[WouldLoveTo]

Originally Posted by pulpfiction

Strongly disagree.

WH is EXTREMELY overrated.

1) Congestion
It's section of I-84 is the most congested of any in the state outside of FFC. Terrible design and very dangerous at all hours of the day. The arterials (Farmington Ave, Rt 44, etc) are clogged as well
2) Housing stock
Ancient garbage at a premium price. The epitome of 'postage stamp lots'. Please dont counter that these outdated homes feature 'charm' I'll take a 1990+ energy efficient build on a decent sized lot east of the river (at 2/3-3/4 of the price) any day of the week.
3) Pretentiousness
WH is THE snobbiest town in the state outside of lower-FFC. Residents think theyre living somewhere special because of Blueback Square (give me a break...its a glorified strip-mall), 'the center' (yeah some decent restaurants, but nothing that cant be found elsewhere), and these supposed 'great schools' (which arent even in the top 20 in the state if you look at the numbers). Oh, and have you seen those vomit-inducing "WeHa" bumper stickers they're sporting lately? Disgusting.

Trader Joe's, please build a location outside of this dump of a town so I never need to set foot in it again. Thanks.

I agree with everything but the age of the homes. I'd buy an old home (mid-1800s - 1930s are my preferred years) over new any day. Everything else is spot on and why I stayed east of the river. Wish I had gone more east!

[nep321]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I really do not care what all those ratings show, Long Island and Westchester County, New York have the highest taxes by far. The way these ratings calculate things, they include upstate New York which has lower taxes because of more rural areas. I have seen taxes on modest homes on Long Island and Westchester of $10,000 or more. Here in Connecticut they would be about $6,000. Remember to that you pay County taxes and in some cases there are multiple layers of government like villages and boroughs. You don't have that here. Jay

I thought there are boroughs in CT as well, with their own government. For example, Woodmont (borough of Milford), Fenwick (borough of Old Saybrook), and Stonington (borough of the town of Stonington). So, for example, if someone has a house in Woodmont, doesn't that mean that they have to pay property taxes to the borough of Woodmont AND the city of Milford? I believe there are 12 boroughs in CT, though some are independent of a town.

[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by nep321

I thought there are boroughs in CT as well, with their own government. For example, Woodmont (borough of Milford), Fenwick (borough of Old Saybrook), and Stonington (borough of the town of Stonington). So, for example, if someone has a house in Woodmont, doesn't that mean that they have to pay property taxes to the borough of Woodmont AND the city of Milford?

I don't think that set up exists any where in CT. There are some towns that have separate fire tax or sewer tax though.

Middletown is a great example. People who live in "Westfield" section of Middletown which includes westlake apts and condos pay a separate "fire tax" every year. That tax is fairly low like 1.2 mills.

[nep321]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

I don't think that set up exists any where in CT. There are some towns that have separate fire tax or sewer tax though.

Middletown is a great example. People who live in "Westfield" section of Middletown which includes westlake apts and condos pay a separate "fire tax" every year. That tax is fairly low like 1.2 mills.

Okay then so how does someone pay property taxes in the borough of Woodmont? Do they just pay property taxes to the Woodmont government only, and not the city of Milford? I mean, Woodmont has its own website with a budget and everything, so they must have a tax base somehow:

http://www.boroughofwoodmont.us/user...on=node%2F2061

[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by nep321

Okay then so how does someone pay property taxes in the borough of Woodmont? Do they just pay property taxes to the Woodmont government only, and not the city of Milford? I mean, Woodmont has its own website with a budget and everything, so they must have a tax base somehow:

User account | Woodmont CT

I think they only pay taxes to Milford. IF this is a beach community maybe they are paying a separate assessment too such as sewer.

[Lalalally]

woodmont is probably the same as if you lived in the borough of Newtown -- you pay taxes to the town if Newtown, and then an additional tax to the borough (with a very low additional mill rate). So I would imagine woodmont residents pay regular property taxes to the town of Milford, and then also pay an additional small tax to the borough

[nep321]

Originally Posted by Lalalally

woodmont is probably the same as if you lived in the borough of Newtown -- you pay taxes to the town if Newtown, and then an additional tax to the borough (with a very low additional mill rate). So I would imagine woodmont residents pay regular property taxes to the town of Milford, and then also pay an additional small tax to the borough

Okay, I'll take your word for it.

[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by Lalalally

woodmont is probably the same as if you lived in the borough of Newtown -- you pay taxes to the town if Newtown, and then an additional tax to the borough (with a very low additional mill rate). So I would imagine woodmont residents pay regular property taxes to the town of Milford, and then also pay an additional small tax to the borough

That makes a lot more sense. New Britain has something wacky like this too. They have a separate "downtown business improvement zone tax" or something similairly named that is an additional 4.0 mills. So if New Britain's rate is 37- if you're in this downtown zone your rate is 41. I think you get two separate tax bills though.

[just_because]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

This is one of the reasons house prices keep going up. People come to CT from NY, NJ, MA and think West Hartford is a bargain. Same thing happens in shore line towns. When the prices and property taxes go up, it pushes out lower income people and fixed income people who very well may be life long West Hartford residents. West Hartford isn't the only town that suffers from this, and CT isn't the only state either. It does seem to be more prevalent here, probably because CT is viewed as a desirable place to live and raise kids.

I've heard transplants say things like "I paid $8,500 a year in property tax in NJ for a 1200 ft cape." "Now I pay $6,500 a year in West Hartford for a 1200 ft cape - What a bargain."

Yes, this is an unfortunate consequence of better off transplants from expensive areas moving in (e.g. Californians to Austin, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, etc).

However, my point is that I don't think that WH has been significantly affected by big(ger) money moving in from outside the state and significantly raising house prices and the data supports my view. If it were, the house prices would be much higher. WH house prices have not increased over the last 5 years (2% decrease in median sales price in fact), nor have they for the last 10 years. I have noticed that many nice homes in WH have gone on and off the market a couple/few times with price decreases - some have been put on and off sale for over a year with no sale. Sometimes you see a home for sale that has decreased in price and then come off the market to be totally renovated and then put back on sale. These aren't the characteristics of a market where out of towners are swooping in and buying up all kinds of real estate.

As a very well kept and desirable town, it is strange that it's so cheap. It's a great value. You see houses for sale for ridiculously low prices - houses with character and totally renovated. You check where they are and they are in some of the nicest streets right near the center. They don't have septic systems or underground oil tanks. Small yards...well yeah, it's a semi-urban area close to downtown. Taxes might be higher but the schools are top notch and the services you get in return are good. Yes you can save a couple of hundred a month in taxes in a less well kept town with mediocre schools. Some will prefer this but many won't. So why is WH so damn cheap?

[BobNJ1960]

cynic1, Thanks but I'd love to see % in poverty by state adjusted for local COL.