Show us your vintage home!

[Big Man]

Funny how people don't mention these things when talking about the good old days. My property tax is less then one weeks pay.

Since 1927, this house has increased in tax value a little over $66,000.00. Other than the addition of electricity in 1930, not much at all has changed to the house. I'd guess that 90% of the furnishings in the house are the same as was there in 1927. The old barn that used to sit at the end of the drive is long gone. So, all things considered, I believe the 1927 tax valuation can be reasonably compared to the 2013 tax valuation.

In 1927 the tax for this house was $42.56. In 2013 the tax for this house was $425.32. It took my Grandfather about 42 days work to earn enough to pay his taxes. It takes me about three days to pay mine.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

You're lucky. Of three properties we own, the cabin is about 1,500 a year, the shop is about the same, and the house is about 7,500 a year.

Funny how people don't mention these things when talking about the good old days. My property tax is less then one weeks pay.

 

[jamespowers]

Funny how people don't mention these things when talking about the good old days. My property tax is less then one weeks pay.

Move out here. You'll be fine if you make $8,000 a week. lol lol lol

 

[jamespowers]

Since 1927, this house has increased in tax value a little over $66,000.00. Other than the addition of electricity in 1930, not much at all has changed to the house. I'd guess that 90% of the furnishings in the house are the same as was there in 1927. The old barn that used to sit at the end of the drive is long gone. So, all things considered, I believe the 1927 tax valuation can be reasonably compared to the 2013 tax valuation.

In 1927 the tax for this house was $42.56. In 2013 the tax for this house was $425.32. It took my Grandfather about 42 days work to earn enough to pay his taxes. It takes me about three days to pay mine.

Using the inflation calculator from the Bureau of Labor statistics, 42.56 is about $571.37 today. You are getting away cheaper but not by much.

 

[jamespowers]

You're lucky. Of three properties we own, the cabin is about 1,500 a year, the shop is about the same, and the house is about 7,500 a year.

Wow! Your tax rate up there is HUGE!

 

[jamespowers]

In 1930 my Grandfather was working at the McDowell Hardware Company. He was making about $1.00 per day (that was a 10 hour work day, by the way). Given that wage, he had to work a little over two days to pay that power bill. I don't know what kind job you have or what you make, but I'd venture a guess that you don't have to spend over two days (gross) wages on a power bill. [huh]

Using the inflation calculator, you are looking at about $32 there now. I paid less for my mother's place last month. Then again, this is summer and you don't use the heater etc. much.

 

[ButteMT61]

You're lucky. Of three properties we own, the cabin is about 1,500 a year, the shop is about the same, and the house is about 7,500 a year.

Wow. We live in Pasadena, and it's $1200 a year. My mom's homes in PA and WA cost 3x as much. So much for insane Kalifornia!Prop 13 is the only reason people own homes here...

 

[HudsonHawk]

Move out here. You'll be fine if you make $8,000 a week. lol lol lol

You mean you don't?

 

[jamespowers]

Wow. We live in Pasadena, and it's $1200 a year. My mom's homes in PA and WA cost 3x as much. So much for insane Kalifornia!Prop 13 is the only reason people own homes here...

Quite true.

 

[jamespowers]

You mean you don't?

But of course.

 

[HudsonHawk]

You're lucky. Of three properties we own, the cabin is about 1,500 a year, the shop is about the same, and the house is about 7,500 a year.

Taxes on my house (value of about $150,000) are about $7,500/year, with a homestead exemption. Most of that is local school taxes. Taxes on my "ranch" (which includes 25 acres and a house), valued at about $130,000, without any exemptions, is about $1,200.

 

[jamespowers]

Taxes on my house (value of about $150,000) are about $7,500/year, with a homestead exemption. Most of that is local school taxes. Taxes on my "ranch" (which includes 25 acres and a house), valued at about $130,000, without any exemptions, is about $1,200.

$7,500!? On a 150,000 house?! Geez, in ten years you have paid for half the house! That is insane!

The ranch is at least a bit better......

 

[LizzieMaine]

950 square foot, 5 room house, built in 1911. Located in an "undesirable" neighborhood, with the back yard bordering a commercial junkyard. Current valuation $92,000 -- annual property tax, $2052.

Reason? Huge swaths of downtown property taken off the tax rolls in favor of "non profit organizations" used as tax gimmicks and shelters by out-of-state rich people. The working class pays their fare once again.

 

[HudsonHawk]

$7,500!? On a 150,000 house?! Geez, in ten years you have paid for half the house! That is insane!

The ranch is at least a bit better......

Yep...like I said, school taxes are almost $5,000 of that. Here in Texas, schools are funded and administered at the local level, not at state or county level. For example, there are 18 independent school districts in my county, each responsible for collecting its own taxes and funding its existence. As a result, those in "desirable" neighborhoods pay out the nose for the schools. It would be a little less bitter if I actually had kids who would use the schools, but overall, I don't particularly object to living in an area where the schools are well funded and highly rated...it attracts a certain type of resident, one who values education, and consequently the area has fewer discipline problems and less overall thuggery.

Of course the flip side to my area vs yours is the actual cost of the house. My house...4-bedroom, 2,500 sf on a quarter-acre with a pool in a desirable neighborhood...$150,000. I don't think I could get the same type of thing for that price in your neck of the woods.

 

[jamespowers]

Yep...like I said, school taxes are almost $5,000 of that. Here in Texas, schools are funded and administered at the local level, not at state or county level. For example, there are 18 independent school districts in my county, each responsible for collecting its own taxes and funding its existence. As a result, those in "desirable" neighborhoods pay out the nose for the schools. It would be a little less bitter if I actually had kids who would use the schools, but overall, I don't particularly object to living in an area where the schools are well funded and highly rated...it attracts a certain type of resident, one who values education, and consequently the area has fewer discipline problems and less overall thuggery.

Of course the flip side to my area vs yours is the actual cost of the house. My house...4-bedroom, 2,500 sf on a quarter-acre with a pool in a desirable neighborhood...$150,000. I don't think I could get the same type of thing for that price in your neck of the woods.

They fund our schools that way here as well but all those taxes require a 2/3rds majority to pass. Consequently few do---and I make sure of it. Your house here would be 5 times that here---maybe more.

 

[jamespowers]

950 square foot, 5 room house, built in 1911. Located in an "undesirable" neighborhood, with the back yard bordering a commercial junkyard. Current valuation $92,000 -- annual property tax, $2052.

Reason? Huge swaths of downtown property taken off the tax rolls in favor of "non profit organizations" used as tax gimmicks and shelters by out-of-state rich people. The working class pays their fare once again.

Holy Crimony!

 

[Big Man]

Using the inflation calculator from the Bureau of Labor statistics, 42.56 is about $571.37 today. You are getting away cheaper but not by much.

Not really sure I understand the comparison using the inflation calculator. In 1927 it took my grandfather 42 days to make $42.00 to pay his tax bill. In 2013 it took me working (ok, drawing my retirement) about three days to pay my tax bill.

I know, factoring in for inflation, I make considerably more money (relatively) than he did, but at the time (1927) my grandfather's earnings were very good for around here. My retirement earnings today, however, fall a little on the low side of average for this area.

I still think it's "less expensive" today than back then - relatively speaking.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

But the dirty little secret is that here the property taxes, vehicle registration, etc, all go into General Funds which means that the schools, for whom the property tax revenue was meant for, still end up having to fight for their share of the money at budget time.

 

[jamespowers]

Not really sure I understand the comparison using the inflation calculator. In 1927 it took my grandfather 42 days to make $42.00 to pay his tax bill. In 2013 it took me working (ok, drawing my retirement) about three days to pay my tax bill.

I know, factoring in for inflation, I make considerably more money (relatively) than he did, but at the time (1927) my grandfather's earnings were very good for around here. My retirement earnings today, however, fall a little on the low side of average for this area.

I still think it's "less expensive" today than back then - relatively speaking.

I was just comparing apples to apples. Money is always a constant that you can quantify. Work is difficult to compare. You do have it slightly better than they did for that one bill but you more than make up for it with the host of other taxes that never existed in 1927. I won't even mention all the newfangled things that we "need" today that they didn't have to spend money on back then.

 

[HudsonHawk]

They fund our schools that way here as well but all those taxes require a 2/3rds majority to pass. Consequently few do---and I make sure of it. Your house here would be 5 times that here---maybe more.

So in other words...you pay a 500% premium to live where it's cold and infested with hippies?