Taxes Taxes and more taxes! (Savannah, Jersey: houses, buying, public schools)

[louroc2]

These websites have been helpful to me. Good Luck.

Chatham Tax - Tax Bill Search

Chatham County

[fellini123]

Thanks Louroc the second site is where I got all the tax information from, you are right it is a good site. But I am still in tax shock!!!
We are back from the trip, we did find 3 houses we are interested in. I have to make some phone calls tomorrow to find out about building permits, as we would need to put a garage and carriage house on one of the properties and a "sunroom/sewing room" on another .

Alice back in Virginia

[ellie]

The world of building permits is a tricky one. Always be aware you will need to very patient and as polite as you can manage. The City of Savannah has an extensive but complex set of rules about building, and each section of the historic district may or may not be a part of a separate overlay zone. To to the City website and do a search there.

Once you get your basic info, try to find an experienced contractor who has worked on similar projects. They'll need to know the pitfalls. It can be a difficult task to get anything done. Fortunately now with the slowdown in construction, there will be a number of contractors who will have the time to work for you. Interview people, get references, and talk to a few actual clients.

I'll be trying to think of several contractors I can recommend. At this point, though, you need to do some reading and talking to the city.

[bgnzsavnh]

Originally Posted by Padgett2

My curiosity got out of hand and I had to go pull my last tax bill to check on what I paid. On an assessed Fair Market Value of 258,500, I paid $251.51 for first six months of the year. The final six months will be about the same.

I live outside of the city therefore, some of my tax bill is for special services that city dwellers don't have to pay. but then, I don't have to pay city taxes.

Of the $258,500, the Net Assessment is on only $103,400 with a $2000.00 exemption for a total taxable value of $101,400.

So, perhaps the figures that you have found are not the actual tax bite after all the discounts, etc that are added on.

The millage rate determines the amount due. For example: the millage rate for the schools is 6.898 or $91.46 for the six months. I get a credit (I have no idea what for) of $55.18. That leaves me with a $39.62 payment toward maintaining the schools for six months. With eight grandchildren in the school system, that's a bargain.

The Credit is a gift from the state.
Georgia Department of Revenue

[fellini123]

Ellie, about your post. I have a contractor here in Virginia. He used to work in GA around Atlanta I think. Anyway he is chomping at the bit to get back to GA and would love to come and work on a house for us.
How are the building permit people with out of town contractors??
Will they give him, and then us a harder time because he is from out of town??
we are not building a hugh addition or anything just a smaller side porch with the ability to have windows in it or not. It would match the front of the house as very best we can. Also maybe a small deck on the back of the house.

Alice

[ellie]

I'm sure he can do it. Plenty of people have moved here from out of town and gone into contracting. He just needs to follow all of the rules that they lay out. If you make the inspectors angry, your project can be held up for months. Have seen/heard about it more times than I can count.

And not all of the inspectors know all of the rules, but they know their rules. They can range anywhere from really great people to totally MIA. There's a load of ego that gets built in, which is why you and your contractor must keep in mind that it doesn't make one bit of difference how something was done any place else on earth; you're now in Savannah. So smile, be polite, keep up with your paperwork, and do what they ask.

Things get renovated and built all the time here, but I want you to be prepared that it's not always as easy as it looks from the outside.

As an aside, I want to point out that we're also in a huge construction slump. If your contractor is thinking he wants to go into business here, he'll probably change his mind. I know many people in the construction industry. It's scary right now.

[fellini123]

LOL He was working in I think the Atlanta area and then his mom got ill and he moved back here to be close to her. She is fine now and I think he is looking for an excuse to move. And it is convient that we need something built. Weather he would stay in savannah afterward I'm not sure. I think the building slump is everywhere.

Alice

[gamecock43]

ummmm...I'm still concerned with the tax prices here! Are taxes about 1% -1.25% of the estimated tax price of the property, no matter what the propety sells for? So I am thinking its about $2500-3000 a year on a $250,000 property=$200-250 a month? Or is it higher? I briefly checked the websites out but found it hard to understand.
I am just abit concerned because of the properies I have looked at- a good deal of them are asking way above or below the estimated tax value.

[Padgett2]

The TAXES are based on the milliage rate assigned by the City, County and State. It is levied against the Assessed rate as valued by the TAX ASSESSOR. The taxes have nothing, and I repeat, nothing to do with the selling price of a house.

The selling price is based on what the owner wants, and what the real estate agent thinks they can get. The mortgage company will probably want to have the property APPRAISED by someone in the business of deciding what the property will sell for. The appraiser will look in the house, judge the up-grades, gold plated faucets, marble tubs, and granite counters. The TAX ASSESSOR does not see any of the interior. But he is guilded by what property was sold for in the neighborhood since the last assessment period.

The value placed on the property varies according to the TAX ASSESSOR, n Location plays a big part in this. A little old house in a very desirable location will pay a higher tax rate than a larger newer house in another area. The larger newer house might SELL at a higher price, and the tax payment on the property might be lower than the little old house in a great section of town.

[Padgett2]

Gamecock, I know it seems that I am trying to evade giving you a straight answer, but the fact is that there are so many varibles involved in the tax assessment in any given area. Waterfront property has a higher rate than marshfront. Both are higher than the house across the street from them, But the house across the street from the waterfront property will have a higher assessment than a similar house that's no where near the water. Why? Because it is across the street from houses that may have sold for a great deal during the previous assessment period.

Is the house in an area that has been zoned for commercial or industrial use? Or residential/office? Brick or wood frame?
Is it on a paved street with sidewalks? City water and sewage or private well and septic tank? You have to know the section of the County before you can make a logical comparision about the taxes between properties with widely different prices. The milliage rates may be different.

Nor can you go by what the seller tells you he paid in taxes. You have no way of knowing what type of discount he may be getting. And he probably has forgotten that he is getting any.

But yes, the tax bite on a 250,000 dollar house could be steep at the present time. It pays to shop around. Living in a particular historic section of town may simply not be worth it!