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I was looking at a $500k home on the East Side and taxes were about $15k! At that level of property tax, you're not really owning your own home anymore, you're just paying $500k for the privilege of leasing your home from the city at $1300 a month. That's absurd if you think about it. Adding insult to injury, the public schools in and around the East Side range from poor to horrible.
Meanwhile property taxes on a $500k home in nearby Seekonk and Rehoboth MA are just $5k! Over the course of a 30 year mortgage, that's a $300k difference. And the schools in both Massachusetts towns are much higher rated. The commute to downtown Providence is maybe 5-10 minutes longer.
What's wrong with Providence? This can't possibly be sustainable. Even well off Brown faculty can't afford this kind of extortion.
Nope, I think Guineas is right. According to the RI Living list above, the East Side of Providence has a $31.89 per $1000 valuation. That would make a $500,000 house roughly at $16,000 per year of real estate tax. Where's all that money going to? RI and Providence have real issues.
I own a house in Quincy, MA that is valued around $450,000, and our tax rate for the city, which is right next door to Boston, is only $12.05 in 2013. Milton, the town next door to Quincy where I grew up and my mom still has her house, uses a $12.50/thousand rate. I think both Quincy and Milton have much better schools than Providence.
I believe the taxes you saw were non owner occupied. Taxes on a 500K house are 5 to 6 ish. Call the tax assessor to ask about that specific address.
I think that might be it, the numbers are without the homestead exemption. Even with the 50% discount though, the property taxes will still be about $8000 a year, plus incredibly high vehicle taxes.
I would be fine paying relatively higher property taxes if the schools are halfway decent, but they're actually quite horrific outside of Classical.
Sorry- my answer was based on market value. I was thinking in terms of my own home. OP must have been referring to overall tax valuation. Market value on a 500k house might be 6 or 650k.
The number of school age children on the East Side is greatly reduced since the baby boomer years. Where there were 5 elementary schools there are now 2 and they are located in the Mt. Hope and Fox Point sections of the East Side. Those living within the more affluent sections of the East Side send their children to private schools. Bay View, Providence Country Day, Gordon School and The Hebrew Day School are some of the more popular ones to go to. They all have elementary and middle school grades. Moses Brown, Wheeler and the Lincoln School are also set in the East Side. Many of these students do choose to go to Classical in the 9th grade.
Schools long gone: John Howland, Summit Ave, Doyle Ave and Abbott Street
Meanwhile property taxes on a $500k home in nearby Seekonk and Rehoboth MA are just $5k! Over the course of a 30 year mortgage, that's a $300k difference. And the schools in both Massachusetts towns are much higher rated.
Well- why don't we all move to Seekonk or Rehoboth you might ask?
A few reasons are:
1. Lack of city water & sewer
2. Mostly oil or propane options
3. Lack of walkable neighborhoods & no restaurants, cultural amenities and so on...
In other words, Seekonk and Rehoboth are rural communities with few services. If you have kids and like driving them- then sure, it's probably a better option in terms of the schools.
Now don't go accusing me of liking high taxes (!!!)- I'm just giving reasons why people prefer the options available in city residential neighborhoods.
Actually, the 5K in annual taxes in Seekonk or Rehoboth for a 500K house sounds kind of low? In Providence, there are homes between Hope Street and the river beyond Blackstone Blvd with taxes a lot higher than 30K per year. In the vicinity around where the owner of Ross Simons Jewelers live, the taxes are north of 80K, it seems unbelievable, and this was before the last several tax hikes.
Well- why don't we all move to Seekonk or Rehoboth you might ask?
A few reasons are:
1. Lack of city water & sewer
2. Mostly oil or propane options
3. Lack of walkable neighborhoods & no restaurants, cultural amenities and so on...
In other words, Seekonk and Rehoboth are rural communities with few services.
The thing is neither Seekonk and Rehoboth are that far away from Providence. It adds about 10-15 minutes more to the trip. Compared directly to the East Side, yes, there's a shortage of walkable amenities; but compared to some of the other neighborhoods in Providence, you're likely to be driving and parking anyway to go to your restaurants and enjoy your cultural amenities.
Meanwhile in the MA communities you're also getting a house with attached garage on a much larger lot with actual woods around the perimeter and not an immediate view of your neighbor's beer belly behind the window. The public schools are quite a bit better and the crime rate is much much lower. We're not talking about some actual far flung rural community here. Barrington is just as far with an even longer commute.
I guess what I'm trying to say is between private schools, property taxes and car taxes, Providence can be a mighty expensive proposition for a family. I think the city has a lot of potential to steal jobs and talent from the Boston area, but the math right now doesn't make sense yet.
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