COA come from the appraised values, not the rates. The rate is not infrequently lower than the sum of some county rates. Westlake has one of the lowest rates around.

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by orngkat

There will be a lot of us old-timers moving away in a few years as you said for various reasons. Primarily though because of the property taxes.

I'm one of them.
Retired and moved.
Prop taxes went from $6K to $2K and I wasn't even in the city limits.
I was Travis county and paid into Pflugerville ISD.
People move in and schools have to be built.
People want services and vote for them.
Supply and demand drive up prices which drive up taxes.

But it's local.
In the past 3 years the only "huge" development out by me was a Love's gas station with an attached McDonalds. I moved away from the I-35 corridor because the explosion in growth was driving up prices and costs.