Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

28firefighter

I'm the only person in my group of friends that has any appreciation for cars whatsoever. 

Some view them as antiquated and others view them as appliances that they couldn't care less about. For those in the latter group, their focus is on cost and having somewhere to plug their iPhone in. The former spend their time lecturing me on how the modern car will be gone by the time my son will be able to drive. 

Really unfortunate if you ask me.  I don't see my passion for cars disappearing 

berri

I think it has an element tied to nostalgia. Today's younger people grew up on technology advances, so I agree that old cars are probably going to decline in value down the road, unless they become status symbols for guys like Facebook's Zuckerman.

fintail

There's still a significant youth movement for cars - it's just not usually for the boomer-centric stuff that crosses the B-J auction lot. Those auctions can be misleading, as they are aimed directly at the most affluent and collectible/nostalgia-loving generation in history. Those in their 20s and 30s mostly couldn't care less about a 67 Chevelle or 57 Chevy, especially a 70s style custom. Come back in 20 years and see what a pristine stock Mk IV TT Supra, 90s RX-7, hot Hondas, etc etc etc are worth. Those are the drunken idiot bidder magnets of the future.

It has happened before. Common prewar cars were often worth more in raw dollars 30 or more years ago than today. It also happened with other collectibles - things like carnival glass and heavy dark Victorian furniture haven't fared well either, the market is going to the big antique show in the sky.

abacomike

henryn said:

Lots of folks don't realize that California is a massive agricultural state, and also has vast tracts of rural/wilderness areas where many people live a very determined country life. Parts of CA are indistinguishable from Nebraska, Kansas or Appalachia for that matter. The claim is that CA has "all 50 states rolled into one".

My question is, how do those people living an "agricultural" or "very determined country life" afford to pay the taxes and other costs of living there?

Very difficult - the State income tax is one of the highest rates in the country.  Sales taxes are out of sight.  Cost of gasoline and food also sky high.  Just registration for you car is outrageous - my car would cost me over $1000 a year just for registration/plates.  I could not afford to live in CA.

stickguy

I want to get out of NJ to cut the cost of living, but no way in heck would I ever consider CA.

Mr_Shiftright

That's a common perception but actually for property taxes it's not true. CA ranks 32nd in property taxes as a percentage of home value---Florida is higher, at 22nd. CA has one of the higher sales tax rates, but really only .5% (1/2 percent) higher than Tennessee or Indiana.

Where we "gotcha" is in state income tax. We are #1 in that category with 7.75%---although a dozen or so states have 5 & 6% rates. FLA and TX are zero.

So a person living in rural CA who owns a modest home and has a modest income isn't burdened too much--a married couple living on around $37K to $58K a year only pays 4%. on taxable income + $575 or so.

Sure, Nevada is cheaper, but then, you're living in Nevada.

stickguy

NJ gets you all around. One of the highest property taxes (our real killer), but also fairly high sales tax, and income tax also towards the top end.

at least some other states that have one higher tax (like income tax) make up for it by being super cheap property taxes.

imidazol97

Mr_Shiftright said:

That's a common perception but actually for property taxes it's not true. CA ranks 32nd in property taxes as a percentage of home value---

Is that statistic deceiving because it uses percentages?

Callifornia by media reputation has much higher home prices than here in W. Ohio, e.g.. So our taxes here on a model 3 bedroom ranch worth $200K at say $2000 would be lower than the taxes in Calli on a $600K similar ranch at $5999. That would mean the taxes could be slightly less than triple the property tax absolute amount here in Ohio and those Calli taxes would be a lower percentage.

fintail

But in CA, older people pay tax on the purchase price rather than actual value, right? There's a huge lucky generation there who bought in for little, and now have a winning lottery ticket. The same thing exists here, maybe even more, as price appreciation has been more recent.

In WA, also no income tax - but loads of other tax, and the tax scheme is generally considered to be among the more regressive in the US. A friend of mine who lived in GA claimed he paid no less in tax there than here, though, with income tax and property tax rates (cheap house, higher rates).

stickguy

come to jersey, and get the $5,995 property tax, on the $200,000 house!

cdnpinhead

henryn said:

My question is, how do those people living an "agricultural" or "very determined country life" afford to pay the taxes and other costs of living there?

A significant number don't & move to AZ, NV or TX.

Go figure.

oldfarmer50

Mr_Shiftright said:

abacomike said:

cdnpinhead said:

abacomike said:

. . . the Coachella Valley's western cities (Palm Springs, Palm Desert, La Quinta, Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage and Bermuda Dunes) are staunchly the opposite of what the rest of California is. . .

Good point. That's why the county-by-county red/blue maps are more revealing than the state-by-state.

Actually, in this case, Riverside County is very different than most counties in California.  West of the mountain pass from Banning to the Los Angeles County Line is the opposite of the eastern part of the county - i.e. The Coachella Valley.  California is a strange environment when compared to the average State, whatever that means!  

Lots of folks don't realize that California is a massive agricultural state, and also has vast tracts of rural/wilderness areas where many people live a very determined country life. Parts of CA are indistinguishable from Nebraska, Kansas or Appalachia for that matter. The claim is that CA has "all 50 states rolled into one".





Didn't Will Rogers say the Depression turned the country upside down and everything loose rolled into California.

Mr_Shiftright

imidazol97 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

That's a common perception but actually for property taxes it's not true. CA ranks 32nd in property taxes as a percentage of home value---

Is that statistic deceiving because it uses percentages?

Callifornia by media reputation has much higher home prices than here in W. Ohio, e.g.. So our taxes here on a model 3 bedroom ranch worth $200K at say $2000 would be lower than the taxes in Calli on a $600K similar ranch at $5999. That would mean the taxes could be slightly less than triple the property tax absolute amount here in Ohio and those Calli taxes would be a lower percentage.

Well if you wanted to go by median property tax, CA is about $2,800, still substantially less than many states. Pretty much we tax state-wide at 1%.

New Jersey is brutal for property tax.

Mr_Shiftright

cdnpinhead said:

henryn said:

My question is, how do those people living an "agricultural" or "very determined country life" afford to pay the taxes and other costs of living there?

A significant number don't & move to AZ, NV or TX.

Go figure.

Not really, although you might be right in certain areas. Next to TX, California grew the most in population since the last census. It's possible that in the NE portion of CA people are moving E a little bit into Nevada.

People usually follow jobs, so the ones that migrate are going to cities. About 3 million more people a year move into U.S. cities each year.

So one day, theoretically, the countryside will be mighty sparse.

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

henryn said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Lots of folks don't realize that California is a massive agricultural state, and also has vast tracts of rural/wilderness areas where many people live a very determined country life. Parts of CA are indistinguishable from Nebraska, Kansas or Appalachia for that matter. The claim is that CA has "all 50 states rolled into one".

My question is, how do those people living an "agricultural" or "very determined country life" afford to pay the taxes and other costs of living there?

Very difficult - the State income tax is one of the highest rates in the country.  Sales taxes are out of sight.  Cost of gasoline and food also sky high.  Just registration for you car is outrageous - my car would cost me over $1000 a year just for registration/plates.  I could not afford to live in CA.

$1000 just to register a car? That's unAmerican. Are you talking about sales tax in that equation?

abacomike

oldfarmer50 said:

henryn said:

Lots of folks don't realize that California is a massive agricultural state, and also has vast tracts of rural/wilderness areas where many people live a very determined country life. Parts of CA are indistinguishable from Nebraska, Kansas or Appalachia for that matter. The claim is that CA has "all 50 states rolled into one".

My question is, how do those people living an "agricultural" or "very determined country life" afford to pay the taxes and other costs of living there?

Very difficult - the State income tax is one of the highest rates in the country.  Sales taxes are out of sight.  Cost of gasoline and food also sky high.  Just registration for you car is outrageous - my car would cost me over $1000 a year just for registration/plates.  I could not afford to live in CA.

$1000 just to register a car? That's unAmerican. Are you talking about sales tax in that equation?

No, just yearly registration for plates.  It's based on the car's fair value.  My son pays $450 a year on his car - and he bought it used!!! 

oldfarmer50

imidazol97 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

That's a common perception but actually for property taxes it's not true. CA ranks 32nd in property taxes as a percentage of home value---

Is that statistic deceiving because it uses percentages?

Callifornia by media reputation has much higher home prices than here in W. Ohio, e.g.. So our taxes here on a model 3 bedroom ranch worth $200K at say $2000 would be lower than the taxes in Calli on a $600K similar ranch at $5999. That would mean the taxes could be slightly less than triple the property tax absolute amount here in Ohio and those Calli taxes would be a lower percentage.

In NY localities determine the tax rate so they vary by location. A $200 k house might be taxed $5000 in one town and $12,000 in another a few miles away. Sales taxes are 7-10%. There are fees on everything.

Millions have fled.

I'm angling for a spot on driver100's couch.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

come to jersey, and get the $5,995 property tax, on the $200,000 house!

How do they value real estate where you are? In NY they assess at "full value" every few decades and then ignore it for decades. That means that old coots like me that have been in one spot for decades might be paying half of what the young couple who just bought next door is paying.

Mr_Shiftright

People seem to be moving mostly to sunbelt metropolises--that would include TX.

Pacific NW is booming with population growth, too

stickguy

Farmer, it is town by town. Historical valuations, but every so often, they do a full reassess. and man, does that tick off people that have been in their house a long time (if sitting on a lot of appreciation).

abacomike

Here in Florida, our real estate taxes are interesting - I applied for and received a homestead exemption which reduces my assessed valuation on my condo by $25,000.  If you live in your house or condo, it is available to all property owners.

Sales taxes vary by county.  Palm Beach County voters approved a 7% sales tax in November while Broward County voters (my County) rejected an increase which left sales taxes at 6%, one of the lowest sales tax rates in the State.

The cost of living in this county is the only thing keeping me here.  I could not find any place in warm environs where I could live for $1100 a month including taxes, insurance, maintenance, Condo community assessments, electricity, cable TV and internet.  Luckily, there is no mortgage on the condo.

To live close to where my son lives in California  would cost me triple that amount.

oldfarmer50

Here's a question for you experts.

In watching classis car shows they often refer to the 'build sheet' which is placed in the car during manufacturing. Do modern cars come with these or is that some artifact of the past? Seems a lot of them were placed under the rear seat. Would I still be able to pull out the seat and find one?

houdini1

fintail said:

But in CA, older people pay tax on the purchase price rather than actual value, right? There's a huge lucky generation there who bought in for little, and now have a winning lottery ticket. The same thing exists here, maybe even more, as price appreciation has been more recent.

In WA, also no income tax - but loads of other tax, and the tax scheme is generally considered to be among the more regressive in the US. A friend of mine who lived in GA claimed he paid no less in tax there than here, though, with income tax and property tax rates (cheap house, higher rates).

fintail said:

But in CA, older people pay tax on the purchase price rather than actual value, right? There's a huge lucky generation there who bought in for little, and now have a winning lottery ticket. The same thing exists here, maybe even more, as price appreciation has been more recent.

In WA, also no income tax - but loads of other tax, and the tax scheme is generally considered to be among the more regressive in the US. A friend of mine who lived in GA claimed he paid no less in tax there than here, though, with income tax and property tax rates (cheap house, higher rates).

Yes, and 40 years from now people will probably be talking about the lucky generation of your era who bought in back around 2017. Prices are not cheap today and they were not cheap 60 years ago, relatively speaking. Not many people could afford a $30,000. home back then. Just like today, they had to work and save for it.

berri

Aba - license plates for MB or big BMW are pretty high in many Midwestern states like Iowa, Nebraska, and I think Wisconsin and Indiana. They often factor purchase price into it. Illinois isn't bad on plates, although many places also have a window sticker for the local city. Just because the state gov is from one political party or the other doesn't seem to matter.

houdini1

oldfarmer50 said:

abacomike said:

henryn said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Lots of folks don't realize that California is a massive agricultural state, and also has vast tracts of rural/wilderness areas where many people live a very determined country life. Parts of CA are indistinguishable from Nebraska, Kansas or Appalachia for that matter. The claim is that CA has "all 50 states rolled into one".

My question is, how do those people living an "agricultural" or "very determined country life" afford to pay the taxes and other costs of living there?

Very difficult - the State income tax is one of the highest rates in the country.  Sales taxes are out of sight.  Cost of gasoline and food also sky high.  Just registration for you car is outrageous - my car would cost me over $1000 a year just for registration/plates.  I could not afford to live in CA.

$1000 just to register a car? That's unAmerican. Are you talking about sales tax in that equation?


I pay about $1300. a year in personal property tax when I buy new plates each year. 2 cars.

berri

Good point, there can be more than the plate itself impacted by the value of the vehicle you own in some states.

abacomike

oldfarmer50 said:

Here's a question for you experts. In watching classis car shows they often refer to the 'build sheet' which is placed in the car during manufacturing. Do modern cars come with these or is that some artifact of the past? Seems a lot of them were placed under the rear seat. Would I still be able to pull out the seat and find one?

All my Mercedes cars and even my new 740 had build sheets - but they were abbreviated meaning it showed computer codes with equipment abbreviations.

As an example, the type and color of the leather; color of carpet; type of audio system; optional packages are delineated by each option included, etc.  years ago, it was a simple typewritten sheet or a sheet where components are checked off.  Even the size and type of engine.  

houdini1

stickguy said:

Farmer, it is town by town. Historical valuations, but every so often, they do a full reassess. and man, does that tick off people that have been in their house a long time (if sitting on a lot of appreciation).

In kansas they reassess each year. Usually goes up about 5% every year, tax wise, whether your actual value goes up or not.

abacomike

oldfarmer50 said:

Here's a question for you experts. In watching classis car shows they often refer to the 'build sheet' which is placed in the car during manufacturing. Do modern cars come with these or is that some artifact of the past? Seems a lot of them were placed under the rear seat. Would I still be able to pull out the seat and find one?

You might find an empty can of beer or soda like I found in one of my cars under the rear seat.  

berri

I recall finding more detailed build sheets years back on some cars I ordered specifically, but don't recall any from vehicles bought out of dealer inventory? Probably either bad memory or mind getting old. Don't know why you'd need them today with computer technology, NC and robotics.

sda

GM , from the mid '90s at least, has a build sheet that consists of one or two computer generated stickers that include codes of equipment, color, engine etc. and is typically located under the spare tire cover or inside the glove box lid.

Michaell

houdini1 said:

stickguy said:

Farmer, it is town by town. Historical valuations, but every so often, they do a full reassess. and man, does that tick off people that have been in their house a long time (if sitting on a lot of appreciation).

In kansas they reassess each year. Usually goes up about 5% every year, tax wise, whether your actual value goes up or not.

Funny we should be talking about this .. my assessment statement just came in the mail last week.

Assessed value $302K
Property tax owed $2337

Just read an article in the Denver Post recently. Due to the conflicting fiscal constraints in the state constitution, it's possible that property taxes on homes could go down in the next year or two. It's crazy.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

abacomike said:

henryn said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Lots of folks don't realize that California is a massive agricultural state, and also has vast tracts of rural/wilderness areas where many people live a very determined country life. Parts of CA are indistinguishable from Nebraska, Kansas or Appalachia for that matter. The claim is that CA has "all 50 states rolled into one".

My question is, how do those people living an "agricultural" or "very determined country life" afford to pay the taxes and other costs of living there?

Very difficult - the State income tax is one of the highest rates in the country.  Sales taxes are out of sight.  Cost of gasoline and food also sky high.  Just registration for you car is outrageous - my car would cost me over $1000 a year just for registration/plates.  I could not afford to live in CA.

$1000 just to register a car? That's unAmerican. Are you talking about sales tax in that equation?


$1000 just to register a car.......oldfarmer pays about that for a car

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

imidazol97 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

That's a common perception but actually for property taxes it's not true. CA ranks 32nd in property taxes as a percentage of home value---

Is that statistic deceiving because it uses percentages?

Callifornia by media reputation has much higher home prices than here in W. Ohio, e.g.. So our taxes here on a model 3 bedroom ranch worth $200K at say $2000 would be lower than the taxes in Calli on a $600K similar ranch at $5999. That would mean the taxes could be slightly less than triple the property tax absolute amount here in Ohio and those Calli taxes would be a lower percentage.

In NY localities determine the tax rate so they vary by location. A $200 k house might be taxed $5000 in one town and $12,000 in another a few miles away. Sales taxes are 7-10%. There are fees on everything.

Millions have fled.

I'm angling for a spot on driver100's couch.

Not when you find out how much our B&B fee is.

tjc78

@Michaell

Cant believe how reasonable the taxes are.   Mine are more than double that and my house would struggle to bring 180

28firefighter

My property taxes here in Seattle hover right around 1% of assessed value, which isn't bad. 

explorerx4

@oldfarmer,
Just for you.
The salesman and I saw this in the back of my new 2011 Explorer.
Didn't know what it was at first.
Then I figured out it fit over the right front fender.

ab348

28firefighter said:

My property taxes here in Seattle hover right around 1% of assessed value, which isn't bad. 

That's pretty much the same as in my jurisdiction. They have had a lot of growth as people move to the city from rural areas and are awash in cash. As a result they are spending like fools on all sorts of things. Unfortunately they are not spending it on fixing or expanding roads.

driver100

Heard ads on the radio today....didn't catch the dealer though;
2016 Cadillac ATS, brand new, $25000.
I could have had a brand new Caddie instead of a 2014 Mercedes....hmmmmm, but then again............

fintail

I disagree. Maybe it is regional. In my area, people who bought for under 100K 40 years ago can easily be sitting on 2MM today. I sincerely doubt that kind of appreciation will repeat. Less than a mile from me, a teardown that sold for 50K in 1988 just brought 1MM even. It's surreal.

Even in less trendy areas like where my grandmother lives, houses in her area seem to average about 25x more in raw dollars, compared to when the area was developed around 50-55 years ago. Wages surely haven't risen that much in 50-55 years, but expenses definitely have. Even crazier, their first new house in Seattle is worth about 45-50x what it cost in 1950, and the empty nester house my great-grandparents bought around the same time is inflated even more.

I know few people in my age demographic who own a detached house within a reasonable commuting distance from work who bought without parental help. That seems to be a factor among those who talk about hard work and saving, though. It'll be rentals and condos for most around here, from now on.

houdini1 said:

Yes, and 40 years from now people will probably be talking about the lucky generation of your era who bought in back around 2017. Prices are not cheap today and they were not cheap 60 years ago, relatively speaking. Not many people could afford a $30,000. home back then. Just like today, they had to work and save for it.

fintail

For old MBs, the build sheet (kind of an old fashioned computer data card) can be found in the owners manual, or the documents folder. They often survive with the car.

oldfarmer50 said:

Here's a question for you experts.

In watching classis car shows they often refer to the 'build sheet' which is placed in the car during manufacturing. Do modern cars come with these or is that some artifact of the past? Seems a lot of them were placed under the rear seat. Would I still be able to pull out the seat and find one?

Michaell

tjc78 said:

@Michaell

Cant believe how reasonable the taxes are.   Mine are more than double that and my house would struggle to bring 180

Ouch. I'm guessing you don't get twice the services for that money. Sales tax in NJ and CO are roughly the same, as well - my rate is 8% in the town I live in.

jmonroe

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

imidazol97 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

That's a common perception but actually for property taxes it's not true. CA ranks 32nd in property taxes as a percentage of home value---

Is that statistic deceiving because it uses percentages?

Callifornia by media reputation has much higher home prices than here in W. Ohio, e.g.. So our taxes here on a model 3 bedroom ranch worth $200K at say $2000 would be lower than the taxes in Calli on a $600K similar ranch at $5999. That would mean the taxes could be slightly less than triple the property tax absolute amount here in Ohio and those Calli taxes would be a lower percentage.

In NY localities determine the tax rate so they vary by location. A $200 k house might be taxed $5000 in one town and $12,000 in another a few miles away. Sales taxes are 7-10%. There are fees on everything.

Millions have fled.

I'm angling for a spot on driver100's couch.

Not when you find out how much our B&B fee is.

I was going to ask @oldfarmer50 to move over and share the couch but if you're going to rob us on the B&B stuff you'll just have to wax your cars yourself because neither of us are going to do it now. :@

jmonroe

houdini1

fintail said:

I disagree. Maybe it is regional. In my area, people who bought for under 100K 40 years ago can easily be sitting on 2MM today. I sincerely doubt that kind of appreciation will repeat. Less than a mile from me, a teardown that sold for 50K in 1988 just brought 1MM even. It's surreal.

Even in less trendy areas like where my grandmother lives, houses in her area seem to average about 25x more in raw dollars, compared to when the area was developed around 50-55 years ago. Wages surely haven't risen that much in 50-55 years, but expenses definitely have. Even crazier, their first new house in Seattle is worth about 45-50x what it cost in 1950, and the empty nester house my great-grandparents bought around the same time is inflated even more.

I know few people in my age demographic who own a detached house within a reasonable commuting distance from work who bought without parental help. That seems to be a factor among those who talk about hard work and saving, though. It'll be rentals and condos for most around here, from now on.

houdini1 said:

Yes, and 40 years from now people will probably be talking about the lucky generation of your era who bought in back around 2017. Prices are not cheap today and they were not cheap 60 years ago, relatively speaking. Not many people could afford a $30,000. home back then. Just like today, they had to work and save for it.

Real estate is definitely regional. Usually where you see the massive inflation it is because of the value of the land, especially in a very desirable area where land in limited. That is why you will sometimes see someone buy a home for $10 million dollars and then tear it down and build a $20 million home.

jmonroe

Mr_Shiftright said:

abacomike said:

cdnpinhead said:

abacomike said:

. . . the Coachella Valley's western cities (Palm Springs, Palm Desert, La Quinta, Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage and Bermuda Dunes) are staunchly the opposite of what the rest of California is. . .

Good point. That's why the county-by-county red/blue maps are more revealing than the state-by-state.

Actually, in this case, Riverside County is very different than most counties in California.  West of the mountain pass from Banning to the Los Angeles County Line is the opposite of the eastern part of the county - i.e. The Coachella Valley.  California is a strange environment when compared to the average State, whatever that means!  

Lots of folks don't realize that California is a massive agricultural state, and also has vast tracts of rural/wilderness areas where many people live a very determined country life. Parts of CA are indistinguishable from Nebraska, Kansas or Appalachia for that matter. The claim is that CA has "all 50 states rolled into one".



Appalachia ? Really ?

When you guys do mining it's for Gold not Coal. Out your way they'd break your arms and take you drivers license away before you'd be allowed to fill the air with smoke and particulates

jmonroe

driver100

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

imidazol97 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

That's a common perception but actually for property taxes it's not true. CA ranks 32nd in property taxes as a percentage of home value---

Is that statistic deceiving because it uses percentages?

Callifornia by media reputation has much higher home prices than here in W. Ohio, e.g.. So our taxes here on a model 3 bedroom ranch worth $200K at say $2000 would be lower than the taxes in Calli on a $600K similar ranch at $5999. That would mean the taxes could be slightly less than triple the property tax absolute amount here in Ohio and those Calli taxes would be a lower percentage.

In NY localities determine the tax rate so they vary by location. A $200 k house might be taxed $5000 in one town and $12,000 in another a few miles away. Sales taxes are 7-10%. There are fees on everything.

Millions have fled.

I'm angling for a spot on driver100's couch.

Not when you find out how much our B&B fee is.

I was going to ask @oldfarmer50 to move over and share the couch but if you're going to rob us on the B&B stuff you'll just have to wax your cars yourself because neither of us are going to do it now. :@

jmonroe

I am not going to allow you to share a couch with oldfarmer....no matter how much you are willing to pay!

abacomike

driver100 said:

That's a common perception but actually for property taxes it's not true. CA ranks 32nd in property taxes as a percentage of home value---

Is that statistic deceiving because it uses percentages? Callifornia by media reputation has much higher home prices than here in W. Ohio, e.g.. So our taxes here on a model 3 bedroom ranch worth $200K at say $2000 would be lower than the taxes in Calli on a $600K similar ranch at $5999. That would mean the taxes could be slightly less than triple the property tax absolute amount here in Ohio and those Calli taxes would be a lower percentage.

In NY localities determine the tax rate so they vary by location. A $200 k house might be taxed $5000 in one town and $12,000 in another a few miles away. Sales taxes are 7-10%. There are fees on everything. Millions have fled. I'm angling for a spot on driver100's couch.

Not when you find out how much our B&B fee is.

I was going to ask @oldfarmer50 to move over and share the couch but if you're going to rob us on the B&B stuff you'll just have to wax your cars yourself because neither of us are going to do it now. :@ jmonroe

I am not going to allow you to share a couch with oldfarmer....no matter how much you are willing to pay!

If you are attempting to embarrass jmonroe or somehow cause him to blush, you haven't got a chance in pergatory.  The only way you could possibly see him blush is if he is playing with Mrs. J's rouge.  He's just "all guy" driver - definitely not a couch "tater", to be sure!!! 

fintail

That's what'll happen with that teardown. Little postwar tract bungalow, tear it down and put up a tacky lot-filling mcmansion that might bring 2-3MM. That or mcmodern/faux craftsman townhouses.

houdini1 said:

Real estate is definitely regional. Usually where you see the massive inflation it is because of the value of the land, especially in a very desirable area where land in limited. That is why you will sometimes see someone buy a home for $10 million dollars and then tear it down and build a $20 million home.

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

houdini1 said:

stickguy said:

Farmer, it is town by town. Historical valuations, but every so often, they do a full reassess. and man, does that tick off people that have been in their house a long time (if sitting on a lot of appreciation).

In kansas they reassess each year. Usually goes up about 5% every year, tax wise, whether your actual value goes up or not.

Funny we should be talking about this .. my assessment statement just came in the mail last week.

Assessed value $302K
Property tax owed $2337

Just read an article in the Denver Post recently. Due to the conflicting fiscal constraints in the state constitution, it's possible that property taxes on homes could go down in the next year or two. It's crazy.

We had been in our home for maybe a dozen years when our town did a big reassessment. We were surprised that our taxes went DOWN. Our assessment has been at $155,000 ever since.

Michaell

fintail said:

That's what'll happen with that teardown. Little postwar tract bungalow, tear it down and put up a tacky lot-filling mcmansion that might bring 2-3MM. That or mcmodern/faux craftsman townhouses.

houdini1 said:

Real estate is definitely regional. Usually where you see the massive inflation it is because of the value of the land, especially in a very desirable area where land in limited. That is why you will sometimes see someone buy a home for $10 million dollars and then tear it down and build a $20 million home.

That happens here in Denver, as well. Small homes on large lots are torn down and replaced with larger building, in some cases multi-unit.