cheap house & high taxes vs. expensive house & low taxes

veneficus

veneficus

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Sep 12, 2008
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Assuming mortgage rates are equal and we want to live in this property for the next 30+ years, is it wiser to purchase a less expensive home with higher taxes or a more expensive home with lower taxes?

edit: Also what if I only want to live there for 3 years.
 


hmm, I havent thought in depth about this.. but if your paying for it all in cash and will have no debt, then I would go with the less taxes route. Same with 3 year route.

The thing is, once you "own" the property outright ( no mortagage or debt on it ), why would you want to continue paying high amounts of money on it every year if you dont have to? I think you should pay for what you want, but by the sound of it, you are considering a high end and low end home.. so just grab the one that will be less money every year if you own it outright.

I own 2 homes paid in cash, and there is no way in hell I would be happy with paying high end taxes on them both each year.. hell no
 
veneficus said:
Assuming mortgage rates are equal and we want to live in this property for the next 30+ years, is it wiser to purchase a less expensive home with higher taxes or a more expensive home with lower taxes?

edit: Also what if I only want to live there for 3 years.
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More expensive home with lower taxes. Value of the house stays with you. You can't recoup taxes after selling your house, but you can recoup at least some of the value of your home.
 
My taxes are over 10k a year and by the time I pay off my house it will feel like I'm paying another mortgage again.
 
Depends on the market in which you are entering. Regardless you'll want to try and buy an older home in a central part of the city - that's where the strong value will stay.

E.g - Upper east side in New York was very strong during the recession when areas like Chelsey were hit pretty hard.

If you want to get out in three years maybe look at just renting. People hate on renting a lot of the time but it can often times be very financially smart.
 
in Texas the county I live in, the property tax rate is 2.7% .. now that is high.. as far as cheap vs expensive house goes.. if you live in texas, we have homestead law, that means no creditor can attach lien to your primary residence... buying an expensive house is an asset protection strategy
 
veneficus said:
Assuming mortgage rates are equal and we want to live in this property for the next 30+ years, is it wiser to purchase a less expensive home with higher taxes or a more expensive home with lower taxes?

edit: Also what if I only want to live there for 3 years.
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The amount of time you want to spend there really is a key part of the answer.

If you are really going to be there for 30+ years, you have to define the house you want based on personal tastes and preferences. It might be big, it might be small. You have to pick one you really like and consider taxes simply as another expense of living in that house. If you use taxes as your sole basis of selection, you might find that you hate that house before too long because it wasn't one you really wanted.

If you are going to be there for only 3+ years, you have to look at what your goal might be of owning a house for 3+ years. Is it to build equity? Is it to flip? Is it to resell at a significant profit? Is it to be close to work? etc. Your goal for the house should define what you want.

I guess bottom line, taxes are just another expense of living somewhere, like utilities or maintenance and can be a factor in your decision, but shouldn't be the sole factor.
 
Thanks, the taxes for the house I'm considering is 11k for an area that really isn't that good. It's a big beautiful house, almost a mini mansion for 350k. I just got on the market yesterday, and am pretty overwhelmed. I live in the chicago/northwest indiana area, and have a lot of homework to do. I've heard so far the Convential loans are more likely to get picked up than FHA loans, I can still get the Tax break till April I heard, and it still is a buyers market.

I may put an offer on the house if It is only for 3 years. The reason I'm doing 3 years, is because I just don't plan to live in this area for too long. But for now I find it difficult to move too far away from my family and friends.

I have about 4 more houses to checkout this week, one's on a private lake and golf course(fingers crossed)

Edit: The house is a bank foreclosure.
 
veneficus said:
Thanks, the taxes for the house I'm considering is 11k for an area that really isn't that good. It's a big beautiful house, almost a mini mansion for 350k. I just got on the market yesterday, and am pretty overwhelmed. I live in the chicago/northwest indiana area, and have a lot of homework to do. I've heard so far the Convential loans are more likely to get picked up than FHA loans, I can still get the Tax break till April I heard, and it still is a buyers market.

I may put an offer on the house if It is only for 3 years. The reason I'm doing 3 years, is because I just don't plan to live in this area for too long. But for now I find it difficult to move too far away from my family and friends.

I have about 4 more houses to checkout this week, one's on a private lake and golf course(fingers crossed)

Edit: The house is a bank foreclosure.
Click to expand...

Never make a decision with a house that got on the market one day before and got you overwhelmed. Look at the neighborhood and the local market and how it's doing. Talk to the current owners and stay noncommittal.

If you act desperate you'll be taken for a ride.
 
veneficus said:
Thanks, the taxes for the house I'm considering is 11k for an area that really isn't that good. It's a big beautiful house, almost a mini mansion for 350k. I just got on the market yesterday, and am pretty overwhelmed. I live in the chicago/northwest indiana area, and have a lot of homework to do. I've heard so far the Convential loans are more likely to get picked up than FHA loans, I can still get the Tax break till April I heard, and it still is a buyers market.

I may put an offer on the house if It is only for 3 years. The reason I'm doing 3 years, is because I just don't plan to live in this area for too long. But for now I find it difficult to move too far away from my family and friends.

I have about 4 more houses to checkout this week, one's on a private lake and golf course(fingers crossed)

Edit: The house is a bank foreclosure.
Click to expand...

please fucking tell me you bought this in Gary Indiana... lol
 
veneficus said:
Thanks, the taxes for the house I'm considering is 11k for an area that really isn't that good. It's a big beautiful house, almost a mini mansion for 350k. I just got on the market yesterday, and am pretty overwhelmed. I live in the chicago/northwest indiana area, and have a lot of homework to do. I've heard so far the Convential loans are more likely to get picked up than FHA loans, I can still get the Tax break till April I heard, and it still is a buyers market.

I may put an offer on the house if It is only for 3 years. The reason I'm doing 3 years, is because I just don't plan to live in this area for too long. But for now I find it difficult to move too far away from my family and friends.

I have about 4 more houses to checkout this week, one's on a private lake and golf course(fingers crossed)

Edit: The house is a bank foreclosure.
Click to expand...

Being serious now... I have a house in a private gated community, private lake ( with marina ) and my backyard is the 12 hole for our golf course. taxes aside, the only other place I could imagine for me being better then this would be beachfront. Private lake and golf course rocks.. you might be really happy with it if you get it.
 
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