Farms at the edges of cities and suburbs are always targeted for conversion to property tax revenue generators. 100 acres becomes $40M+ for the land developer (minus fees, kick-backs, and keeping regulators employed), another $20M+ to various contractors, and $2M-$3M per year in tax revenues. City councils are typically run by those with skin in the game, or a desire to control the population i.e democrats (in which case you can double all those numbers).
Right if you own a large lot they can just charge you a lot per acre to make it unaffordable for the original owner. Forced to sell of to developers and the suburbs grow
During a previous property bubble, there were many seniors living in the Lake Tahoe area that were forced to sell their homes of 30 years or more. Property values had exploded into the stratosphere and there were several cases of seniors who were forced to sell because they could not afford the property taxes. It was truly sad and shameful that officials could not find a work around for these seniors.
For exactly this reason, one of the good things CA actually did was to pass prop 13 in 1978 that capped property taxes for homes owned prior to passage. Surprisingly this was done under Dem Gov. Jerry Brown. Because of prop 13, my aunt is still living in her home purchased in 1963. At this point, my aunt is among the few remaining residents in CA still taking advantage of the break. My aunt is in her nineties and continues to live on her own.
The best solution is to eliminate property taxes all together. But at the very least, there needs to be a similar accommodation that applies only to the homes specifically of seniors that has been their primary residence for a number of years. Like prop 13, it would cap property tax increases and peg the value of the property to an earlier date, such as purchase date, and not to current market values. This way seniors can stay in their homes, still pay taxes, and not be forced to sell because they can't afford to pay the taxes. It would not apply to recent new purchases or rental properties. It would only be a small carveout in the scheme of things that would not put a huge dent in budgets. Abolishment of property taxes all together will force municipalities to find another way to tax citizens to make up for the shortfall because they are addicted to the money.
It says something though, that housing inflation can get so bad that retired people basically end up unable to even afford the property taxes which end up being probably more than the paid for the thing (if you add up the property tax for a few years)
That is exactly what happens. These people are in their homes because they simply wanted a place to live, not because they were searching to make a profit. Speculators in the property sector have driven home prices up to the point that the average person can't afford to buy and those who just wanted a place to call home are forced out because of the rising values.
Yeah and think about it. Those people haven't worked for
20-30 years. You have to maintain enough of a nest egg so that you can keep paying those property taxes. Using the internet and capital gains. The taxes are probably as much as the mortgage monthly payments you started with.
Salaries were lower when these people were working. So you had to save a significant percentage just to maintain your presence
Yeah! This is one of my causes. Ever since my Great Aunt had to sell pieces of her farm off to pay the property taxes.
Farms at the edges of cities and suburbs are always targeted for conversion to property tax revenue generators. 100 acres becomes $40M+ for the land developer (minus fees, kick-backs, and keeping regulators employed), another $20M+ to various contractors, and $2M-$3M per year in tax revenues. City councils are typically run by those with skin in the game, or a desire to control the population i.e democrats (in which case you can double all those numbers).
Right if you own a large lot they can just charge you a lot per acre to make it unaffordable for the original owner. Forced to sell of to developers and the suburbs grow
During a previous property bubble, there were many seniors living in the Lake Tahoe area that were forced to sell their homes of 30 years or more. Property values had exploded into the stratosphere and there were several cases of seniors who were forced to sell because they could not afford the property taxes. It was truly sad and shameful that officials could not find a work around for these seniors.
For exactly this reason, one of the good things CA actually did was to pass prop 13 in 1978 that capped property taxes for homes owned prior to passage. Surprisingly this was done under Dem Gov. Jerry Brown. Because of prop 13, my aunt is still living in her home purchased in 1963. At this point, my aunt is among the few remaining residents in CA still taking advantage of the break. My aunt is in her nineties and continues to live on her own.
The best solution is to eliminate property taxes all together. But at the very least, there needs to be a similar accommodation that applies only to the homes specifically of seniors that has been their primary residence for a number of years. Like prop 13, it would cap property tax increases and peg the value of the property to an earlier date, such as purchase date, and not to current market values. This way seniors can stay in their homes, still pay taxes, and not be forced to sell because they can't afford to pay the taxes. It would not apply to recent new purchases or rental properties. It would only be a small carveout in the scheme of things that would not put a huge dent in budgets. Abolishment of property taxes all together will force municipalities to find another way to tax citizens to make up for the shortfall because they are addicted to the money.
It says something though, that housing inflation can get so bad that retired people basically end up unable to even afford the property taxes which end up being probably more than the paid for the thing (if you add up the property tax for a few years)
That is exactly what happens. These people are in their homes because they simply wanted a place to live, not because they were searching to make a profit. Speculators in the property sector have driven home prices up to the point that the average person can't afford to buy and those who just wanted a place to call home are forced out because of the rising values.
Yeah and think about it. Those people haven't worked for 20-30 years. You have to maintain enough of a nest egg so that you can keep paying those property taxes. Using the internet and capital gains. The taxes are probably as much as the mortgage monthly payments you started with.
Salaries were lower when these people were working. So you had to save a significant percentage just to maintain your presence