Diggity said:

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you're right, they much prefer to spend a million plus on a two BR condo.

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.... that will be worth $2m plus in 10 years? Sure, if you can swing it. Nice payday when you move back to your home state.

Meanwhile your dallas/houston burb mcmansion gets you maybe $50k in appreciation in a decade.

I get it...appreciation is great. Clearly it's not sustainable at those levels, and the point of housing at the end of the day is a roof over your head. Most people in California cannot access it, and that's a major problem.

I know folks in Texas aren't wistfully looking to the west with hopes that there was less affordable housing available.

62strat said:

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agdaddy04 said:

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When we left last year we were paying $12k. House in Colorado cost almost double but property taxes less than 1/3.

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this is the main factor in my comment above, where the guy said you can afford a $250k house.

Even across TX, prop tax can vary quite a bit (we were paying $4800 on a $120k house in Tomball 10 years ago)

Then move across state lines and everything changes.

Always start with a monthly budget, then work your towards a purchase price.

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I'm in Harris Co/Tomball ISD and will pay about $8500 this year on $335k of assessed value.

TXTransplant said:

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62strat said:

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agdaddy04 said:

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When we left last year we were paying $12k. House in Colorado cost almost double but property taxes less than 1/3.

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this is the main factor in my comment above, where the guy said you can afford a $250k house.

Even across TX, prop tax can vary quite a bit (we were paying $4800 on a $120k house in Tomball 10 years ago)

Then move across state lines and everything changes.

Always start with a monthly budget, then work your towards a purchase price.

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I'm in Harris Co/Tomball ISD and will pay about $8500 this year on $335k of assessed value.

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I'm in douglas county CO and pay about $4500 on a $550k house...

See how different it can be?

Quote:

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Most people in California cannot access it, and that's a major problem.

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most people in CA can go somewhere else, too... and that's their problem.

I remember why I stopped responding to you.

62strat said:

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TXTransplant said:

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62strat said:

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agdaddy04 said:

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When we left last year we were paying $12k. House in Colorado cost almost double but property taxes less than 1/3.

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this is the main factor in my comment above, where the guy said you can afford a $250k house.

Even across TX, prop tax can vary quite a bit (we were paying $4800 on a $120k house in Tomball 10 years ago)

Then move across state lines and everything changes.

Always start with a monthly budget, then work your towards a purchase price.

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I'm in Harris Co/Tomball ISD and will pay about $8500 this year on $335k of assessed value.

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I'm in douglas county CO and pay about $4500 on a $550k house...

See how different it can be?

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For sure. I paid $550/year in property taxes on first house in Huntsville, AL. But I also paid state income tax.

I bought that house for $155k in 2004, sold it in 2010 for $180k. I think it went into foreclosure after that and lingered on the market for as low as $158k in 2017. But it looks like someone bought it last year for $192k.

It's never an apples to apples comparison.

And I also don't have the option of moving to Colorado. My job is in the Houston 'burbs.

TXTransplant said:

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62strat said:

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TXTransplant said:

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62strat said:

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agdaddy04 said:

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When we left last year we were paying $12k. House in Colorado cost almost double but property taxes less than 1/3.

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this is the main factor in my comment above, where the guy said you can afford a $250k house.

Even across TX, prop tax can vary quite a bit (we were paying $4800 on a $120k house in Tomball 10 years ago)

Then move across state lines and everything changes.

Always start with a monthly budget, then work your towards a purchase price.

---

I'm in Harris Co/Tomball ISD and will pay about $8500 this year on $335k of assessed value.

---

I'm in douglas county CO and pay about $4500 on a $550k house...

See how different it can be?

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For sure. I paid $550/year in property taxes on first house in Huntsville, AL. But I also paid state income tax.

I bought that house for $155k in 2004, sold it in 2010 for $180k. I think it went into foreclosure after that and lingered on the market for as low as $158k in 2017. But it looks like someone bought it last year for $192k.

It's never an apples to apples comparison.

And I also don't have the option of moving to Colorado. My job is in the Houston 'burbs.

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which was my whole point of my first comment; suggesting to someone a budget of a home by using a purchase price is pretty much worthless advice. There are too many variables. Start with a comfortable monthly budget, then back in to a purchase price using estimated prop tax, hazard ins, down payment, interest rate, desired interest term, etc..

I worked in houston burbs for 10 years... that's not a good reason at all to say you don't have option of moving.

I know my field and industry (chemicals and refining). Houston is where I need to be. The further away that I move the more likely I am to have to come back if the SHTF.

It's why I moved here from Alabama in the first place.

TXTransplant said:

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I know my field and industry (chemicals and refining). Houston is where I need to be. The further away that I moved the more likely I am to have to come back if the SHTF.

It's why I moved here from Alabama in the first place.

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and I worked in O&G related to GOM. One can always make an excuse.

I work 5 miles from suncor denver that does 100k barrels a day. Those are everywhere, not just TX.

62strat said:

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TXTransplant said:

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I know my field and industry (chemicals and refining). Houston is where I need to be. The further away that I moved the more likely I am to have to come back if the SHTF.

It's why I moved here from Alabama in the first place.

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and I worked in O&G related to GOM. One can always make an excuse.

I work 5 miles from suncor denver that does 100k barrels a day. Those are everywhere, not just TX.

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Yeah, I'm a PhD. I don't work in a plant, so that narrows it even more. Believe me, I've looked at tons of options. Finding a job in Houston wasn't even that easy. My degrees and skill set kind of makes me a unicorn.

In theory, what I do could be WFH full-time. But I don't want that, and it's not the industry corporate culture.

I could be a patent examiner and WFH anywhere, but if I've learned anything the last 8 years, it's that I DON'T want to be a patent examiner.

agdaddy04 said:

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When we left last year we were paying $12k. House in Colorado cost almost double but property taxes less than 1/3.

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I'm in Charleston, SC where houses are 2x SA, but property taxes are 1/6. Add in state income tax and it's not that far off from the near northside of San Antonio. A bit less, but not a huge difference.

Location definitely mattered, the neighborhood fed into Churchill and good schools I think were the biggest part of the property tax breakdown.

When I started in mortgage I worked leads from lending tree and had around 20 states. Taxes were either or income tax and property tax. States with no income tax were 2 to 2.5 times higher for property then those that had the income tax.

In Texas we run 2.0-2.5 property tax with outliers. In CO property is 1% plus income tax and the majority of people pay 1%. So 2% total like us.

Texan politicians bragging about no income tax is a false claim. We pay as much as those states that do. It's just a different collection of taxes

TXTransplant said:

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Yeah, I'm a PhD. I don't work in a plant, so that narrows it even more. Believe me, I've looked at tons of options. Finding a job in Houston wasn't even that easy. My degrees and skill set kind of makes me a unicorn.

In theory, what I do could be WFH full-time. But I don't want that, and it's not the industry corporate culture.

I could be a patent examiner and WFH anywhere, but if I've learned anything the last 8 years, it's that I DON'T want to be a patent examiner.

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I hear you, I'm in aerospace and hoping I last for another year because maybe by then the cuts will be over. Otherwise outside of aero there's not a whole lot of other places in the city for my skill set to go so a move would be in store, probably one out of state because SC isn't exactly a very big one.

On one hand I wouldn't mind moving because I have nobody in the entire region though everyone I knew in TX has moved on. On the other we're in a great house in a quiet, older part of the city that feeds into the best schools available. It would be tough to find something else this good. It would also be fun dealing with the kids' mom but they live with me almost all the time because I'm the only one who can handle them.

I agree. But did not want to start a forum 16 thread here. I would trade our tax system for CO's any day. Pay as you earn not what asset you own.

Not to derail, but I totally understand. My son was 5 when we left Alabama in 2010, but his dad stayed (and continues to live in the area).

We've made it work, but the first couple of years were tough.

It's easy to forget that custody agreements and blended families are another reason why a lot of people can't decide to move just for lower taxes or prettier scenery.

TXTransplant said:

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It's easy to forget that custody agreements and blended families are another reason why a lot of people can't decide to move just for lower taxes or prettier scenery.

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Point taken.. I tend to forget about those situations since I've never had any in my family..

62strat said:

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agdaddy04 said:

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When we left last year we were paying $12k. House in Colorado cost almost double but property taxes less than 1/3.

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this is the main factor in my comment above, where the guy said you can afford a $250k house.

Even across TX, prop tax can vary quite a bit (we were paying $4800 on a $120k house in Tomball 10 years ago)

Then move across state lines and everything changes.

Always start with a monthly budget, then work your towards a purchase price.

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Agree.

My wife and I are in DFW, but are hoping to move somewhere down closer to central Texas and I made a spreadsheet just using some rough numbers I found from different CAD sites in the areas we are considering. These were all in Texas obviously, so high prop taxes, no state income tax and there were still pretty wild variations in what our costs would be.

once you get into the $400-600k range, you're talking about some areas being several hundred per month different strictly from property taxes.

This is how we approached coming to our budget number:

Gross Income (1 month)
Less: Payroll Taxes (1 month)
Less: Retirement/Other Savings (1 month)
= Net Income

Net Income x 28% = Maximum monthly payment (including taxes and insurance).

Once you know your maximum monthly payment you can adjust home costs, down payment, interest rate, taxes and insurance according to your situation.

Typical wisdom says no more than 28% of your gross monthly income on PITI, but we choose to take payroll taxes and retirement savings off the top to make sure we didn't overextend.

Worlds Foremost Ag said:

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This is how we approached coming to our budget number:

Gross Income (1 month)
Less: Payroll Taxes (1 month)
Less: Retirement/Other Savings (1 month)
= Net Income

Net Income x 28% = Maximum monthly payment (including taxes and insurance).

Once you know your maximum monthly payment you can adjust home costs, down payment, interest rate, taxes and insurance according to your situation.

Typical wisdom says no more than 28% of your gross monthly income on PITI, but we choose to take payroll taxes and retirement savings off the top to make sure we didn't overextend.

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I think that's wise as well.

We are ~15% of our gross monthly income, but about 24% of your definition of 'net'

Consider buying a home with the intent of renting it out in a couple years.

My first home in 97 costs 85K. Its now worth $250K. I kick myself for not keeping it and making it a renter.

Similar situation here.

We're at about the same. Obviously you limit your saving ability drastically if you calculate off of gross. I'm glad we accounted for that in the equation.

Worlds Foremost Ag said:

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This is how we approached coming to our budget number:

Gross Income (1 month)
Less: Payroll Taxes (1 month)
Less: Retirement/Other Savings (1 month)
= Net Income

Net Income x 28% = Maximum monthly payment (including taxes and insurance).

Once you know your maximum monthly payment you can adjust home costs, down payment, interest rate, taxes and insurance according to your situation.

Typical wisdom says no more than 28% of your gross monthly income on PITI, but we choose to take payroll taxes and retirement savings off the top to make sure we didn't overextend.

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After long discussions with my fianc and some sound advice here and by others close to me who have made sound financial decisions over time this is our plan:

1. Rent until we find out what my finace's income will be (Possibly Rent-To-Own if we can find a deal)
2. Use this formula but replace the 28% with 25% to be more conservative (I like buying things)
3. Turn home into rental when we are ready to upgrade in home
4. Try to make a 15yr mortgage work (Dave Ramsey)