St Charles high taxes (Chicago, St. Charles: real estate, 2015, mortgage)

[Looking to leave]

Sorry to rant here but am I the only one that feels the property taxes in St Charles and most nice 'burbs of Chicago is criminal? I have the chance to leave the area (to the south) but I considered moving to west St Charles/ Elburn/Wasco. I looked at a few $300,000 homes in need of renovation. lots were a bit bigger than standard. Taxes were $9000- $13,000. for a $300,000 home that needs work, I can only imagine what they will charge after renovations and property values pick up.

Currently live in Batavia in a nice $400,000 home on 1/4 acre paying over $9000/ year. I thought that was high but apparently its a bargain.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Looking to leave

Sorry to rant here but am I the only one that feels the property taxes in St Charles and most nice 'burbs of Chicago is criminal? I have the chance to leave the area (to the south) but I considered moving to west St Charles/ Elburn/Wasco. I looked at a few $300,000 homes in need of renovation. lots were a bit bigger than standard. Taxes were $9000- $13,000. for a $300,000 home that needs work, I can only imagine what they will charge after renovations and property values pick up.

Currently live in Batavia in a nice $400,000 home on 1/4 acre paying over $9000/ year. I thought that was high but apparently its a bargain.

The massive financial mismanagement of Illinois is now resulting in a HUGE out-migration of people that can no longer afford the crushing taxes.

Things are going to get worse, especially in areas that tried to build a modern base of infrastructure recently. The insane Illinois regulations that force government projects into using the highest cost labor make a bad situation truly terrible.

There are a handful of areas with very high property values and fully built out infrastructure that have fairly low tax rates, but even those towns have property tax bills that most people would consider large...

Good luck in new state!

[Sunbiz1]

Move to Montana, I am.
Where property tax runs about $150/annually per acre.

[Bellamouse]

Yes, we wanted to move out of the City into the suburbs, and those taxes deterred us too. We moved to Florida instead. Haven't looked back. Criminal doesn't even begin to cover it.

[flamadiddle]

I agree, Property taxes are abnormally high in the Chicago suburbs, but home prices have dropped as a result. Just about every home we've looked at in St. Charles is currently selling for less than what the owner paid. This is good news if you're looking to move to the area from another state, but bad news if you're living there and trying to sell.

We're originally from the Chicago area and looking to move back. Are we crazy? maybe, but my crystal ball is broken and living here in the Atlanta area is just miserable. Sure, the weather here is better, but the weather in prison is nice too!

Considering the amount of home/land you get for your money and the fact that property taxes are deductible, living in the Atlanta burbs vs. Chicago burbs is pretty much equal financially. I'm about to start making offers on homes in St. Charles. Anyone want to talk me off the ledge? Chet, you don't count, I already know your position!

[Caglee]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

I agree, Property taxes are abnormally high in the Chicago suburbs, but home prices have dropped as a result.

I think this sums it up pretty well from what I've seen. The economy isn't doing any better, people only have so much money to spend on housing. As property taxes consume a larger portion of people's monthly budgets, it leaves less room for mortgage payments, so housing prices will go down. As home values go down, property tax rates will have to go up. It's a vicious cycle and illustrates why Illinois will have a very depressed housing recovery.

Figure out a monthly budget you're comfortable with and stick to it. I just sold a townhome where my monthly property tax bill exceeded my mortgage/interest payment, and that seems to be the case in many suburbs right now.

[gardener34]

Yes, they are high. Not sure how they compare to a comparable home in DuPage county though. Which is definitely not cheap.

Not to get off topic, but the tax bill is largely because of the schools. and D-303 is a very well regarded school district, which raises property values.

After 2008 plunge, taxes did not go down for 3 years, because the county taxes are an aggregate of previous 3 years I believe, when property values increased. They did go down a little bit for a couple years after that but now are back up to where they were.

[Looking to leave]

It almost seems as if the home values are decreasing on purpose as a way of keeping us in IL !! I keep hearing about the next "housing bubble" but not in IL. My home is still $75,000 under its 2007 value.

[rrah]

Real estate taxes were one of the major reasons we left the Tri-Cities area over a decade ago. I just looked at the taxes on our old house. They are about $5000 more than when we left and the value is lower than when we sold (and it wasn't at the peak of the market.)

I miss the area sometimes and then look at the taxes. We pay about 1/3 the taxes for 30 times more land, a larger and nicer house, and schools that would compete with any in the Tri-Cities.

[MSchemist80]

Compare your property tax rate (database) - Chicago Tribune

This site has a listing of the effective property tax rates for various communities in the Chicago area. It is pretty shocking. I was listening to the property tax show Saturday night while driving. There are some businesses paying as much as 25% effective property tax rates and homeowners in the 10% range though most are in the 3-5% range which is still atrocious.

Dupage is the best deal right now with many communities in the 2-3% range. I guess that is to be expected since Dupage co is heavily Republican.

I don't understand why there is not mass protests and open revolts. I guess most people are content to just move out of the state. Still it is horrifying what Democratic Party has done to the state in the two decades since they assumed full control.