Okay, then your mom’s home and your sister’s home are not too dissmilar in value. Your sister must have truly loved her home not to want to have your mom’s home for $3500 yr less (for now … much more as the years go by) in taxes.
SK, per chance, did your mom’s death occur in one of the years where property values were down (2008-2011)?
Thx, and sorry for so many questions. I’m not trying to make any “identification” here and have no way of doing so. I’m just trying to understand the motivation of typical “CA heirs” who pass up an oppt’y for severely-lowered property taxes for the balance of their lifetimes and going forward … and on a property in a very decent neighborhood, at that![/quote]
The house was sold in mid-2006. Sales prices had already started to drop there, they dropped further and now they’ve recovered to just about the same place they were then. Properties there are a great bargain.
I have a question for you BG. I suspect your home is either paid for or close to paid for and you’ve got a shit load of equity. Why don’t you sell your house and buy different house for $150K less? I’m sure there must be a home for $150K less somewhere not too far from where you now live. With that downward move, you would easily save $3,500 a month. If you think my siblings or I should have jumped at the opportunity to save $3,500 a years by moving down, why haven’t you done everything in your power to do that?[/quote]
SK, I thought you posted on this thread that your mom’s house was larger than the one your sis owned in the same area. So, for her, taking it over would not have been a move down but would have involved the sale of her current home when prices were falling.
I agree with you that homes are a bargain in DC as I have been in a few of them with spacious, step-down LR’s and dramatic floor-to-ceiling rock FPs with very nice views (co-workers’ gatherings). The reason that they are still a relative “bargain” kind of escapes me, but after reading on this board for a few years, I would suspect that most of DC’s stock is too old and dated to appeal to today’s family-raising homebuying set (even though you and I both know the public schools are exceptional around there).
I think what you meant by your posting above is that you think I would save $3500 per yr (not per month) if I sold and bought a house for $150K less. However, I cannot move until after my last kid graduates from HS (next summer). I currently have about 60% equity and am in the process of making repairs so if I DO decide to sell, I can get the best price possible (or the best tenant possible). In addition, I have pets and it would be folly for me to move between now and then because it would have to be within the same school district where I likely wouldn’t be able to find a $300-$350K house anymore and wouldn’t want to stick around long enough to deal with a heavy fixer because I want to leave SD County next year and try out another area. Whether I decide to buy or rent in the new locale (and sell or rent out my house here) still remains up in the air. I won’t be making that decision until the spring.
In any case, buying a house just $150K less than what I sold mine for would result in a “wash” between my current tax bill and my new tax bill because my current house, even with a recent Prop 8 upward assessment for FY 13/14, is still assessed at about $150K less than its market value.
