Pittsburgh - Growth & Taxes?

[smuckerd]

Yes. This is my fear that if PA & Pitt. don't find a way to stem these rising taxes then there will be continued decline & won't be an area open to growth.

I will be making a decision with my wife this weekend whether to move to pitt and if we do then we will probably rent . . . I can put the extra cash coming out of my pocket into the stock market.

[guylocke]

find a way to stem these rising taxes

Casino. lol.

And rising taxes is not a local problem. Far from it.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by smuckerd

I will be making a decision with my wife this weekend whether to move to pitt and if we do then we will probably rent . . . I can put the extra cash coming out of my pocket into the stock market.

Meanwhile, the rent money is just being flushed down the toilet.

[bboy36win]

Originally Posted by boylocke

3k for every 100k in property tax? That actually sounds less than what some claim it is. That would be 15k for a 500k house. Pittnurse just said her relative looking into Shadyside would have paid double that in property tax for a 500k house.

This link may have been included somewhere in this thread, but I wasn't sure, so here it is again.

This shows the school district millage rate for all municipalities in Allegheny County. So, a rate of 20.00 represents a $2,000 school district real estate tax per $100k of assessed value. (Remember, the assessed value may not equal the market value).

If you click on your municipality, you'll see not only the school district rate but also the county and municipality real estate tax rates, as well.

In the city of Pittsburgh, you'll see that the total of all 3 is 29.41, or $2,941 per 100k of assessed value. So, I think Pittnurse's claim that the tax bill on a $500k house would be $30k doesn't make sense.

http://www.county.allegheny.pa.us/treasure/millsd.asp

[Hopes]

You bring up a good point, bboy. Smuckerd is probably making his calculations off of the property value instead of the assessment value. Also remember that some school districts only tax a percentage of the assessed value.

Property taxes also tend to be higher in the city. I've done some comparisons in various threads here. One was a comparison of the various districts in the northern suburbs. The other was a comparison between Upper St. Claire and Peter's Township. I'll find those comparisons later and post the link here.

Furthermore, if you buy a house in Pittsburgh for 100,000 less than what it costs in another city, it would take 33.33 years of owning it before you pay 100,000 in taxes at 3k per year. And over 33.33 years, most Pittsburgh properties will increase by 100,000 anyway. (Assuming a person is smart enough to not buy a property in a depressed neighborhood.)

Generally, Pittsburgh housing (in desirable areas) has always been good for long term investments. Pittsburgh is just not a real estate boom area, but who cares because those areas of the country have extremely an high cost of living. Plus, those areas with real estate market bubbles also have busts. Pittsburgh property generally offers steady long term growth without the risk of busting bubble.

[mach]

I move back to PA to be close to family and after checking out properties I was blow away from the declining population and the taxes on homes. I read somewhere that Pittsburgh has the fastest declining population next to New Orleans. I'll try to find that article. I guess you have to be penalized on being a home owner living in PA. I lived in WV and the home I was in was a built in 01 1200sqft my property taxes were under $1,000. I sold my home for $250,000. The extra money I got back from taxes from federal and state I would dump back into my property for outdoor lighting. and other home junk. Long story short I'm actively seeking on moving out of state. AGAIN. I guess people still haven't learned that local, state, and federal government can't handle money. CUT TAXES, GIVE THE CONSUMER A CHANCE TO SPEND IT in the community.

[Katarina Witt]

bboy36win:

In the city of Pittsburgh, you'll see that the total of all 3 is 29.41, or $2,941 per 100k of assessed value. So, I think Pittnurse's claim that the tax bill on a $500k house would be $30k doesn't make sense.

Well, I did say I stand corrected 5 days before you posted this. And it wasn't my "claim"; it is what my nephew told me after house hunting. $3000 per $100,000 is $15,000 on a $500,000 house. I pay $2100 on a house of similar value in Colorado. I certainly do not pay an additional $13,000 on sales tax on clothes out here. Taxes in Pgh, however you look at it, are high.

[bboy36win]

Originally Posted by pittnurse70

bboy36win:

Well, I did say I stand corrected 5 days before you posted this. And it wasn't my "claim"; it is what my nephew told me after house hunting. $3000 per $100,000 is $15,000 on a $500,000 house. I pay $2100 on a house of similar value in Colorado. I certainly do not pay an additional $13,000 on sales tax on clothes out here. Taxes in Pgh, however you look at it, are high.

Yes, I saw you stood corrected; nevertheless, I felt it was more beneficial to post the actual millage rates than to generalize (i.e. "taxes in Pgh are high"). Someone once challenged posters to provide statistics to back up what we post.

[Katarina Witt]

You could have posted the millage without referencing something I had already said stood corrected.

Back to Pittsburgh, I am really shocked at the level of prop. taxes there. My nephew was looking at some $500K houses and said taxes would be $30K/yr. At first, I didn't beleive him. After I joined this forum, I did. We have a house worth that much, property taxes are $2100! So what does this money pay for? I mean, PA has a sales tax, and an income tax, so I don't get it.

My original post on this.

[bboy36win]

Originally Posted by pittnurse70

You could have posted the millage without referencing something I had already said stood corrected.

Yes, that's true. Fair enough. And if it hadn't been for all of your "challenge" and "BRING IT ON!" nonsense in prior threads, I probably wouldn't have.