Tuesday, August 21, 2007
About Me
- Name: Marius
- Location: Florida, United States
"There is neither need nor excuse for postulation of nonmaterial intervention in the origin of life, the rise of man, or any other part of the long history of the cosmos." -George Gaylord Simpson
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3 Comments:
Thanks for posting these Marius! I'm loving this show!
In listening, I would agree with the neighbors who are angry at Jeff. The same is happening in our neighborhood. Flippers have made affordable houses unaffordable and my real estate taxes rise by 33% in five years. Believe me, I have not enjoyed a similar rise in salary.
I couldn't afford to buy my house today in my neighborhood. If RE taxes keep rising at the rate they have been, I WILL have to sell. But where would I find an affordable house so close to work?
No, Jeff. You are not doing many of us a favor. Plus, most flippers make only cosmetic changes. When new home owners purchase these inflated houses, they have no money left for repairs. At least not in our income tax bracket. Your show is fun to watch, but don't delude yourself: You are more like your dad than you think.
The neighbors may have any number of reasons to be angry at Jeff (such as early morning construction noise or whatever), but increased property taxes cannot be one of them.
California passed legislation to prevent exactly the type of rampant tax inflation you mentioned (33% in five years!! Yikes!!). Here in Los Angeles county, annual property taxes are fixed at 1.25% of the assessed value of the property -- which is generally set at the purchase price at the time the house is sold, and then only increases by a set formulaic amount each year thereafter (presently about 1%). For example, Jeff's Ben Lomand house is on the market right now for $1,485,000. If this is the price the buyer actually pays, the property tax in the first year will be $18,562. In year 2, the assessed value will be deemed to be $1,499,850 and the tax will then be $18,748. And so on and so on.
A house doesn't get re-assessed for tax purposes simply because neighboring houses rise in value (from resale, renovation, etc.). My friends live a few doors away from the Ben Lomand house, but their annual property taxes are less than $2500 because they bought so long ago. This would continue even if the "fair market value" of their house was the same as Jeff's. (Jeff's argument, of course, is that he is raising the quality of the neighborhood and thus everyone's fair market value, but this doesn't change their tax assessment value).
Given the ridiculously high price of houses here (million dollar houses are common in almost every decent neighborhood), I too could not afford to buy into my neighborhood today, but I can't afford to move either. *Sigh*
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