Ouch! I just received my escrow analysis

[Maestro]

Since the voters of my community allowed the school system to pass a set bonds totalling $100 million and since my own home owner's insurance has increased my total bill is going up close to $600.00 spread out of 12 months. It might not seem like much over twelve months but it hurts. Yikes! BTW, being a teacher I voted for part of the bonds that were needed to build new schools and renovate others, but a huge part of the bond was for state of the art athletic complex. I voted against that even though I believe athletics are important. I thought we could do with what we had until the next bond elections several more years down the road.

[yellowdogintexas]

1. about $50 a month more?

You can pay part of the shortage in a lump sum and have the mortgage co reanalyze your escrow to drop the monthly increase if you like.

I deal with these issues daily in my job.

[Maestro]

2. Yeah

but I don't have the extra cash to pay my mortgage company the difference.

[Wcross]

3. I pity the people on fixed incomes too.

I know you can't just go to your boss and ask for a raise being a teacher and all. I pity those elderly folks on a fixed income trying to make their social security money stretch out even more.

[yellowdogintexas]

4. hopefully, many of the elderly have paid off themortgage part

and only have the taxes to pay. It is still bad enough.

[Wcross]

5. There are people in Nashville being forced out.

In west Nashville there has been a boom of sorts and the rising tax rates combined with higher valuations have forced many seniors to move. Remember that the real estate boom we are having drives prices up and many towns re-access every couple of years.

[yellowdogintexas]

6. some places do it every year.

West Nashvile...like West End/21st Ave, Charlotte Pike, or further out than that? I used to live in Inglewood and Madison years ago. I just hope the old folks who are selling to pay their taxes get decent prices so they have something to live on!

California on the other hand cannot re assess except when the property changes hands, or is physically improved upon ...

When you purchase a home in California, the first tax bill you get is usually for the amount of tax the prior owner paid. Sometime in the first 6 to 18 months after purchase the supplemental tax bill arrives, which catches your first year of ownership taxes up to the newly assessed values.

so: you buy a house, seller owned it for 5 years..taxes were frozen at someting like 3000 per year (two installments of $1500 each)

1st installment...$1500.00 nov
2nd installment...$1500.00 april

Then your house gets reassessed for the new taxable value and the new assessment is for 7000 a year....so you will get a supplemental bill totalling $4000.00...which will NOT be sent to your mortgage company for payment from escrow. It will be also split into two installments.

If you have a good settlement agent, your escrow will be well padded at settlement and your monthly installments based on the true value for taxing and not the old owner's rates. Then when you getyour supplemental, you can ring up your mortgage co and request payment from the escrow account.



The following year, you will get a tax bill for $7000 (roughly), divided into two installments due in Nov & April which your mortgage co will receive and pay from escrow.

I must explain this 50 times a week .... you can't buy a doghouse in California without supplemental taxes.

New construction in other states is similar, but homeowners are not as well cared for by their settlement agents...mortgage co doesn't get the added assessments, homeowner doesn't realize they need to request payment from escrow and this is difference between land and land + house.

[Wcross]

8. The green hills area is really taking off.

They are doing tear downs of the older ranchers and putting up McMansions. When a new house goes in it is often sold in the 500k-1mil range. That drives up the value of the neighbors property.

[yellowdogintexas]

9. wow. doing the same here in some of the older FtWorth

neighborhoods. I went to a friend's house in a neighborhood I am unfamiliar with recently and decided to explore it. Well I found several places where I KNEW they had torn down at least one maybe two smaller homes to make a huge BigHair house. Thankfully the designs were complementary to the elegant older homes that surrounded them.

[no name no slogan]

7. Last year, my property taxes went up 13%

and that was only 1% above the average increase for my community. The year before, they went up 10%.

When you don't properly fund your government through a progressive income tax, you eat it in other ways.