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We are moving to Michigan from California to be closer to our Grandsons and Daughter. We own our home here in California and want to keep it so we are going to lease it out. Does anyone know if we have to do anything special regarding property taxes, income tax, insurance etc? Since the home in Michigan will be our main residence will the one here in California then become a secondary residence? If so, what are the issues with that? Also, should we buy the home in Michigan outright or carry a mortgage? There are a lot of tax advantages to us moving to Michigan (1) they don't tax federal retirement income (2) homes are way less to buy (3) more for you money in general and the list goes on. Because we are retired we can travel during the winter months to get out of dodge when the weather is bad Thanks in advance for the advise if you offer any.
Weather is bad from October to April. It can be nice in Oct,Nov. but it can also be snow to your butt hole. Homes are cheap but they are likely to stay cheap for a long time and if you are retired past your life expectancy. Mi is nice from middle of May to Sept. From then on its a crap shoot. I have lived in Cal, and if you have not lived here you may not like the change for the worse. There is a reason Cal is one of the most populated states in the Union. Same as there is a reason that you don't see many people sitting in a septic tank and more on the lawn. People came here for work, its an industrial state not a vacation state. Florida and California are vacation states. I would rent here for a bit to see if its something you like. I know people who love the snow. I am not one of them. Most people do not like the snow unless you are rich enough to be able to hire people to shovel it and plow it and generally keep it out of your way. Most people here who are stuck here will tell you how wonderful the lovely white blanket of fluff is bla bal bal. Its all bull shiet. Before you buy pie try a slice to see if you even like it. Chances are you may not.
Weather is bad from October to April. It can be nice in Oct,Nov. but it can also be snow to your butt hole. Homes are cheap but they are likely to stay cheap for a long time and if you are retired past your life expectancy. Mi is nice from middle of May to Sept. From then on its a crap shoot. I have lived in Cal, and if you have not lived here you may not like the change for the worse. There is a reason Cal is one of the most populated states in the Union. Same as there is a reason that you don't see many people sitting in a septic tank and more on the lawn. People came here for work, its an industrial state not a vacation state. Florida and California are vacation states. I would rent here for a bit to see if its something you like. I know people who love the snow. I am not one of them. Most people do not like the snow unless you are rich enough to be able to hire people to shovel it and plow it and generally keep it out of your way. Most people here who are stuck here will tell you how wonderful the lovely white blanket of fluff is bla bal bal. Its all bull shiet. Before you buy pie try a slice to see if you even like it. Chances are you may not.
Only time I've had it that high was if I slipped on some icy, unsalted steps....but that's some funny shiet right there +1.
We are moving to Michigan from California to be closer to our Grandsons and Daughter. We own our home here in California and want to keep it so we are going to lease it out. Does anyone know if we have to do anything special regarding property taxes, income tax, insurance etc? Since the home in Michigan will be our main residence will the one here in California then become a secondary residence? If so, what are the issues with that? Also, should we buy the home in Michigan outright or carry a mortgage? There are a lot of tax advantages to us moving to Michigan (1) they don't tax federal retirement income (2) homes are way less to buy (3) more for you money in general and the list goes on. Because we are retired we can travel during the winter months to get out of dodge when the weather is bad Thanks in advance for the advise if you offer any.
Yes, your Michigan home would be your primary residence and the CA one would be secondary. Which is good because Michigan charges a higher rate for "non-homestead" property taxes.
Don't know if there's any advantage to paying cash or carrying a mortgage in Michigan. Michigan does not have a mortgage interest tax deduction, that I'm aware of. Might be good to get a Michigan based accountant working for you.
There are literally hundreds of thousands of retirees in Michigan that do the same thing: travel in the winter months to warmer climates. They even call them snowbirds. Sounds like a good way to go.
Pay no attention to the trolls on here, who just register on the site to cause problems and spread their miserable attitudes.
We are moving to Michigan from California to be closer to our Grandsons and Daughter. We own our home here in California and want to keep it so we are going to lease it out. Does anyone know if we have to do anything special regarding property taxes, income tax, insurance etc? Since the home in Michigan will be our main residence will the one here in California then become a secondary residence? If so, what are the issues with that? Also, should we buy the home in Michigan outright or carry a mortgage? There are a lot of tax advantages to us moving to Michigan (1) they don't tax federal retirement income (2) homes are way less to buy (3) more for you money in general and the list goes on. Because we are retired we can travel during the winter months to get out of dodge when the weather is bad Thanks in advance for the advise if you offer any.
After a quick glance at Michigan.gov, looks like you have to register to vote, register your vehicles in MI, get a MI driver license.
1. Go to a tax specialist (accountant or tax lawyer), not to Citydata for tax advice that you can reasonably rely upon.
2. If you lease your home in CA, it will probably be considered income property, not a second home, but again check with your tax specialist. I think that you ahve to spend a certain amount of time there each year to count as a second home.
3. You will have to pay California income tax on your income from leasing your house. I am not sure whether you will have to pay MI income tax on a part of that income or not. Ask your accountant.
4. If you lease your house out, where are you going to stay if you return to CA for part of the year? If you have a beach house, you could rent it out for exorbitant weekly rates in the spring-fall and then live in it during the winter and have the best of all worlds.
5. Winter is not the only shock you have coming. Culture shock as well. Where in MIchigan are you planning to go? While Citydata is a bad place to seek tax advice, it is a good place to seek advice on choosing a location, moving, adjusting to your new home and culture, etc.
6. As far as whether to buy outright or carry a mortgage, you need a good advisory on that one. It is complicated. You can write off the interest on your mortgage. after the write off, you may make more by investing your cash than the cost of the mortgage. However you will then have to pay taxes on the income from your investment.
7. You will be amazed what you can buy here. Example: Our house - 3900 s.f. on 1 acre waterfront in one of Michigan's nicest communities appraised at $345,0000. A huge river in in our front yard, acres of woods beside and behind us, community amenities that you would not believe, one of the best police and fire forces anywhere, crime rates about as low as you can find them in any community with more than 1000 people per mile.
8. Learn to play Euchre before you come.
9. Get used to people Calling California "Cali" and Orange County "the OC" It is annoying, but it is considered cute and trendy here. Young people especially think that they sound cool if they refer to Clifornia as "Cali" It must have come from some TV show.
10. You will not find the open friendliness that you find in the west, It is harder to make friends and be accepted. But the Friendships are not shallow matters of convenience or social climbing either. Once you are accepted, and even possibly before, people here will literally give you their coat, strip their larder if you need food, and go out of their way to make sure that you are safe and healthy. Just do not expect them to necessarily make you feel welcome right away, They might, but don't expect it. Just give it some time and do not carry on endlessly about how it is substandard here to what you liked best about "Cali" (otehrwise people here are likely to think or to tell you that you should just go back there if ist is so perfect)
1. Go to a tax specialist (accountant or tax lawyer), not to Citydata for tax advice that you can reasonably rely upon.
2. If you lease your home in CA, it will probably be considered income property, not a second home, but again check with your tax specialist. I think that you ahve to spend a certain amount of time there each year to count as a second home.
3. You will have to pay California income tax on your income from leasing your house. I am not sure whether you will have to pay MI income tax on a part of that income or not. Ask your accountant.
4. If you lease your house out, where are you going to stay if you return to CA for part of the year? If you have a beach house, you could rent it out for exorbitant weekly rates in the spring-fall and then live in it during the winter and have the best of all worlds.
5. Winter is not the only shock you have coming. Culture shock as well. Where in MIchigan are you planning to go? While Citydata is a bad place to seek tax advice, it is a good place to seek advice on choosing a location, moving, adjusting to your new home and culture, etc.
6. As far as whether to buy outright or carry a mortgage, you need a good advisory on that one. It is complicated. You can write off the interest on your mortgage. after the write off, you may make more by investing your cash than the cost of the mortgage. However you will then have to pay taxes on the income from your investment.
7. You will be amazed what you can buy here. Example: Our house - 3900 s.f. on 1 acre waterfront in one of Michigan's nicest communities appraised at $345,0000. A huge river in in our front yard, acres of woods beside and behind us, community amenities that you would not believe, one of the best police and fire forces anywhere, crime rates about as low as you can find them in any community with more than 1000 people per mile.
8. Learn to play Euchre before you come.
9. Get used to people Calling California "Cali" and Orange County "the OC" It is annoying, but it is considered cute and trendy here. Young people especially think that they sound cool if they refer to Clifornia as "Cali" It must have come from some TV show.
10. You will not find the open friendliness that you find in the west, It is harder to make friends and be accepted. But the Friendships are not shallow matters of convenience or social climbing either. Once you are accepted, and even possibly before, people here will literally give you their coat, strip their larder if you need food, and go out of their way to make sure that you are safe and healthy. Just do not expect them to necessarily make you feel welcome right away, They might, but don't expect it. Just give it some time and do not carry on endlessly about how it is substandard here to what you liked best about "Cali" (otehrwise people here are likely to think or to tell you that you should just go back there if ist is so perfect)
LL Cool J had a song "Going Back to Cali" back in the 80's. Never heard of it?
And where did you find your house? It'd be close to twice that in our area.
I do agree with your last part, #10. We have a LOT of transplants in our area, and it's grating when some people go on and on about how things are different where they came from. "Why are there no free public pools around here?" "Why can't I fly direct to California from here??" Blahdy blahdy yada yaya. "First World Problem" seekers, I call them.
LL Cool J had a song "Going Back to Cali" back in the 80's. Never heard of it?
And where did you find your house? It'd be close to twice that in our area.
Sorry never heard of the band or the song. In the 80s I remember listening to the Clash, the Cure, the Dead Milkmen (or something like that), Sinead O'Conner, Kate Bush, Prince, Devo, B-52s, Was not was, u2 and INXS (also lots of 60s and 70s hard rock, classical music and Fusion Jazz). Early 80s was mostly hardcore punk and new wave. Maybe this band is a different Genre.
Grosse Ile. We found our house on the other side of the island, bought it for $1, bought the land, moved the house, restored it, and spent an insane amount of money doing it. It was recently appraised at $343,000. Looking at sales of similar properties, it seems about right. High end houses here were really hit hard. Houses we saw listed and selling for $1million plus in 2006 recently sold for as little as $450,000. Some for a bit more, but all down at least 45% from 2004 - 2006 prices. Our restoration is not finished. If it was, it might add another $50,000 to the appraisal, but perhaps not. They do not take charm or even condition much into account for appraisals.
In California, our house would be $2 million to $4 million even at today prices. The difference is amazing
Hi, I moved to N Arizona 2 1/2 years ago and least my home in MI with option to buy. The insurance doubled, then my tenant took off a week before xmas so I came back home. I would not recommend renting your home, being a long distant landlord is not a good thing. My son in law spent 4 days doing repairs and hired a professional cleaning crew, also had the bedrooms and living painted. He told my daughter he could not have me coming home to the mess that was left. My tenant owed back rent and even left a water bill from several months.
Please reconcider
Debbie SE MI
Sorry never heard of the band or the song. In the 80s I remember listening to the Clash, the Cure, the Dead Milkmen (or something like that), Sinead O'Conner, Kate Bush, Prince, Devo, B-52s, Was not was, u2 and INXS (also lots of 60s and 70s hard rock, classical music and Fusion Jazz). Early 80s was mostly hardcore punk and new wave. Maybe this band is a different Genre.
Grosse Ile. We found our house on the other side of the island, bought it for $1, bought the land, moved the house, restored it, and spent an insane amount of money doing it. It was recently appraised at $343,000. Looking at sales of similar properties, it seems about right. High end houses here were really hit hard. Houses we saw listed and selling for $1million plus in 2006 recently sold for as little as $450,000. Some for a bit more, but all down at least 45% from 2004 - 2006 prices. Our restoration is not finished. If it was, it might add another $50,000 to the appraisal, but perhaps not. They do not take charm or even condition much into account for appraisals.
In California, our house would be $2 million to $4 million even at today prices. The difference is amazing
I listened to all of the bands you listed, plus Bauhaus, The Smiths, The Cure, Love & Rockets, etc.. LL Cool J was more pop-ish Top 40 (his album went platinum), on MTV and on stations that also played Cindy Lauper, Madonna, Boy George, U2, Men Without Hats, etc..
Sorry to hear about the appraisal. Eesh.
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Thanks in advance for the advise if you offer any.
Might be good to get a Michigan based accountant working for you. 
"First World Problem" seekers, I call them.
