[2011CrazE89]

Buy a house. Stop renting, stop throwing your money out the window home owners say. In 5 years of ownership I've already spent nearly $50k in renovations and repairs. In addition to needing a new roof, last week we replaced the hot water heater. Last year $4k on an air conditioner. Yesterday I turned on the sprinklers only to learn that the pump crapped out. Turn on one zone the front and rear come on with no water pressure!

To make matters worse. I decided to get it upraised. Thinking hell we dropped $50k into it. It's gotta be worth much more right? Well to my disgust the market says its worth EXACTLY what we paid for it 5 years ago When I got the report I nearly stabbed myself in the throat.

It's a good thing my wife earns more than I do

I've yet to see the benefits of home ownership. I'm ready to sell and go back to renting.

[P1]

Appraised does not mean what your buyer might pay for it. Besides, unless you are planning on selling tomorrow, what you worry?

[2011CrazE89]

Originally Posted by P1et

Appraised does not mean what your buyer might pay for it. Besides, unless you are planning on selling tomorrow, what you worry?

Oh I'm not going anywhere. Especially after dropping $50k into it.

[M_Six]

Such is life in your own house. We've slowly replaced the white (yes, white) carpet that covered virtually the entire house. 2 water heaters in the 12 years we've been here, one up and one down. Although here the electric company picks up the tab for the heater and the plumber. We just finished turning the screened in porch into a sunroom. Now we need two new exterior doors. We had the roof stripped and redone about 5 or 6 years ago. Just had the gutters rehung and covered with gutter guards, plus went to 6" diameter downspouts. Fairly new garage door, new furnace/air unit upstairs.

Downstairs furnace/air unit will be next. We also need major landscaping. It never ends.

[upstatedoc]

Bought our house in 2005 at the peak of the seller's market.

New roof

New chimney

Central air with duct work

New boiler

cellar waterproofed

new carpet and paint throughout

$$$$$$

[MiddleAgedAl]

Originally Posted by 2011CrazE89

I've yet to see the benefits of home ownership. I'm ready to sell and go back to renting.

You gotta play the long game, and you will come out on top. I mean decades long. People dont think that far ahead often, but unless you expect to be dead in 10 or 20 years, then you'll still have to live somewhere at that point. Maybe if you are 65+, buying a home for the first time is no longer a good plan for you.

Otherwise, renting still means you are paying a mortgage, you are just paying the landlord's mortgage off for him.

If renting is cheaper than buying, then that would mean that the landlord is happily subsidizing your rental housing for you, out of his own pocket, to his own detriment, rather than selling the property and cutting his losses. Unless the landlord is your parent, that ain't too likely.

[NemesisX]

You want your appraisal to be as low as possible for property tax purposes, assuming you're in this for the long term. Wealthy people who plan on living in their primary residence long term literally hire experts to try and drive down their appraisals as much as possible. It saves tens of thousands in property taxes every year.

[kscarrol]

^^ This...

[John 070]

Owning just for the sake of owning doesn't make sense. Imagine people who live in Detroit as an extreme example? It's all about location. If a person pays full price for something in disrepair, it's a poor investment.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by NemesisX

You want your appraisal to be as low as possible for property tax purposes, assuming you're in this for the long term. Wealthy people who plan on living in their primary residence long term literally hire experts to try and drive down their appraisals as much as possible. It saves tens of thousands in property taxes every year.

Save tens of thousand in property tax every year? You must live next door to my friend. His tax is 58k.

For the rest of us who pay 15-25k per year, I really don't see how we can lower our taxes by ten grand.

[TunedM2C]

My last three homes have been new construction. At least with new construction, if the builder was thorough, you shouldn't expect to fork out cash for repairs until at least ten years of ownership.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by NemesisX

You want your appraisal to be as low as possible for property tax purposes, assuming you're in this for the long term. Wealthy people who plan on living in their primary residence long term literally hire experts to try and drive down their appraisals as much as possible. It saves tens of thousands in property taxes every year.

Yep. We contracted with a builder for $425k to build a house on property we bought 5 years earlier for $200k. After the house was built, property appraiser came out and valued the house at $385. Since we don't plan on leaving anytime soon, were thrilled.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by John 070

Save tens of thousand in property tax every year? You must live next door to my friend. His tax is 58k.

For the rest of us who pay 15-25k per year, I really don't see how we can lower our taxes by ten grand.

Yikes. I thought the McMansion neighborhood across the way was bad with their $10k/yr property taxes.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by Dueler

But you also pay a huge premium with new construction because the builders try to pass all their costs to the buyer.

Wat?

The builder passes on ALL costs and then adds on a percentage of profit or a flat fee for overseeing the project.

[NemesisX]

Originally Posted by John 070

Save tens of thousand in property tax every year? You must live next door to my friend. His tax is 58k.

For the rest of us who pay 15-25k per year, I really don't see how we can lower our taxes by ten grand.

YMMV.

[dagolfpro]

one of the best calculators i've seen:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...ator.html?_r=0

[Lups]

Originally Posted by Prowess Symphony

Wow some of you pay more then $10k in property tax?!?! I only pay $300 a year for my 7 acre cabin here in the beautiful West Virginia mountains. No housing codes. Cop-less twisting back roads everywhere. No crime. Most of us leave our houses unlocked and keys in the car. I can't imagine paying that much in tax. I'd never live in or near a city.

That's like Finland, no house keys and my cars are always open, I'd just loose the key. Drives the spouse absolutely insane, which is a perk.

[MrPrena]

You don't own a house. House owns you.

[upstatedoc]

Originally Posted by Prowess Symphony

here in the beautiful West Virginia mountains.

I hear banjos.

[2011CrazE89]

On a positive note. I was dumping too much into my escrow every month. Bank sent me a reimbursement check at the end of the year. That was a nice little surprise 

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by Prowess Symphony

Wow some of you pay more then $10k in property tax?!?! I only pay $300 a year for my 7 acre cabin here in the beautiful West Virginia mountains. No housing codes. Cop-less twisting back roads everywhere. No crime. Most of us leave our houses unlocked and keys in the car. I can't imagine paying that much in tax. I'd never live in or near a city.

I pay $4,500 in taxes on my 1,200sqft condo (which we rent out). Our house is around $12k on two acres.

OP, what was the thinking behind getting the house appraised?

[2011CrazE89]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

I pay $4,500 in taxes on my 1,200sqft condo (which we rent out). Our house is around $12k on two acres.

OP, what was the thinking behind getting the house appraised?

I was curious to know what the current market value was for the area. I was also looking into possibly doing a refi. I'm currently at a 30 year fixed at 3.5%