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Old 10-14-2009, 11:08 PM
 
28,027 posts, read 62,474,332 times
Reputation: 23007

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Anyone that say California Property Owners are under-taxed... doesn't own property here.

Just received my Tax Bills and for "Fun" I figured the percent of the Total Tax Bill to Value...

The least expensive is just under 2% and the most is over 5%

The rate is 1.41% before factoring in all the extra Assessments which quickly add up...

The over 5% taxed property is a very small sliver of land with no value... the city has it listed for $1076 since nothing can be built on it and it's only functions as open space buffer... doesn't prevent special assessments such as $195 for schools, $90 for violence prevention, $96 for County Bus Service, $85 for library, $64 for flood control and $102 for City Landscaping... all this on a parcel with no value...
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Old 10-15-2009, 12:47 AM
 
15,551 posts, read 25,642,831 times
Reputation: 30514
Yep -- and the fixed charges and special assessments section is getting mighty crowded.

I do think we should get our violence prevention money back -- it obviously isn't working ....
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Old 10-15-2009, 01:09 AM
 
Location: The Golden State
205 posts, read 582,429 times
Reputation: 145
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallysmom View Post
Yep -- and the fixed charges and special assessments section is getting mighty crowded.

I do think we should get our violence prevention money back -- it obviously isn't working ....

Really? Is it violent where you live? I've never had that problem. I find Oakland a very diverse and friendly community.

As for taxes... it costs to live in a nice place. I'm sure you could relocate to a community with cheaper taxes...but you'd miss the atmosphere of the bay area.. and we won't even mention the fantastic bay views.
Personally, I can't imagine not awaking in the morning knowing the Golden Gate bridge is just a stone's throw away.
It's great here. We are really blessed to live in this corner of the world.
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Old 10-15-2009, 11:24 AM
 
28,027 posts, read 62,474,332 times
Reputation: 23007
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallysmom View Post
Yep -- and the fixed charges and special assessments section is getting mighty crowded.

I do think we should get our violence prevention money back -- it obviously isn't working ....
I agree completely... the Violence Prevention Assessment was sold to Oakland Voters to fund additional Police Officers so the Department would be fully staffed...

Oakland Voters approved the Assessment and the City has yet to fully staff the Department
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Old 10-15-2009, 11:33 AM
 
28,027 posts, read 62,474,332 times
Reputation: 23007
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yvetta View Post
Really? Is it violent where you live? I've never had that problem. I find Oakland a very diverse and friendly community.

As for taxes... it costs to live in a nice place. I'm sure you could relocate to a community with cheaper taxes...but you'd miss the atmosphere of the bay area.. and we won't even mention the fantastic bay views.
Personally, I can't imagine not awaking in the morning knowing the Golden Gate bridge is just a stone's throw away.
It's great here. We are really blessed to live in this corner of the world.
True... but even in the Bay Area one can have the Atmosphere and Fantastic Bay Views and not live within city limits...

One of my Co-Workers has a fantastic view from Mt Tam all the way to the Santa Cruz Mountains... her home is in unincorporated Alameda County...

I really like the Bay Area... my point is many of us pay 50% or higher taxes than Prop 13 limit of 1%....

I have 17 special Assessments in addition to the 6 voter approved Debt Service on top of Prop 13's County Wide Tax of 1%
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Old 10-15-2009, 11:46 AM
 
15,551 posts, read 25,642,831 times
Reputation: 30514
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yvetta View Post
Really? Is it violent where you live? I've never had that problem. I find Oakland a very diverse and friendly community.

As for taxes... it costs to live in a nice place. I'm sure you could relocate to a community with cheaper taxes...but you'd miss the atmosphere of the bay area.. and we won't even mention the fantastic bay views.
Personally, I can't imagine not awaking in the morning knowing the Golden Gate bridge is just a stone's throw away.
It's great here. We are really blessed to live in this corner of the world.
Actually, taxes here low. Not as low as Prop 13 meant them to be, but that's a whole other debate. For instance, my sister in Pittsburgh PA lives in a Montclair compatible neighborhood, and her house was purchased for $142,000 when she bought in 2002. Her "property" taxes are 3200 bucks. I put property in quotes because, in addition to those she pays "school" taxes on her property of nearly the same amount. Her total tax bill is 6200 bucks a year.

And it's like that in a lot of places.

And Ultrarunner was correct in interpreting my little joke. The Violence Prevention measure isn't working, we've never had the officers we've been promised, the officers promised were supposed to be part of community policing, which I believe has been discarded YET AGAIN and it was just another money grab.
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Old 10-17-2009, 06:36 AM
 
Location: San Leandro
4,576 posts, read 9,008,824 times
Reputation: 3248
Yes our property taxes are low but the wear and tear shows. PA is alot like the chicago area where I am from...rust belt aside ..Pa isnt exactly buckling at the knees with no middle class with decaying 1960's infrastructure.
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Old 10-17-2009, 07:44 AM
 
Location: Los Altos Hills, CA
36,399 posts, read 65,884,144 times
Reputation: 20771
Here are my special charges

First amount is delinquent after 12/10/09 and the second amount is delinquent after 4/10/10
MOSQUITO ABATEMENT $0.87 $0.87
CSA PARAMEDIC $12.97 $12.97
CSA VECTOR CONTROL $3.60 $3.60
CITY EMERG MEDICAL $6.03 $6.03
CITY PARAMEDIC SRV $4.80 $4.80
SCHOOL MEASURE E $97.50 $97.50
OAK FIRE PREV DIST $32.50 $32.50
VIOLENCE PREV TAX $45.36 $45.36
FLOOD BENEFIT 12 $8.00 $8.00
CSA VECTOR CNTRL B $2.04 $2.04
MOSQUITO ASSESS 2 $1.25 $1.25
AC TRANSIT MEAS VV $48.00 $48.00
ROCKRDGE LIBRY CFD $12.50 $12.50
CITY LIBRARY SERV $42.53 $42.53
ROCKRDGE WATER AD $70.37 $70.37
EBMUD WETWEATHER $32.02 $32.02
EAST BAY TRAIL LLD $2.72 $2.72
EBRP PARK SAFETY/M $6.00 $6.00
CITY LANDSCP/LIGHT $55.77 $55.77

Total $484.83 $484.83

As far as Violence Prevention Assessment-if its not going towards its intended purpose, it should really be repealed and we should have it credited to next years bill.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tallysmom
Actually, taxes here low. Not as low as Prop 13 meant them to be, but that's a whole other debate. For instance, my sister in Pittsburgh PA lives in a Montclair compatible neighborhood, and her house was purchased for $142,000 when she bought in 2002. Her "property" taxes are 3200 bucks. I put property in quotes because, in addition to those she pays "school" taxes on her property of nearly the same amount. Her total tax bill is 6200 bucks a year.
WOW $142K in Montclair in 2002 was an amazing deal. Back then the median home price in Montclair was already over half a million.
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Old 10-17-2009, 11:27 AM
 
15,551 posts, read 25,642,831 times
Reputation: 30514
Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair View Post
WOW $142K in Montclair in 2002 was an amazing deal. Back then the median home price in Montclair was already over half a million.
Prices have never been high like that in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I was more referring to the neighborhood style.

Her old house that she sold was a 5 bedroom around 3000 square feet old home, Victorian style -- not as gingerbready as out here, though. It needed some work -- the kitchen, although very functional was remodeled in the wrong style, but the house was in fine livable condition. It sat on a half acre. It had 5 working gas fireplaces, with original tile work around them. It had a great entry foyer, with a fireplace and window seats, and a clear view of the grand staircase to the second level. And amazing natural light. On the landing turn of the staircase there was a six by six heavy glass window, with a large etched peacock design. Over that was one of the several original stained glass working transom windows.

One of the first things my sister did to this house was to redo the attic into the master suite. Attics in these houses are usually real rooms, but with the eaves and windows they feel very cubby like, unlike here where you have really unfinished places that are very short that aren't usable for living spaces.

She sold this house for ........ 198K in 2002. And it wasn't an easy sell -- people no longer want a nice deal on a nice house that needs work. If it had been picture perfect, she could have gotten about 260K...

I'm old school, though -- I'd rather buy something that hasn't been screwed up and screw it up to my liking, although it might not be the most advantageous according to the idiots in charge of those sort of things.
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Old 10-18-2009, 01:07 PM
 
3,634 posts, read 6,026,561 times
Reputation: 11374
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultrarunner View Post
I really like the Bay Area... my point is many of us pay 50% or higher taxes than Prop 13 limit of 1%....
My taxes in SF were reasonable when I lived there, but I'm in Yolo Co. now and my taxes here are $6900 a year on a home taxed on a cost basis of $455K. We have two supplemental taxes costing me nearly $1000 a year for new schools that were built just in time to close an equal number due to declining enrollments.

Since I can telecommute, I'm leaving CA altogether and moving someplace with better weather than the Central Valley, a more functional state government, and a $2100 tax bill on a 1750 sq. ft. house in the woods next to the ocean. I love the Bay Area but can't afford to move back there, and the high property taxes are one reason.
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