I can't remember where I read it, but PA is looking to do away with municipal school tax and go to one big statewide pot of tax money. That way high revenue generating districts can subsidize low income districts. I can't remember the details of it because it really only affects me in one way, as a taxpayer.
I bet the high revenue generating districts will just add an additional local school tax, so get ready for that
I could've bought a Skyline GTST.
Instead I stuck that money in a high-yield savings account. And every extra dime and dollar is going into it until I have enough to own the whole trailer park. Frig off, Lahey.
Wow. I have no idea property tax can be that expensive... I thought CA is expensive... and due to our price differences, good schools end up getting more money than poor schools..., I thought that contributes to the wealth gap, but you guys are freaking worse off! Good areas tax the hell out of rich guys for schools, while poorer district probably just get nothing? Unbelievable.
Anyway, Cam, you need to talk to your local realtor to ask about these unforeseen expenses. CA prop tax is annually about 1.5% of your home value. Like I said, my $400k home ended up to be about $6k/yr. But apparently this # can vary widely depending on your area...
Getting in to the process for looking for a home. Got an agent, and a recommended mortgage company to get the pre-approval process off the ground.
The fiancee and I will be touring a new townhome/single-home community tomorrow. They have some pre-builts, but depending on what's available and what's planned out, we may be leaning for a new build (surprisingly affordable, but I'm betting they throw all the desirable options into multiple-of-$10k packages... we'll see).
The place building is rated an A+ on BBB, with 2 yelp reviews. Any other way to research their quality? How much weight can I put in a BBB rating?
affordable new build on-site? or is it mostly pre-fab?
billi, do you guys have local income taxes in CA? I noticed NYS has lower income and sales taxes, but nearly ever county w/i the state adds significant local taxes
I have zero experience buying brand new homes, so not sure how to help you there, GS. If I were you, I'd want to pay visits to their past developments and see how those look over the years. If you feel brave enough, maybe knock on a door or two and ask the current home owners how they like their new homes so far...
Balki, I pay income taxes to the federal government, state government. Then the property tax per our discussion and sales tax(~9%). Only basic food items like milk and produce are exempt from the sales tax. I really don't recall any additional taxes that we Californians have to pay. We probably also pay a much higher gas tax than you guys, but not sure about percentage..., this is probably why our gas is usually above national average. I really can't imagine how you guys can charge such expensive special taxes in specific local areas like you described... makes me wonder if those taxes really are worth it... or designed to keep rift rafts like me out of their neighborhood?
Unless you can talk to people who bought their homes already, or even better, the tradesmen from the subcontractors who did various parts of the houses (the HVAC installers/plumbers/electricians/tilers/drywallers/etc) and aren't employed by the general contractor, you're going to be flying a bit blind into this one.Originally Posted by GreatScawt
Loan was approved. Now we wait for Appraisal.
This part of the transaction was the most unpleasant for me. Looking at houses was fun, packing up and moving went pretty smoothy. But the whole going back and forth over selling price and then waiting for the financing to get approved and hoping that the home inspector doesn't uncover anything really nasty was/is the worst part.
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