I hate property tax

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Well, come to NJ!!!!

The Condo fees were $250/mo ($4000/yr) for things like Snow Shoveling, Termite removal and Roof Repair (Gotta love Hoboken!) on a 1300sf unit that went for $510K.... Taxes were $8K/yr.

Get a HOUSE nearby for $500K and pay nothing in fees (you own it, so YOU pay for the roof repair, you know?) and taxes are $10K a year.

Nearby areas, like Montclair, on a similar house pay upwards of $12K-$14K/yr.

One of the biggest problems in NJ is its inefficient system of townships that require such a de-centralized system for things like police, education and DPW... Some towns only measuring a mile square (such as Hoboken) have their own SWAT team FCS! (Remember those pics with the Hooters chicks?).

Add to that the abuses of positions, salaries and benefits by elected officials and you get one big mess that usually is only cleaned up by punishing underlings that had nothing to do with it in the first place.

Yeah baby! :wark:

i hear they capped annual RE tax increases and that they will actually be lower next year, depending on the town.

 

[Lithium381]

mine is 5k / annually. .. ... about double my HOA

 

[Eos]

i hear they capped annual RE tax increases and that they will actually be lower next year, depending on the town.

The state did the same when I was 17 years old or so. Magically, the assessed value shot up so more tax could be collected.

 

[Mike Gayner]

similar to body corporate?

Body corporates here only exist in apartment/townhouse/unit complexes. I've never seen a body corporate controlled neighbourhood, except those gated communities.

 

[goobernoodles]

I saw a craigslist listing for a car the other day. The reason for selling? His HOA forbids parking a 2nd car (#1 in garage) in HIS OWN DRIVEWAY.

Fuck HOA's. Forever.

 

[GotIssues]

I saw a craigslist listing for a car the other day. The reason for selling? His HOA forbids parking a 2nd car (#1 in garage) in HIS OWN DRIVEWAY.

Fuck HOA's. Forever.

Yes. That one HOA means that all HOAs suck. Solid conclusion.

Yes there are bad HOAs, but for every 1 that takes a piss in your Cheerios, there are 99 that are good.

 

[Ninjahedge]

Add to it the fact that they will always tell you when your taxes go up, but you have to apply to get your taxes re-assessed and possibly lowered.

Taxes could go to $0 and it would be your responsibility to tell them you wanted to pay $0...

 

[Capt Caveman]

Yes. That one HOA means that all HOAs suck. Solid conclusion.

Yes there are bad HOAs, but for every 1 that takes a piss in your Cheerios, there are 99 that are good.

True. I had a very good one when I lived in Seattle.

 

[etrigan420]

Somewhere around $3500/yr in taxes, if memory serves...ours is paid via escrow.

$40/mo in HOA fees. I like our HOA. They keep the common areas and parks of our neighborhood nice and landscaped.

 

[SunnyD]

I'm somewhat oblivious to my property taxes. My bank escrows them for me, along with my homeowner's insurance.

 

[goobernoodles]

Yes. That one HOA means that all HOAs suck. Solid conclusion.

Yes there are bad HOAs, but for every 1 that takes a piss in your Cheerios, there are 99 that are good.

Because I list one thing, that's the basis of my entire conclusion. Yeah. That's it.

To me, HOA cons outweigh the cons in principle. Why would I buy a house only to be handcuffed in many ways with regards to what I can do on my own property? All for what? Uniformity, cut grass and trying to avoid bad neighbors? Screw that.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Glad I saw this thread, almost forgot to pay mine! $950 / year right now. Only silver lining to the shitty housing values.

 

[DrPizza]

Because I list one thing, that's the basis of my entire conclusion. Yeah. That's it.

To me, HOA cons outweigh the cons in principle. Why would I buy a house only to be handcuffed in many ways with regards to what I can do on my own property? All for what? Uniformity, cut grass and trying to avoid bad neighbors? Screw that.

It appears that if in an HOA, it's actually like having a ticking time bomb. Maybe it'll never expire; maybe it'll expire next year; maybe you bought one that was in the process of exploding & just didn't pay enough attention. In the case of 1 car in the garage only; not in the driveway - what happens if the "right" people start running the HOA and decide, "hey, that's a great idea!" There are numerous examples where people never had a problem with an HOA until *after* a rule gets changed.

 

[Capt Caveman]

It appears that if in an HOA, it's actually like having a ticking time bomb. Maybe it'll never expire; maybe it'll expire next year; maybe you bought one that was in the process of exploding & just didn't pay enough attention. In the case of 1 car in the garage only; not in the driveway - what happens if the "right" people start running the HOA and decide, "hey, that's a great idea!" There are numerous examples where people never had a problem with an HOA until *after* a rule gets changed.

That's why if you're in a HOA you need to be involved with it. Be aware of what changes may be voted on and have a say.

 

[brianmanahan]

Yes. That one HOA means that all HOAs suck. Solid conclusion.

Yes there are bad HOAs, but for every 1 that takes a piss in your Cheerios, there are 99 that are good.

hoa is a retarded idea, in my book theres no such thing as good one, and i would never live in a place where such a thing existed. they take away freedom from people to do what they want with their property, and theres no place in america for that.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Ouch, that sucks.

I thought mine were bad. I pay about 360/mo or so in taxes.

IF it's any consolation, your outrageous HOA fees keep people from painting their houses like these:

I have to admit that actually looks pretty cool! Why do houses all have to be the same bland colors? I think it would be awesome to see a whole neighborhood like that. It almost looks like they're made of lego or something.

Though if you're going to do this, may as well get paid for it.

 

[Arkaign]

That's why if you're in a HOA you need to be involved with it. Be aware of what changes may be voted on and have a say.

F that, we have enough shit to deal with in life. Micro-managing busybodies that want me to pay them for the priviledge? No thanks. I've already got a city government, a county government, a state government, and a federal government, who all already have so many fucking rules and regulations that put end to end they would probably complete a god damned orbit around the solar system.

I prefer laid-back neighborhoods with laid-back folks. Life is too stressful to wonder if Mr. and Mrs. Jack Ass across the street have the correct color doorknob or have their garage light on after 7:15pm, or whether or not I can display my granddad's 3' flag in observance of memorial day.

 

[thegimp03]

Here we got HOA of $370 a month, property taxes of like 1.x%, state income tax of like 9-10% and sales tax of 8-9%. And the HOA is still bitchy and the state's still broke.

 

[Engineer]

No HOA
$1,875 per year in property taxes (trash bill is included in property taxes) on home.
No mortgage

Someone has to pay for the shit that we have. Everybody wants all the shit but nobody wants to pay for it....

 

[Ns1]

Can someone tell me why renting is bad again?

HOA + Prop Taxes + Maintenance = pissing money away

 

[Engineer]

Can someone tell me why renting is bad again?

HOA + Prop Taxes + Maintenance = pissing money away

Do you not think that the rent pays these things for the owner of the property you are renting?

 

[Red Squirrel]

Can someone tell me why renting is bad again?

HOA + Prop Taxes + Maintenance = pissing money away

When you rent if there's a problem there's nothing you can do about it. Renting is better in situations where you are not sure if you will live there for long though.

A home without a HOA is not that bad. I've never experienced a HOA but from the sounds of it, I would definitely not want to live in one.

Maintenance is the fun part of home ownership. Well some things are not as fun, such as digging up weeping tiles. I have to do that next year. 13k. But if I was renting I would have to deal with the occasional basement leak and not be able to do anything about it.

 

[RaistlinZ]

Can someone tell me why renting is bad again?

HOA + Prop Taxes + Maintenance = pissing money away

I like renting too. I rent a master bedroom for a decent rate and still get my own covered parking space, my own bathroom, wireless internet + HD cable, and share the kitchen and living room. And I can pick up and go whenever I want. It's like having my own house without being tied to it, or on the hook when something breaks.

Renting FTMFW.

 

[waggy]

Can someone tell me why renting is bad again?

HOA + Prop Taxes + Maintenance = pissing money away

renting ain't bad. not everyone needs or wants to own a home. neither is "bad"

 

[Ns1]

Do you not think that the rent pays these things for the owner of the property you are renting?

As a former tax accountant, I've seen more than a few rental properties lose money before taking into account the tax benefit.