Makes sense, with all the other states in the Midwest being made great again.

(05-23-2018 12:19 PM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  Some examples of Illinois living.

In 2004 my property taxes on a two bedroom, two bath condo in Aurora IL (40 miles west of Chicago) were just under $4,000 a year. I paid $202k for the condo

In 2018 my property taxes on a 5 bedroom, 3 bath single family home on one acre (20 miles west of Minneapolis) are only $4,300 a year. I paid $375k for this property.

In 2018, friends have a 4 bedroom 3 bath house in a western Chicago suburb. It's worth around $350k, which is not too much more than what they paid for it in 2002. Their property taxes are a hair under...................... $10,000.

3% is insane. I think I just paid a bit under 8k for my in laws house in Charlotte. Tax assessment value was $588k

(05-23-2018 12:19 PM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  Some examples of Illinois living.

In 2004 my property taxes on a two bedroom, two bath condo in Aurora IL (40 miles west of Chicago) were just under $4,000 a year. I paid $202k for the condo

In 2018 my property taxes on a 5 bedroom, 3 bath single family home on one acre (20 miles west of Minneapolis) are only $4,300 a year. I paid $375k for this property.

In 2018, friends have a 4 bedroom 3 bath house in a western Chicago suburb. It's worth around $350k, which is not too much more than what they paid for it in 2002. Their property taxes are a hair under...................... $10,000.

I pay roughly $10,000/year in property taxes. Today, I received a revised assessment letter from Kane County.

My in-laws are in Southern Illinois which is a whole different political beast from Chicago. I don't know what their tax situation is like, but in general I don't get the sense that many farmers out there are having to shut down their operations due to the tax burden.

(05-23-2018 03:57 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  My in-laws are in Southern Illinois which is a whole different political beast from Chicago. I don't know what their tax situation is like, but in general I don't get the sense that many farmers out there are having to shut down their operations due to the tax burden.

Downstate is hit worse. They don’t have many high paying jobs like Chicago, but their real estate taxes are skyrocketing. Caterpillar and State Farm got big tax breaks, but a farmer can’t move his land to Iowa.

(05-23-2018 12:19 PM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  Some examples of Illinois living.

In 2004 my property taxes on a two bedroom, two bath condo in Aurora IL (40 miles west of Chicago) were just under $4,000 a year. I paid $202k for the condo

In 2018 my property taxes on a 5 bedroom, 3 bath single family home on one acre (20 miles west of Minneapolis) are only $4,300 a year. I paid $375k for this property.

In 2018, friends have a 4 bedroom 3 bath house in a western Chicago suburb. It's worth around $350k, which is not too much more than what they paid for it in 2002. Their property taxes are a hair under...................... $10,000.

Here's a comparison from TN (Memphis Metro)

Memphis is in Shelby County. There are nine counties in the Memphis MSA. We just sold a house in Hickory Withe, TN. That's in Fayette County which borders Shelby County to the east.

Memphis/Shelby County imposes the highest property tax rate in the state at a combined $7.381481 per $100 of assessed value.

Fayette County has the lowest property tax rate in the state of $1.5074 per $100 of assessed value.

The house was appraised for tax purposes at $485,000. It has ~4,350 sq ft, 4 BR, 4.5 BA, DR, LR, Den, 2 master suites (1 down, 1 up), playroom and theater. It sits on 1 acre.
$111.72 / sq ft

Fayette County, TN - $1,462.18 ($121.85/mth)
Memphis-Shelby County, TN - $8,950.05 (745.84/mth)

To be clear, a $485,000 house in Memphis would not quite be the same as the house we had in Fayette County.

A 3 BR, 2 BA house up the street from my parents in Memphis was listed this past week at $250,000 and sold within a couple of days. (It's a seller's market in MEM right now). It has 1,750 sq ft and sits on 0.2750 acre.
$142.86 / sq ft

The property tax for this house is $4,613.43 ($384.45/mth).

Now, as it just so happens, the leadership of Memphis (mayor and city council) is overwhelmingly Democrats while Fayette County leadership is overwhelmingly GOP.

I bet that doesn't have anything to do with it, though.

Here in Montgomery County, I pay $7900 on a $450,000 house. But we don't have a state income tax. We do have an 8.25% sales tax. Our schools are very good, and the school district is a big part of that tax. It also includes MUD taxes. Here in Texas we have these somewhat unique municipal utility districts to fund water, sewer, and infrastructure in unincorporated areas.

(05-23-2018 03:57 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  My in-laws are in Southern Illinois which is a whole different political beast from Chicago. I don't know what their tax situation is like, but in general I don't get the sense that many farmers out there are having to shut down their operations due to the tax burden.

If you're not in Chicagoland, you have no political power in Illinois. It's what's bound to happen when Mike Madigan and the Mayor of Chicago are the most and second-most powerful people in the state...

Chicago can be a great place to live if you're young and/or wealthy while valuing local cultural amenities more than the political hassle and financial burden. It's also a great city to visit during the summer. Otherwise, it's unfortunately a dump brought upon by toxic politics over the decades. I'm in a position where I can put up with it because I don't have a family, I love my job, and know good people here, plus I'm in a reasonably affordable inner suburb with a pretty easy commute relative to other parts of the metro. I completely get why people prefer the south and/or rural areas, I just hope everything doesn't completely hit the fan so long as I'm here...

It's pretty funny however when I meet people who consider Chicago to be affordable based on where they came from. I moved here for work the same time as a coworker who came from the San Francisco area, she was amazed at how cheap the housing was because she could get a 500 sq foot studio for less than $2000/month in a decent part of town. In Tampa I paid $1200/month for 700; not dirt cheap by any means, but that included parking, utilities, washer/dryer, complex fitness center/pool, and was in the middle of the Hyde Park neighborhood. When I lived in Chicago (Lakeview East) I paid $1350/month in the city for 600 sq feet and it included none of that, and that was a lease that started in January when rents are cheap.

(05-23-2018 06:05 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  Here in Montgomery County, I pay $7900 on a $450,000 house. But we don't have a state income tax. We do have an 8.25% sales tax. Our schools are very good, and the school district is a big part of that tax. It also includes MUD taxes. Here in Texas we have these somewhat unique municipal utility districts to fund water, sewer, and infrastructure in unincorporated areas.

I made that exact point to someone this afternoon.....

tejas is solid.....

(05-23-2018 11:18 PM)stinkfist Wrote:  

(05-23-2018 06:05 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  Here in Montgomery County, I pay $7900 on a $450,000 house. But we don't have a state income tax. We do have an 8.25% sales tax. Our schools are very good, and the school district is a big part of that tax. It also includes MUD taxes. Here in Texas we have these somewhat unique municipal utility districts to fund water, sewer, and infrastructure in unincorporated areas.

I made that exact point to someone this afternoon.....

tejas is solid.....

T for Texas, T for Tennessee. We don't have no stinking state income here either but our combined state, county and municipal sales taxes are up around 9.25%