Calling everyone who knows about Oil city, PA (Pittsburgh, Erie: apartment, rental)

[bmurphy]

BTW, not sure if the quoted prop taxes are by sq feet or how the calculate it, but either way, Oil City would equal out with those huge taxes. Now stop saying how expensive WPB is without using data and just using generalizations.

[Need_affordable_home]

Taxes are based on a percentage of assessed value. The cheapest house thats worth buying in south FL is $300k, I havent seen any $200k houses that didnt look like a shack/trailor and were in questionable neighboors. A $300k house would cost me $30k a year in total expenses, including mortgage. Property taxes would be about $5000 a year but guess what hurricane insurance would be like another $3000 a year! I can get a house just as nice in Oil city for $50k(1/6th the price) my property taxes would be only $1500 a year. No one spends $300k on an Oil city house(if they did taxes would be $9k a year) and insurance would be much lower than Florida!

I know how much my parents pay in property taxes and insurance and it would be twice as much but homestead exemption kicks in since they bought before the bubble.

[elfyum]

Originally Posted by bmurphy

there are no cheap homes in areas with superlow taxes. It just wouldn't happen. It makes no sense to pay low taxes on a low priced home. The city would have to be a dump.

Well, I agree with you on the "FL is hot, get over it" thing, but I gotta disagree with you here! Don't know what part of the country you're in, but there ARE places - specifically SD, ND, & KS to name a few, where houses are cheap, taxes are low, & the towns are small, friendly & safe! (Right Jammie? ) To some "city-folk", they don't have anything "going on", but to those like me, that's a GOOD thing!
Why don't I live there you ask? Probably why alot of people don't: (thus it being so cheap)
It's COLD & there are no jobs! But for NAH, he wants cold (well, not THAT cold ) & is self employed. So those are good places for warm blooded retirees & warm blooded self employed people.

Mystree - you must be a long lost cousin of mine too! (Like Shedav & Pianogal! )

[skiatook_911]

Hi everyone!

I am also a young adult considering a move to the Crawford/Venango Co region (mainly Oil City, Chapmanville, and Titusville). So far the reading here has been very helpful! I am from a small, rural, "red-kneck" community, so I don't believe I'd experiance any trouble with the "culture" of the area. I was wondering though, I'd like to hear a little more information about the job opportunities in the area (via PM if necessary). I'm pursuing a career in public saftey; I am currently a 911 dispatcher, volunteer Firefighter and part time EMT. Thanks!

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Need_affordable_home

Ill have to talk to my friend whos in Woodsfield and ask what things get taxed. He told me Ohio is better than Pennsylvania and especially West Virginia. I do not want to live where theres a high tax burden as this is a waste of my money.

What specifically are you wanting to know about taxes?

The property taxes in Oil City will be very low especially compared to a metropolitan area like Pgh or Phili. I live in Pgh and our property taxes aren't killing us. The PA state income tax is just a flat rate across the board just slightly above 3%. PA doesn't tax food or clothing either.

There are states that have absolutely no personal income tax. Property taxes are another story though so do your research carefully!

Here's a site that might help you figure it all out: http://www.retirementliving.com/RLtaxes.html

The site provides every single type of tax for every state in the country.

[Need_affordable_home]

Oil city does charge 3% prop taxes but I dont care because houses are so cheap, id be paying less than $1000/year in taxes. The very low state income tax is a big plus. Yes FL has no income tax but everything else costs more and I cant afford FL nor do I want to stay even if I won the lotto, theres many better locations.

Tax burden can vary person to person. A state with a high burden may not be a problem for me depending. Say income tax is 10% if you make $100k a year, id be at a low bracket cause I dont make much. Sales tax may not matter much if I buy only food thats tax exempt and do my shopping online. Property tax isnt much of a problem since ill be buying a cheap house.

[bmurphy]

NAH, let me ask you. You said if you had a choice/money, you WOULDN'T choose Oil City.

Why is it such a horrible idea to go SOMEWHERE YOU LIKE!!!, not for the cheap prices, but somewhere you truly like, and rent for awhile? I don't know what your beef is with renting...why can't you just go somewhere you'll be happy and not sitting in a cheap house full of regrets?

[I LOVE PA!]

I have been reading these posts and I am getting the impression that 'need affordable home' is looking to relocate from Florida to somewhere affordable in the way of a home purchase. While I don't know anything about Oil City, what I do know is this...When my husband and I first married, we bought a house we could afford on LI, it needed a lot of work, so for the next 13 or so years we fixed that house up, right until the day we moved out it seemed. If I was to add the total monthly expenses in home repairs and improvements to the amount we were paying for our mortgage, we would have been able to afford a much nicer home to start and not be put through all those repairs. Even though the price tag on a house seems affordable, it's the expenses of repairs and upkeep of an older home that can really become a burden.
I tend to agree, that sometimes renting might be the better choice when just moving to a new town. Heck, I lived with my parents for 4 months after moving to Pa, with a husband and 2 kids!

[Need_affordable_home]

Renting is too expensive and money down the drain. I feel strongly against renting in my situation. But lets not argue, this is my choice. I dont have alot of money so I can not live where the rich people live. You wouldnt understand if you had money. Oil city is not bad, theres better places if you have alot of money, thats all.

Good point about repairs. I will have an inspector look at any houses I plan to buy and factor in the cost of repairs. I may be better off buying a smaller house that wont need repairs for a very long time because repairs cost money and time.

[bmurphy]

Not that many people are rich. Most just save up for years to get the house they want. Even an extra year of saving up in FL could really help and put you in a nicer city, if you get a real job.

You WOULD be better off buying a smaller, better condition home. However, it's not usually going to cost $30k or even $60k. You're gonna shell out at least $100k for that (in most areas).

If you think renting is expensive, you're SERIOUSLY not ready for a house. I agree - it's money down the drain. That's fair, because it IS money down the drain. However, if you think all you have to do is buy the house and sit in it, you're pretty much wrong. Everything that happens in the house is your money out the window. The electricity. The phone. The water. The garbage pickup. Property taxes. Whatever. It's all on you. Repairs. Maitenance. You might think you can just buy a "decent" house and sit in it - you're wrong. You will probably need to do work on it, and that's money down the drain.

Also, I would argue that in most rural towns, a house isn't much of an investment anyways. It's not likely to appreciate. Technically, you're throwing out your money on the house too, since you won't get a profit out of it. And if you think you'd stay in Oil City for life (hey maybe you would), I would seriously doubt it

Good luck - that's all I wish you. Best advice I can give is to either expand your house buying budget or do the most sane thing - move to a place you truly LIKE, and would be happy in it, and rent. Rent is money out the window but everyone does it usually for years before buying. I don't know of many single 20something homeowners who weren't rich to begin with. You have a good attitude in general but you should really beef up the research on what life is REALLY like in Oil City - probably not as great as you expect.

About the repairs, most things will happen sooner than a "very long time". With your housing budget, I doubt you'll get something that will be 100% fine for lots of years. At the best, it'll have some things that can wait -- but nothing totally, 100% perfect. Your budget is really going to slam a lot of doors in your face and hey, maybe you'll afford the place, but I don't think you'll afford to LIVE THERE--no matter what the cost of living. You don't seem to have an income, and I wouldn't count on being 100% self employed in a new city, even if it's internet based. You'll really need a job and it's not something Oil City is known for having. If you can only afford a $50k house, call me crazy, but I would be saying "Don't buy one!"