Posted on 03/11/2007 6:53:33 AM PDT by machman
I will do just that.
Well if they really missed the bubble they're better off.
That's not true for me. My house has doubled in value over the last five years but my taxes have only gone up about 20%. It's up to the local govt. and some states regulate the amount of increase. If your taxes went up 50% it's because you let it. Your local govt. should be fired and new people put in place.
What an asset Granholm, Stabenow and Levin have been for Michigan! (/sarcasm)
It depends on what you invest in.
Generally, paying off your house mortgage has a better rate of return than investing in many other things. If you pay the full term of a typical 30 year mortgage you pay multiples of the original loan amount. In addition, once it is paid off your financial security improves dramatically. Losing your job isn't nearly as big a problem and gives you time to make better choices on how to proceed.
I feel your pain! My state is run by 'Rats, too...with the exception of ONE Republican; our Attorney General, who hasn't done much of anything in the past four months.
Herb Kohl, Russ Feingold, Tammy Baldwin & Jim Doyle. What a Royal Flush of socialism!
That's why elections matter, people! Let 'Rats take over, and you're never rid of them.
Surprisingly, they haven't destroyed our economy...yet. It's in the works, though.
In 2006 the tri-county area (Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties)saw 35,000 foreclosures alone. In Macomb we had 8,100.....
S.E. Michigan is not a good place to be living right now.
That depends on where you live.
In California, if you don't move it is capped at a 2% increase per year. But if you buy a new house you pay based on the current market, usually what you paid. The tax rate is a fixed percentage of the assessed value.
Other states have no caps on the assessed value increase while you live in the same place. If your house doubles in assessed value, so do your taxes.
Around here, nice houses in the country that are not far at all from the city are standing on the market to be sold. House values are stagnant or dropping. But the local RAT county officials did their reassesment and our valuation still went UP about 13%.
My hope is that they overplay their hand and drive housing prices even LOWER so the will have to face reality and reduce the valuations, thus reducing tax totals. It might also get the RATS booted out of office here, but I doubt it (local voters are so stupid.)
I don't have a problem with a soft real estate market at all. I don't intend to move. I have a versatile job that isn't just tied to the local economy. If my wife needs to sell, that means I'm dead and she has the life insurance money anyway.
Prices increases came to a screeching halt in early Summer 2005 and have prices have gone down at least 10% in 2006
Right now, appraisers are looking more closely at property values...they use FannieMae and FreddieMac guidelines...because virtually all written offers to sellers include seller concessions/contributions toward buyers' closing costs.
At this time, appraisers are getting pressure to only go back sixty (60) days for 'sold' comps....a death knell for many would-be sellers and buyers.
Two weeks ago the advertising of tax sales of homes and businesses filled two pages in the local newspaper. And all the communities in my territory - biggest is 7,000 souls - are small.
If someone wants a cheap vacation home, now's the time to buy. Just ignore the taxes on near everything and cow paths that pass for roads. Fishing is still great. Oh, fishing licenses will increase 60% this year. Hunting licenses will go up 100%.
I agree.
As a Michigander living on the East Coast, it breaks my heart to see what Granholm has done to a once great State. If you cut out the cancers of Detroit and Flint, Michigan would be a solidly Republican state.
And just like cancer, Detroit and Flint consume much of the financial health of the state. With the new tax hikes, more money will be flushed down those rat holes.
We should ask Canada to take back Detroit.
We`re southeners who love visiting Mi in the summer to escape
the heat for a while.
Love Indiana Dunes,fishing in Alpena,Macinaw Is.Beaver Is.
Shame what has happened to your beautiful state.
Listen up Michigan. I don't want to pay you exorbitant price for cars. Just 'cause the auto industry management sucks, and the unions have a chock hold on the industry, doesn't mean I'm going to hand over my wallet to you. That said, I hope the average Joe can weather out the storm.
The OFHEO numbers are year-over-year. So, the decline would have been from the fourth quarter of 05 to the fourt quarter of 06. What these comparison do not show is the decline from quarter to quarter, say between the 2nd quarter of 06 and the third quarter of 06, or the 3rd quarter of 06 and the fourth quarter of 06. Thus, they do not reveal price declines in other states. Also, we're talking of state averages. So, one could have a decline in part of the state, but overall the state didn't decline. So, yes, Michigan could be the only one year-over-year to decline. It's not the only place there have been declines, even statewide, since some declines occurred later in 06.
You flew a BS flag on the mention of Michigan as the only state to lose value. I asked a simple question, do you have a source, other than your gut?
My wife and I are brokers in Cal, so don't play that card with me.
Much of the influence in the market is psychological and derives from hysteria and supposition.
If you ask people in Cal what the market has done, thay say it's down. The average home sale in the state is up in value 3.7% in the last year.
Areas differ, as do states.
We are obligated to provide accurate information and not scare tatics. The Cal Assoc of Realtors releases a monthly statement showing the numbers for the California market.
Interesting that Granholm's name doesn't appear once in the article. But that's the liberal media for you.
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