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56Sierra

Inflation....Now the government is doing it.

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Just found out my property taxes went up over 25% this year.  Needless to say I went and expressed my extreme displeasure with our County Auditor.  I reminded her that she works for me and if I didn't like her job performance she would be on the street.  That didn't go over too well.  Record property prices and they decide what a good time to assess property values.  They did something very sneaky too.  No one I've found received the letter they said they sent to all property owners announcing the increase.   Needless to say Elections have Consequences.   My wife is on the local community FB page stirring up the pot.  Time to boot all the elected officials and start fresh.

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You can contest the new assessed value. 
 

Here in Arkansas they can only raise it a certain % each year, but of course if my assessed value goes up 25% and the cap is 5%, they just raise it 5% a year for 5 years in a row.  
 

Rinse and repeat. 
 

Notice who is doing well during this inflation?  .gov.  Tax revenues are through the roof

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Our property tax is controlled by Parish government ( we have Parishes not Counties , only State that does )  and property taxes are  collected by the Sheriff Department , 3 years behind on your taxes  they take your property , when I bought this property 12 years ago for $90K , I was paying  $140 a year property tax , I put $50K+  into it and now they appraise it at $350K and the taxes are right under $3,000 a year --- I just  donated 50% of the house to my wife and we can get the taxes locked in at what the taxes  are now -------  as far as my request for a  reassessment , they denied it 

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16 minutes ago, jeepwm69 said:

You can contest the new assessed value. 
 

Here in Arkansas they can only raise it a certain % each year, but of course if my assessed value goes up 25% and the cap is 5%, they just raise it 5% a year for 5 years in a row.  
 

Rinse and repeat. 
 

Notice who is doing well during this inflation?  .gov.  Tax revenues are through the roof

I will contest it but am finding it's very difficult since they have the final say without giving the property owner a reason. 

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1 hour ago, 56Sierra said:

I will contest it but am finding it's very difficult since they have the final say without giving the property owner a reason. 


Here you go about it in a similar way as you would to appraise a house.

 

find comparable houses that have recently sold at a lower price that they have your house assessed, use them as evidence they have overvalued your house.

 

Could be difficult depending on the market. Any work that needs to be done on your house inside or out should also be pointed out as it would detract from the value of your home.

 

at my prior job working for a property management company they had a full-time guy whose only job was to drive around and argue down property values with tax assessors.

 

 

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Tuned in!

 

When they wanted to rezone us No letters not much notification, when word got out there was a website dedicated.... I save the site, and clicked it just now, and you see what they did....... Had to add that yaw carry on,

image.jpg

Edited by _Wilson_™

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feel your pain and frustration.

 

sold my 2nd home 2 years ago...the market had finally gotten to a point where it made sense to dump it.

 

but I had watched the surrounding area of small houses  under 950sq ft  built back in the 50s  that had realistic street values of about $65k, being listed on the tax values at $115-$120  and annual taxes in the thousands of dollars when rental on the house couldn't go for more than about $750. So for a landlord, even if the house was mortgage free as mine was, It took 5 months of rent just to pay the tax bill, then you had to hope nothing needed repairs, and that the renters didn't skip on you, etc.

 

the streets hadn't seen updates in over a decade, virtually no investment by the city/county in the area...but just 4 blocks away, beautiful new govt buildings going up..landscaping spends that cost more than an entire block of the houses that pay taxes to support it.

 

I was glad to be done with the area.

 

I know the city where I live now, would love to annex us out here in the countryside...and there's not much we can do to stop them, nor alter the rates they decide to slap on us.

 

that's gonna be one of the consequences of this crazy housing fever...highly overinflated prices will allow for dramatic revaluations..and comps will only support it...so hang on to your wallet AND your butts cause they're coming for it.

 

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I own a rather unique place for the area.  A log home with a large two car attached garage as well as a detached 28x36 garage sitting in the middle of 5 wooded acres.  All real nice and desirable but my driveway was designed by the devil himself.   About a 20% grade and around 450 long made from packed limestone.   It takes a lot of work in the winter or after heavy rains.  Most people take one look at that and run the other way.  My auditor will not accept that the driveway is a big deterrent to selling this place and refuses to reduce my assessed value because of it.

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1 hour ago, 56Sierra said:

I own a rather unique place for the area.  A log home with a large two car attached garage as well as a detached 28x36 garage sitting in the middle of 5 wooded acres.  All real nice and desirable but my driveway was designed by the devil himself.   About a 20% grade and around 450 long made from packed limestone.   It takes a lot of work in the winter or after heavy rains.  Most people take one look at that and run the other way.  My auditor will not accept that the driveway is a big deterrent to selling this place and refuses to reduce my assessed value because of it.

 

Well we're due for a massive housing correction that will likely make 2008 look like a cakewalk.  When that happens, it will be interesting to see these assessors try to argue keeping values (and taxes) high.

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What people don't understand when dealing with politicians/govt, is that they simply cannot be trusted.

 

Years ago Arkansas almost did away with property taxes on primary residences.  Instead, the "compromise" was that the state would issue a $350 "Homestead Tax Credit" on primary residences.  The idea being that the wealthy who had big homes would still pay, and those with modest/ small homes would have their property taxes offset with that homestead tax credit.

 

Now, after a couple of decades of "normal" inflation, a shack on a postage stamp is assessed so that the poorest of the poor are paying property taxes on that shack.

 

They always offer a "compromise" to shut people up, but those compromises always come back around to bite the people.

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11 minutes ago, jeepwm69 said:

What people don't understand when dealing with politicians/govt, is that they simply cannot be trusted.

 

Years ago Arkansas almost did away with property taxes on primary residences.  Instead, the "compromise" was that the state would issue a $350 "Homestead Tax Credit" on primary residences.  The idea being that the wealthy who had big homes would still pay, and those with modest/ small homes would have their property taxes offset with that homestead tax credit.

 

Now, after a couple of decades of "normal" inflation, a shack on a postage stamp is assessed so that the poorest of the poor are paying property taxes on that shack.

 

They always offer a "compromise" to shut people up, but those compromises always come back around to bite the people.

It seems every new law has a loophole.   Whether it's intentionally written in there remains to be seen.  Either politicians are stupid or crooked.  Regardless the rich that they say they are going to taxed always get away clean.

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louisville, a city in Jefferson county, ky annexed the whole county. it is known as louisville metro county.. how did it help the people on the outskirts of old louisville? they got a tax increase but not more service. and the strange thing is,  those that moved out, there were plenty, want to do the same kind of government, where they move to.. todd-ray's the bunch of them.

(if ya dont know what a todd-ray is, just repeat todd-ray more than 5 times in front of your friends. im sure they will tell ya).

the truth of the story is, the more their is government, the less their is freedom, and the rich will own ya. you are a commodity, to be wasted at any time. ya are deplorable, an will always be.

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got my vehicle tax/tag renewal bill this weekend in the mail.

 

Seems my 2011 Chevy duramax is still valued at about $27k...ok..fine.

 

but my tax bill was at $980 ?!!

It gave me serious pause because it's only been around $300-$350 for the past several years.

 

Looking at the detail, they now want $550 for Schools and another $149 to service school debt

 

There's conflicting info on line about whether my age 65 lets me avoid school taxes, but the less than pleasant gal that answered the phone this morning said "everybody pays school taxes"

When I told her that my tax bill had almost tripled, she took my info, put me on hold for a few mins and came back to tell me she would send out the revised bill showing I only owe $282.

 

I'll wait for the new bill to see where they reduced it, but dang !!..slapping almost $700 in taxes for schools on an 11 year old truck?

 

can't wait to see the new bill on my 2020 honda minivan

 

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4 minutes ago, Bighanded said:

got my vehicle tax/tag renewal bill this weekend in the mail.

 

Seems my 2011 Chevy duramax is still valued at about $27k...ok..fine.

 

but my tax bill was at $980 ?!!

It gave me serious pause because it's only been around $300-$350 for the past several years.

 

Looking at the detail, they now want $550 for Schools and another $149 to service school debt

 

There's conflicting info on line about whether my age 65 lets me avoid school taxes, but the less than pleasant gal that answered the phone this morning said "everybody pays school taxes"

When I told her that my tax bill had almost tripled, she took my info, put me on hold for a few mins and came back to tell me she would send out the revised bill showing I only owe $282.

 

I'll wait for the new bill to see where they reduced it, but dang !!..slapping almost $700 in taxes for schools on an 11 year old truck?

 

can't wait to see the new bill on my 2020 honda minivan

 

I've been on a no new levy kick for years now.  Back about 20 yrs ago where I used to live the school kept trying to get an additional tax but it kept getting voted down.  First it was because the grade school had asbestos and needed torn down and replaced.   Failed.  Next it was to build a new school building for both middle and high.  Shot down.  They they got wise and didn't say a word and had a special election that only a few knew about and got their tax levy passed.  I caught wind of it and put signs in my yard NO NEW SCHOOL TAXES.  I got death threats for that.  Well, it passed and I sold the house before the increase hit.

 

I have no problem paying taxes but they're just not spending my money responsibly.   Spending like drunken sailors.

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"drunken Sailors"  was exactly the phrase that came to mind when I opened my mail box the other day.  Shiney new school campuses, we have a "language immersion" school...they try to act like it teached more than spanish, but that's really what it's about...and the separate line item for servicing debt?   WTH !!  tax and spend what you have for a budget, but then they go the extra lengths and spend money they don't have and then we are supposed to pay for debt servicing on top of the horrible tax already?!!   

Seriously, if I were already on retirement, I'd not be able to afford to renew my tags this month.

it was the same with my second home...when I say it was down on the coast, I don't mean waterfront nor resort property...it was a lousy old slab house built in 1957. 980sqft and the neighborhood had almost no updates since the 50s.

rental rates at that time (3 yrs ago when I sold it)  were lucky to get $750.  Taxes on the house were over $3k . So even though I was mortgage free on the property, it would take 4 months rent just to cover the tax debt on the house.  Then hope nothing breaks on the house, insurance, etc... I sold the place cause there was very little net income I would get from it.

left  fart at the city limits sign on my way out and never looked back.

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Property taxes are especially evil to me, because what they ultimately mean is that you don't own your property.  You rent it from the state, and they can change your rent constantly, and take your property if you don't pay them.. 

 

So here in the Arkansas Delta, the public schools are mostly "Lord of the Flies"  The kids aren't learning, teachers are either saints, or scum (more of the latter), and most of the expense goes to administration/pork.  When I started working here, the school superintendent at the time had NINE administrative assistants, all of whom drove state vehicles.  This is a school district of 1100 students.  https://www.publicschoolreview.com/arkansas/helena-w-helena-school-district/507680-school-district   The state just took this district over AGAIN due to academic failings.

 

In the small town I live in, the state comes in and takes over the school about every 4-5 years, either due to academic distress (kids graduating who can't read) or fiscal distress.  The local school superintendent happens to be the wife of the area state representative.  You tell me that's there's not shady dealings going on when a school is failing academically AND fiscally.  They disbanded the local school board, yet this woman somehow keeps her job? 

 

Every 2-3 years they ask for a millage increase, crying about how underfunded the schools are.  The millage increase always has some sort of project as the teaser (a new facade on the middle school, for example) but the ask is always 20x's the cost of the project, and the fine print always says "Funds over the project dollar amount will be distributed to the general school district budget".  So, for example, they ask for a tax increase of $1 million to do a $50K touch up on the front of the middle school, and $950K goes to the general budget for the schools, AKA a slush fund.

 

I keep bringing up the "facade project" as a few years back, after repeated asks were voted down, a few of the village idiots said "Let's give them this one.  It's a small increase request and if we give them this one they won't ask for another one for awhile"

 

So that one passed.  A tax increase to paint the front of the school and add a new sign.  The very next cycle, the same administration asked for another tax increase to tear down that exact school with the new facade and build a new one.  This is what we get anytime we try to "compromise" with the statists.   Did I mention that the state representative husband of the school superintendent also has a contracting/construction business?  While he can't do the work directly, don't think he won't push such a job to one of his crooked buddies so he'll get his cut.

 

And let's talk about capital projects involving school districts.  My wife's uncle taught math at another struggling school district about an hour away.  The superintendent there kept hanging around, even after he had completely capped his Tdrop (Teacher Deferred Retirement Option).  https://artrs.gov/teacher-deferred-retirement-option-t-drop

 

He bragged that if he could get a new school built, he would get six figures under the table to pay off his house.  That's money he knew he would get in the form of kickbacks from a crooked contractor, who would then be allowed to cut massive corners on the construction, sharing the cost savings with the superintendent, who would keep his mouth shut and sign off on the sub-par construction. 

 

All of that is the area public school systems, who cry about their lack of funding.  What they present is their total budget compared to other places.  What they don't mention is the extremely low enrollment they have, so while they don't recieve the dollars other bigger school districts receive, the PER PUPIL expenditures are in the top 20 in the state, each and every year (235 districts total).  These districts are spending $15Kish per year per pupil.

 

All of that, and I have to pay to send my kids to private school.  First and foremost my concern is their safety, and no way I'd send them to the local public districts.  Even if they were safe, I have zero faith that they would receive an education there, so again, private is the option.  The private school tuition where I send my kids is about 1/4 what the local public school districts is spending per kid (which I'm also paying via my taxes).

 

People think I only hate the overreaching federal government, but I hate the locals just as much.  They offer free housing, food, cell phones, and babysitting (public schools) and in exchange the absolutely scummiest of the sewer get elected to office over and over again by all of those they support with the tax dollars collected from the working. 

 

The system is completely broken.

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Sore subject to me.  I don’t have any kids in school here.   And if I did they sure wouldn’t be in public school so why should I pay Millage for schools.  Also they charge me for millage for fireman. We have volunteers for firefighters. We don’t have fire hydrants in the neighborhood.  They charge me for street maintenance and the streets suck.  They have not been fixed in the 30+ years this neighborhood has been here. I can go on and on for crap they charge me for that I don’t have. . 

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