You think emailing it to Rush is going to fix it? LOL! Sorry - I just don't see it happening.
$20k in property taxes per year - on your home property? What percent of the property value are you at? Your in a (estimating here) $20 million home? If you have that much moola, what do you care about a few grand? Just curious.
I don't know about your assumptions re: Property Taxes. I pay almost 6,000/year and my home is probably worth no more than about $480,000, Assuming a similar rate on his home would make it closer to 2 Mill (Maybe less if the tax rate is high) not 20 Mill.
In the 'burbs of Philly, a house worth $650,000 will cost $22k in property taxes.
You'd make a great politician!
My brother has a 3 story house on Long Island. It has 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, EIK, LR, DR, Laundry room, nasty basement that leaks, and an attic room that has become unusable due to roof trouble.
They bought the home for a little over $100K nearly 20 years ago, paying an outrageous interest rate (prior to Reagan's revitalization of the economy). They were able to remortgage their house a few years ago and got a significantly reduced interest rate.
The home was in serious need of repair when they bought it, but they are only able to do a little at a time. My sister-in-law stayed home to raise the babies and fate was unkind of them. Overwhelming medical bills (over $250K) for my nephew almost wiped them out.
These people are not rich, they are just getting by and doing the best they can. As their home is nonetheless located in an affluent neighborhood, they pay very high property taxes, indeed. Last year, the County raised their taxes to $15K a year - on a single family home in need of repair, not a mansion.
That is reality for folks living in downstate New York; most of my family members are paying between $8K and $12K a year for their homes. My other brother was considering buying a small home in upstate New York as a vacation house, but decided against it because it would crank his yearly property tax bill up to over $20K.
Meanwhile, my husband and I were smart enough to escape from the financial sink hole that is New York in 1996. We are presently considering a 2,800 square foot home in Denton County, Texas, brand new, for a mere $117K. Our taxes? Under $3K.
We need to consider where that person lives before presuming the value of their home. In self-reliant states where people don't ask much from their government, property taxes are low. In states that are heavily saturated with dependents and extra services, property tax bills can be astronomical.
No, not a $20 million home, a $2 million home in California, which right now means about about 3,500 sq. ft. on a quarter-acre in a good neighborhood. In 1970, that home was worth about $80-$100,000 or so.