lowest property taxes (Dallas, Denton, Rowlett: sales, credit, houses)

[Goin to AZ]

so i was reading www.dallascad.org/forms/2006rate.pdf and trying to find the lowest property taxes and it looks like it says highland park and university park and sunnyvale have the lowest.

[Goin to AZ]

houses are expensive in those areas. So i guess you either have expensive houses or expensive taxes in dallas area

[socketz]

The website you entered was for Dallas county. You may want to check out Collin and Denton counties as well. The pattern in Texas seems to be that when a community is new, the taxes are higher, but as it evolves and is able to sustain itself with new business, the taxes decrease. Also note that you taxes are based on an assessed value and not the sales price the way it is out here in CA. Many of the people I've spoken to say the 'assesed' value is often quite a bit lower than the actual price the home is worth. Just something to think about. Realtors can tell you what the taxes are if it is a resale.

Honestly, the different tax rates are not that different between areas, so I'm not sure the prop taxes would be that high on my list. Of course it's a consideration, but for me other things like schools, crime, ammenities, etc are much more important.

[momof2dfw]

Yes, the Park Cities does have one of the lowest property tax rates for Dallas County as well as being on the upper end of the cost of housing. What I can tell you is that the residents of the Park Cities hardly EVER turn down a bond election for road improvements, infrastructure and schools. Because they have kept up all along the way w/ these needs they have been able to keep their property taxes down. It is a lot cheaper to build a new school, improve roads now than it will be 5 years down the road when it is past the time that the improvements were needed.

Too many other cities will turn down a bond w/o realizing that they are only delaying the project and increasing their taxes later on. Then they gripe about the sorry road conditions, overcrowded schools, lack of services, etc. I know of one area city that ranks right at the top when it comes to their property tax rate and they continually vote down bond elections. Their library is below min. recommended guidelines. The roads are deplorable at best. And they complain non-stop about the leaders of the city and lack of services. You have to pay for it to get it. And the leaders of the city can only do so much. If you let it go for too long it will only cost more to build/repair.

I will give the Park Cities residents credit for this one. They have stayed on top of needed improvements and have done the work before it was in dire straits.

[Barnum]

Whatever you do, don't choose Rowlett. About to have the highest in Dallas County.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by Barnum

Whatever you do, don't choose Rowlett. About to have the highest in Dallas County.

That is because the citizens of Rowlett for way too many years have done the exact opposite as the ones in the Park Cities. Whine and complain about the poor shape of everything. Whine and complain about the tax rates and having to pay for basic infrastructure. With a public library that is below minimium standard guidelines and the recent failure of the latest bond election it is only going to get worse. You can't have your cake and eat it too. One reason I got the heck out of that place in a hurry.