I would definitely/do consider them — I would hate to pay an HOA for services I didn’t need/use, property taxes are significant where I live (Northern Virginia) — I managed to appeal mine down (from 585k to 515k). As far as Mello Roos go — such fees are assessed the builder and/or made up through property taxes around here. Everyone bitches about property taxes around here, but nobody does much about it.
The thing that worries me is the future pension/healthcare obligations of my town – and my understanding is that San Diego has some significant issues as far as this goes, too. I am not against making sure teachers and public safety personnel are well taken care of in retirement – but I do think that few people understand the obligations that municipalities will be under in the coming decades. In other words, just wait until retirement obligations REALLY start to come due for cities/towns/counties/states around the country.
On the other hand – at least you’re not in Florida – where you’re also getting hammered by crazy insurance increases. Are any parts of So Cal getting drilled by fire-related insurance increases?
Thanks for bringing this up – property taxes / HOAs / Mello Roos / insurance = “death by a thousand cuts”
