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Why are there all these arguments about property taxes on second homes?
If you can afford a second home, you probably aren't in danger of actually becoming homeless anytime soon. I guess it's possible the property taxes could go beyond whatever your budget is, but generally someone who can afford two homes, all those carrying costs, travel between them, etc., can afford the taxes.
Being able to buy a second home doesn't necessarily mean that you can afford insane property tax increases, HOA increases and the like. Even if you can manage to work the second home into your budget when you purchase it, you might find that tax increases make owning the home no longer affordable and selling the property may not be that easy, either, so you may have no other choice than to rent it out. If you wind up with a lousy tenant who doesn't pay their rent and even trashes your property you could end up with some very real financial problems which could threaten the very roof over your own head.
Why are there all these arguments about property taxes on second homes?
If you can afford a second home, you probably aren't in danger of actually becoming homeless anytime soon. I guess it's possible the property taxes could go beyond whatever your budget is, but generally someone who can afford two homes, all those carrying costs, travel between them, etc., can afford the taxes.
Because in San Francisco an astronomic punitive taxes on second-home condos (note: ONLY on second condos and co-ops, NOT on second houses! :-) are being enacted allegedly to help the homeless, and specifically low-income seniors. That is how the tax is connected with the topic of homelessness among seniors. And my contention was that this type of tax measure does not appear to have a significant potential of helping the homeless, but is on the other hand very possibly in violation of the US Constitution. Then people asked me all sorts of questions about it, which I answered. Then Kavm was irked with my exercise of freedom of speech, alleging that the discussion doesn't belong in the thread about homelessness. So I started another thread about second homes in retirement. But Kavm CONSTANTLY keeps bringing up the subject (which he said didn't belong in this thread) back into this thread :-). I have said everything I intended to say about this tax, and am now mentioning it solely in response to other people who keep bringing it up.
But since you asked, I'll reply (although I already did that upthread). A person who has two homes can afford reasonable taxes proportionate to the value of the property, but cannot (or rather, will not) pay enormous punitive taxes, grossly disproportionate to the value of the property. So, she will not pay those taxes, but will sell the property (because she is forced to do so, for no reason whatsoever, except that many people are green with envy at anything anyone else might own and love, so politicians use that envy to get votes).
Like I said, one has got to pay attention. Since the same stuff is getting posted on two threads by a certain poster, it's hard to keep up...
If it is still being posted in two threads that are not specifically dedicated to the topic of second homes, it is either being posted by yourself, or by someone else other than me, or as my response to people who keep bringing it up. So if you want me to not respond about it, then don't post about it yourself.
You did not get the memo. The whole thread has been created, in disguise, to complain about the property tax on the second homes in San Francisco enacted through proposition M in 2023 elections. So, now that battle is playing out on two threads.
You've got to pay attention to keep up
In reality, it is more disturbing than that because underlying that whole thought the elnrgby is working to get her "retirement" forum post numbers way up beyond her "travel" forum post numbers. Why? I do not think anyone knows exactly what that does.
I do think the special tax is unnecessarily punitive. However, the elnrgby thing would be better served by working to get herself a special exemption from it (but, is actually not happy staying there due to the massive changes anyways).
The reason a lot of us pushed back was to defend people who are not here to defend themselves because they were being demonized and not portrayed all that realistically.
Last edited by Wile E. Coyote; 12-05-2023 at 03:30 PM..
Being able to buy a second home doesn't necessarily mean that you can afford insane property tax increases, HOA increases and the like. Even if you can manage to work the second home into your budget when you purchase it, you might find that tax increases make owning the home no longer affordable and selling the property may not be that easy, either, so you may have no other choice than to rent it out. If you wind up with a lousy tenant who doesn't pay their rent and even trashes your property you could end up with some very real financial problems which could threaten the very roof over your own head.
Indeed you could, but you wouldn't end up homeless as you still would have your primary residence.
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