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"So millions of American families, including many that have completely paid off their homes, now find themselves in danger of being thrown out on to the street over an unpaid property tax bill."
The New Tax Man: Big Banks and Hedge Funds | The Huffington Post Investigative Fund (http://huffpostfund.org/stories/2010/10/new-tax-man-big-banks-and-hedge-funds - broken link)
"So millions of American families, including many that have completely paid off their homes, now find themselves in danger of being thrown out on to the street over an unpaid property tax bill."
The New Tax Man: Big Banks and Hedge Funds | The Huffington Post Investigative Fund (http://huffpostfund.org/stories/2010/10/new-tax-man-big-banks-and-hedge-funds - broken link)
As I've said before, we are going to see more and more tent cities for the displaced and already homeless springing up on the edge of cities, just like in California and probably most other states. What are they going to do with the elderly that they confiscate homes from?
Property taxes should be an equal, across the board gradated percentage of household income. The way it is now, with taxes spiraling up every year, you can see the writing on the wall.
It's nothing new for the government to crush you for non-payment of taxes. How is it the banks fault or "predatory"? Oh wait...another dose of unreality from the "economic collapse blog"....sigh.
I think I won't pay my taxes this year....then it will be the banks fault! Yeah great news article!
As I've said before, we are going to see more and more tent cities for the displaced and already homeless springing up on the edge of cities, just like in California and probably most other states. What are they going to do with the elderly that they confiscate homes from?
Property taxes should be an equal, across the board gradated percentage of household income. The way it is now, with taxes spiraling up every year, you can see the writing on the wall.
Some states (California) have measures to prevent the elderly from being pushed out by rising property taxes, I believe grandfathering them or capping increases etc.
Frankly, this is the price you pay for living in high cost urbanized areas with corrupt local governments and cronyism. (Go see the NJ forum and how much toll workers get paid there )
9k a year in property taxes for a modest home in the northeast is just stunning. Where I live it would be 3k or so.
P.S. Basing property taxes on income would probably wind up favoring the richest who have lots of assets already accumulated relative to income and instead screws over the people more in the middle trying to get ahead who have decent income but are still paying off school loans, paying for kids etc etc.
I'd prefer some sort of increase capping to help everyone, especially older pensioner types.
More diatribe from the spam-master presenting blatantly false information.
When you obtain a mortgage for a home, you have several options related to home-owner's insurance and local property taxes. One option is pay the home-owner's insurance and local property taxes yourself. That means the home-owner is, get ready... willing to accept the responsibility for making the insurance premium payments and local property taxes in a timely manner.
The other options a home-owner has is to "roll" the home-owner's insurance premium and the local property taxes into the monthly mortgage.
Upon receiving the "rolled" payment, the bank will break out the mortgage payment and credit the mortgage account, then transmit that portion of the total payment to home-owner's insurance company, then place the remaining money in an escrow account specifically established for the home-owner.
Quarterly, semi-annually or annually, as prescribed by law according to the local municipality, the bank will transfer the funds in the escrow account to the local government to effect the payment of property taxes on behalf of the home-owner.
These agreements between home-owners and mortgage banks contain various and sundry clauses.
In some instances, if the home-owner fails to make the total payment agreed upon, the bank cannot place money into the home-owner's escrow account for the payment of local property taxes. When local property taxes are due, and there no funds or insufficient funds in the escrow account, the bank either takes no action or transfers the funds available in the home-owner's account to the local government.
However, some home-owners (of their own free will) entered into an agreement with the mortgage bank to effect payment of local property taxes, even if the home-owner failed to make sufficient payments for property taxes.
There is nothing illegal, improper or predatory here.
Either the home-owner of his own free will agreed to pay the property taxes on his own, failed to do so, and the local government has/is foreclosing on the property for non-payment of taxes in accordance with local laws; or
the home-owner failed to make payments to the mortgage bank, the mortgage bank had no funds to transfer to the local government and so the local government has/is foreclosing on the property for non-payment of taxes in accordance with local laws; or
the home-owner agreed that the bank should make payment for property taxes on behalf of the home-owner, even if there were insufficient funds, and agreed to pay back the mortgage bank in the form of a 2nd mortgage, and now the home-owner has defaulted and the mortgage bank has/is foreclosing on the property in accordance with federal banking regulations.
In every case, blame and fault rests solely with the home-owner.
The home-owner either failed or refused to participate in local government and vote against property tax increases or vote for property tax decreases; or
The home-owner failed or refused to elect responsible persons to local government to oversee property taxes; or
The home-owner failed or refused to establish a savings account to cover the cost of all monthly expenses, including mortgage, home insurance, property taxes, vehicle insurance and taxes, credit card payments, cable, cell-phone, utilities and food for a period of 12 months in the event of job loss, injury, death, calamity or other misfortune; or
The home-owner failed or refused to act like an adult and sell the home when it became obvious that maintaining the home, including paying local property taxes was no longer viable.
Despite double head-smack icon status awarded the latest pay-for-clicks blog paste, I also don't see where anything is predatory in a perfectly legal action against someone who doesn't pay their property taxes like the rest of us.
The wife and I bought our current home with cash in 2005, so every October that bill comes in the mail with the option to pay it all or pay half now and half in six months. Being the roof over our heads it is so important that it doesn't get "inbox" treatment I send the check right away then check my bank account until I see it is posted.
You have to pay it, and if you can't you need to explore other options not just ignore it.
Some states (California) have measures to prevent the elderly from being pushed out by rising property taxes, I believe grandfathering them or capping increases etc.
Frankly, this is the price you pay for living in high cost urbanized areas with corrupt local governments and cronyism. (Go see the NJ forum and how much toll workers get paid there )
9k a year in property taxes for a modest home in the northeast is just stunning. Where I live it would be 3k or so.
P.S. Basing property taxes on income would probably wind up favoring the richest who have lots of assets already accumulated relative to income and instead screws over the people more in the middle trying to get ahead who have decent income but are still paying off school loans, paying for kids etc etc.
I'd prefer some sort of increase capping to help everyone, especially older pensioner types.
I have a modest (1150 SF), 6-rm ranch in a desirable northeast location. My taxes are $2400/yr, plus a fair amt in water and sewer. I don't think the tax amount to be unfair, considering this is a small town (and a nice one), and taxes have to be raised to pay for town services. But on a fixed, modest income, with the state out of money and always threatening to raise taxes, I'm concerned that my state could see property taxes like NH and NY state. I don't care to swap property taxes for income tax or sales tax. I live modestly and don't buy much. I can control that; I cannot control property taxes. It's the young, two-(high)-income couples with kids that are always clamoring for higher taxes (with referenda for overrides), or vote in community preservation acts which effectively raises taxes. They are not on fixed incomes, they want the best for their children. Who can blame them? But who should have to shoulder the costs for their education standards, esp at a time when the extracurricular stuff is, while quite nice, is not necessary in view of the fact we have hardly any streetlights or police force.
The home-owner failed or refused to act like an adult and sell the home when it became obvious that maintaining the home, including paying local property taxes was no longer viable.
Thousands of elderly are trying to do just that, sell their homes because they're being priced out of their area where they have lived and raised a family over decades. On fixed incomes, even with investment returns, with the cost of medical and food they are just holding their heads above water. So you sum it up with "they all failed"?
BTW, spiraling property taxes are partly to pay for unnecessary things like 4th of July parades, commemorative town books, use duplication between town buildings, waste of utilities, etc. Yet streetlights are cut off and police force dwindling. The waste in municipalities starts with city employees (my sister among them) twiddling their thumbs all day because they have little or nothing to do, but they're civil service. So the elderly are supposed to lose their homes, and police get laid off, in the face of all this inefficiency and waste? WHO has filed to act like an adult? Let's start with our town and city officials.
Are you suggesting everyone gets a waiver on paying property taxes until we have rooted out all inefficiencies in city government and all agreed on which extracurricular things are worth keeping?
Thousands of elderly are trying to do just that, sell their homes because they're being priced out of their area where they have lived and raised a family over decades. On fixed incomes, even with investment returns, with the cost of medical and food they are just holding their heads above water. So you sum it up with "they all failed"?
Yessiree.
Funny, but the same web-site pushing that nonsense told us just a few months ago how the housing market collapsed.
Housing values are down. Sure, there are outliers as there are a few selected markets that are impervious to goings-on, but for the most part, housing values are still down.
Getting "priced-out" doesn't happen over-night, or over a month, or even over a year. It takes a few years for that to happen. If you buy a home and then put on blinders and walk around the rest of your life, then you deserve whatever fate befalls you.
So apparently they ignored the advice of their real estate attorneys. What? They didn't have real estate attorney's on retainer? Too bad for them. If you can't afford a real estate attorney, then you have no business owning a home, and if they chose of their own free-will to do without (which is what they did -- I guarantee you I can find $1,200 for an annual retainer fee in any budget of any home-owner in these United States) then they should suffer the consequences.
I will also bet they were greedy, sitting around waiting for prices to rise even higher so they could get huge profit off of the sale of their house and they got caught watching the paint dry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by newenglandgirl
BTW, spiraling property taxes are partly to pay for unnecessary things like 4th of July parades, commemorative town books, use duplication between town buildings, waste of utilities, etc. Yet streetlights are cut off and police force dwindling.
Did they send e-mails to city hall? Call? Write letters? Raise the issue on local talk radio? Show up at a town hall meeting? Vote?
Nope.
Quote:
Originally Posted by newenglandgirl
The waste in municipalities starts with city employees (my sister among them) twiddling their thumbs all day because they have little or nothing to do, but they're civil service. So the elderly are supposed to lose their homes, and police get laid off, in the face of all this inefficiency and waste? WHO has filed to act like an adult? Let's start with our town and city officials.
Well, I wouldn't necessarily disagree with you, but again, they voted for them or they didn't vote at all, which is the same as giving tacit consent.
They're retired, so it ain't like they got something to do. They can get their asses down to city hall and picket.
Democracy requires participation 24/7, not for 3 minutes once every 2 or 4 years. If they aren't going to participate, then they can't complain.
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I don't care to swap property taxes for income tax or sales tax. I live modestly and don't buy much. I can control that; I cannot control property taxes. It's the young, two-(high)-income couples with kids that are always clamoring for higher taxes (with referenda for overrides), or vote in community preservation acts which effectively raises taxes. They are not on fixed incomes, they want the best for their children. Who can blame them? But who should have to shoulder the costs for their education standards, esp at a time when the extracurricular stuff is, while quite nice, is not necessary in view of the fact we have hardly any streetlights or police force.
