Just my opinion

[Tblack89]

They should, but the majority of them end up trying to change things here!

Exactly, they are going the wrong way.

 

[Davetex]

4th gen Texans here. Both my wife and I. Her family being from in and around Victoria. Mine from Ellis county and Plainview. Finally got the house paid off several months ago. Thought that would give me a little financial breathing room for a while. We have a very modest house in a very modest neighborhood. Surrounded by very good neighbors, people that have become "family" over the years. We like it here.

Last week the county says their appraisals have been under-valued for a few years. So they did a complete overhaul of their system to raise everyone's property values. I took the time to research the "new" appraised value on our home. What I found made me sick.

They have raised the taxable value of our modest home by $130,000 in one year. That will translate into a property tax bill of $6000. That bill will be due on Jan 31 2023. I was planning to retire in Feb of 2023. It looks like now we will need to sell the house, take the money and run before the end of this year. Paying the King 500 dollars a month just for the right to live in your own home is not an option. We were looking forward to staying around here, but that tax bill will increase 10% every year even with the homestead exemption and the senior exemption.

Anywhere in Central Texas is becoming unaffordable very quickly. I just saw this morning that the Schwertner Ranch is offering Elon Musk 100 acres for free to move the Twitter HQ here.

Central Texas rancher offers Elon Musk free land to move Twitter here

One Central Texas rancher wants Elon Musk to move his newest venture here. He’s offering his own property as bait.

www.kxan.com

That ranch is just a little southeast of Salado. It's huge and I go by there often.

I've lived around here for a little over 50 years, it's sad to see all the changes that have occurred. IMHO some have been good, but most have not.

That Greer's Ferry Lake up in Arkansas is sure looking better and better.

 

[Tblack89]

4th gen Texans here. Both my wife and I. Her family being from in and around Victoria. Mine from Ellis county and Plainview. Finally got the house paid off several months ago. Thought that would give me a little financial breathing room for a while. We have a very modest house in a very modest neighborhood. Surrounded by very good neighbors, people that have become "family" over the years. We like it here.

Last week the county says their appraisals have been under-valued for a few years. So they did a complete overhaul of their system to raise everyone's property values. I took the time to research the "new" appraised value on our home. What I found made me sick.

They have raised the taxable value of our modest home by $130,000 in one year. That will translate into a property tax bill of $6000. That bill will be due on Jan 31 2023. I was planning to retire in Feb of 2023. It looks like now we will need to sell the house, take the money and run before the end of this year. Paying the King 500 dollars a month just for the right to live in your own home is not an option. We were looking forward to staying around here, but that tax bill will increase 10% every year even with the homestead exemption and the senior exemption.

Anywhere in Central Texas is becoming unaffordable very quickly. I just saw this morning that the Schwertner Ranch is offering Elon Musk 100 acres for free to move the Twitter HQ here.

Central Texas rancher offers Elon Musk free land to move Twitter here

One Central Texas rancher wants Elon Musk to move his newest venture here. He’s offering his own property as bait.

www.kxan.com

That ranch is just a little southeast of Salado. It's huge and I go by there often.

I've lived around here for a little over 50 years, it's sad to see all the changes that have occurred. IMHO some have been good, but most have not.

That Greer's Ferry Lake up in Arkansas is sure looking better and better.

That’s exactly how I feel, I too own my home and am having to pay someone for my own property. 9 years ago I paid $750 a month to rent a duplex, today I pay $500 a month for my own home in taxes only. Your working to pay for a home you already bought because others feel the bill is cheaper here. Nothing about this is right and even more frustrating that all the unwanted individuals think they are doing nothing wrong. They are disrupting everything and are not having to deal with the consequences. I’m truly sorry this is happening to you, you are not alone. They claim they are with us and here for the fight but have already caused more harm then they will ever know. They can defend it all they want but If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck. Same political reasons they are running and hiding from they are slowly implementing here. Very tragic and sad.

 

[Axxe55]

I would hazard a guess, that California probably has some of the highest real estate costs in the country.

Median Home Price by State 2024

worldpopulationreview.com

 

[Tblack89]

I would hazard a guess, that California probably has some of the highest real estate costs in the country.

Median Home Price by State 2024

worldpopulationreview.com

Agreed, I also just read a article that says Florida is up there now.

Florida is the least affordable place to live in the U.S. — CBS News

Rent and home prices in the Sunshine State have hit stratospheric heights, making it the epicenter of America's housing crisis.

apple.news

 

[toddnjoyce]

From California, here.
…
If you don't want a red blooded, conservatve, 2A loving, God fearing, red meat eating constitutionalist helping hold your line just because of where I was born, that's fine...

Counterpoint: Weren’t no line needing holding before y’all showed up and decided politics needs to be involved in every damn thing. There’s a reason the legislature only meets for 145 days every other year and the governor is a weak position.

 

[vmax]

My sub division has 1 acre lots
The house across the street just listed for 530..the people bought it 2 years ago for 335....
It sold for 560 and there was a bidding war..found out a local guy got it and he outbid a "nice couple " from California...
That was a close call I guess
I'm past being nice about it..
Fuk em

 

[oldag]

4th gen Texans here. Both my wife and I. Her family being from in and around Victoria. Mine from Ellis county and Plainview. Finally got the house paid off several months ago. Thought that would give me a little financial breathing room for a while. We have a very modest house in a very modest neighborhood. Surrounded by very good neighbors, people that have become "family" over the years. We like it here.

Last week the county says their appraisals have been under-valued for a few years. So they did a complete overhaul of their system to raise everyone's property values. I took the time to research the "new" appraised value on our home. What I found made me sick.

They have raised the taxable value of our modest home by $130,000 in one year. That will translate into a property tax bill of $6000. That bill will be due on Jan 31 2023. I was planning to retire in Feb of 2023. It looks like now we will need to sell the house, take the money and run before the end of this year. Paying the King 500 dollars a month just for the right to live in your own home is not an option. We were looking forward to staying around here, but that tax bill will increase 10% every year even with the homestead exemption and the senior exemption.

Anywhere in Central Texas is becoming unaffordable very quickly. I just saw this morning that the Schwertner Ranch is offering Elon Musk 100 acres for free to move the Twitter HQ here.

Central Texas rancher offers Elon Musk free land to move Twitter here

One Central Texas rancher wants Elon Musk to move his newest venture here. He’s offering his own property as bait.

www.kxan.com

That ranch is just a little southeast of Salado. It's huge and I go by there often.

I've lived around here for a little over 50 years, it's sad to see all the changes that have occurred. IMHO some have been good, but most have not.

That Greer's Ferry Lake up in Arkansas is sure looking better and better.

If you have a homestead exemption, there is a cap on how much they can increase the value upon which the tax is calculated. Think it is 10% in on year.

As you probably know, if you look at moving out of state be sure to look at the total tax picture. States with lower property taxes generally make it up by some other tax.

 

[oldag]

That’s exactly how I feel, I too own my home and am having to pay someone for my own property. 9 years ago I paid $750 a month to rent a duplex, today I pay $500 a month for my own home in taxes only. Your working to pay for a home you already bought because others feel the bill is cheaper here. Nothing about this is right and even more frustrating that all the unwanted individuals think they are doing nothing wrong. They are disrupting everything and are not having to deal with the consequences. I’m truly sorry this is happening to you, you are not alone. They claim they are with us and here for the fight but have already caused more harm then they will ever know. They can defend it all they want but If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck. Same political reasons they are running and hiding from they are slowly implementing here. Very tragic and sad.

Check out what that $750 duplex rent would be today. Probably $1500 or more. That will give you a better comparison.

 

[Tex929rr]

If you have a homestead exemption, there is a cap on how much they can increase the value upon which the tax is calculated. Think it is 10% in on year.

As you probably know, if you look at moving out of state be sure to look at the total tax picture. States with lower property taxes generally make it up by some other tax.

The assessed value is limited to the ten percent increase but the appraised value keeps going up. You can inadvertently remove the cap, as we did when we added a steel shop building.

I know the increase in appraised value sucks but as long as we fund local schools and government by property taxes it won’t change much. Appraisal districts are somewhat independent and the state regulates them heavily. I am on my second term on my school board and other than being able to nominate appraisal district board members (we are in two counties) we have no input on property appraisals. BTW we lowered our rates by 4 cents last year.

 

[popsgarland]

If you have a homestead exemption, there is a cap on how much they can increase the value upon which the tax is calculated. Think it is 10% in on year.

As you probably know, if you look at moving out of state be sure to look at the total tax picture. States with lower property taxes generally make it up by some other tax.

I'm homesteaded and my taxes go up a little over 4 % annually. I get a statement every 5 years from the state on the value of my house, so every 5 years my taxes go up, as per my statement I received last week, 20.5 %.

 

[ronbwolf]

Property tax means you never really own your home, and should be eliminated! Get out and vote Yes on Amendments 1, and 2, by May 7! They don't "eliminate" property tax, but are a step in the right direction!

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

 

[oldag]

The assessed value is limited to the ten percent increase but the appraised value keeps going up. You can inadvertently remove the cap, as we did when we added a steel shop building.

I know the increase in appraised value sucks but as long as we fund local schools and government by property taxes it won’t change much. Appraisal districts are somewhat independent and the state regulates them heavily. I am on my second term on my school board and other than being able to nominate appraisal district board members (we are in two counties) we have no input on property appraisals. BTW we lowered our rates by 4 cents last year.

School districts have no control of appraisals, but they do have control of the tax rate.

 

[oldag]

Property tax means you never really own your home, and should be eliminated! Get out and vote Yes on Amendments 1, and 2, by May 7! They don't "eliminate" property tax, but are a step in the right direction!

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

And what will replace it?

 

[Axxe55]

Gotta love how Californians will move here to Texas, and then lecture Texans about what Texas is!

Some of them think just moving to Texas, makes them a Texan.

 

[Sasquatch]

Then they should change it.

Short of storming the capital building and executing everyone and declaring independence / secession, how do you propose that happen in a state where there is a 2 to 1 disparity between conservative/libertarian types and leftists? There comes a time in every battle where you either win, die, or regroup. Losing one's life, fortune, or freedom for no positive net outcome is pointless. While you may become a martyr, like the men at the Alamo, you're more likely to just die broke, with no one to care or remember you or your struggles.

The notion that someone should remain in a place that is outright hostile to them, with no real chance of changing things is pure idiotic. Thankfully the country is still free enough that people can relocate without a permission slip.

The problem comes when those relocating and fleeing a place want to turn it into what they fled because they can't assimilate to the new local culture. Instead of adapting, adopting, and accepting your new neighbors' customs and way of life, you try to force your old system upon them. That makes you an invader, not a refugee or emigrant.

I certainly understand the sentiment of hating transplants - native Oregonians in great numbers *hate* Californians as much as Texans do, because the Californication that happened to Oregon and Washington that took hold as far back as the 1960s and 70s. Generations fought those political battles, but the cancer metastisized and became terminal 30 years ago. In Oregon's case, the last Republican governor left office in 1987. Even centrist RINO's cannot gain enough traction with moderate liberals in the state to overcome the number of lunatic lefties - both home grown, and transplanted.

I watched it happen to the town I grew up in. It happened because of Intel, and a handful of other semiconductor makers. Then other tech companies opened shop - Yahoo, Netflix, Google, Microsoft all had satellite offices there. Droves of Californians, New Yorkers, Illinoi-ians (wtf do you call people from Illinois?) plus a disproportionately large number of Indians (dot, not casino), Chinese, and Malaysians - because those people get advanced degrees and are willing to come work in engineering and development roles for 2/3 of what an American college grad computer engineer wants.

I worked at Intel in a software engineering group when I was a lot younger. 1/4 of our team back then were Indian or Chinese. Our QC engineering lead was Indian. He probably made less than the dual-major fresh college grad that joined our team a few months after I did. Intel still loved him enough that when his visa expired, they moved him and his family to Vancouver, BC - put them up in a hotel, paid to have an ISDN line installed in the hotel room and set him up with a VPN so he could work remotely and not cause a big delay to the project.

We don't have Intel to blame here in Magnolia - but I am seeing exactly the same growth and changes that happened to the town I grew up in otherwise. Went from 10k to over 100k - but Magnolia proper seems set on doing that shit in just a few years, whereas it took 20+ for it to happen to my old home town. I grew up a country boy and loathe big cities, and our quaint little town - which was growing before we got here - is exploding. I fear that it'll look like Katy or Friendswood in no time. Cookie cutter McMansions and strip malls as far as the eye can see.

I'm sure it brings no solace to the OP - I managed to negotiate a lower than asking price on our property, but I'm sure the asking price was still far higher than the property would've sold for just a few years back. I have been watching the estimated market value of our place, because I've been working to convince the wife to pull the pin and relocate to central Texas, as we have friends planning to do the same within a year, for similar reasons. We don't want to fight the congestion, the crime, or deal with the problems of over crowded schools and the problems they come with. We didn't move to the city, but the city is moving to us.

If I believe the highest estimated market value, as of yesterday, we've gained an additional $150k over what we paid for the place 2 years ago. A more realistic number is probably still 50k over what we paid, but then again, a home about the same size as ours, on a lot 2/3 the size of ours just went up 5 homes over, listing at $480k. Theirs is a bit newer, and probably a bit nicer inside, but if we put $15k into a renovation - new floors and cabinets, we would probably be able to ask the same.

Local ISD is already telling people they're floating a bond measure next year, to help pay for new schools and renovate existing schools thanks to the tens of thousands of homes being built over the next few years in the immediate area.

By OP's sentiment, we should stay and fight here too - but again, short of storming the county judge's court and executing people and declaring ones' self a warlord, how do you stop "progress" ie: development, tax increases and gentrification? If you have that magic formula, I'm sure people all over the suburbs and small towns would love to hear it. So do you stay and continue to be raked over the coals and have your wallet pillaged and fight all the ills that come with "progress" or do you pull stakes and move to someplace more suitable to one's wallet and health?

OP and others may have forgotten some of their own Texas history - some of the heros Texas celebrates weren't born in Texas.

 

[popsgarland]

some of the heros Texas celebrates weren't born in Texas

Your correct and we're thankful for their help.

 

[Axxe55]

 

[Axxe55]

 

[Axxe55]