<p>These numbers being reported are from Feb sales, which likely reflect houses that were on the market late last year [US</a> home prices drop for 6th straight month - Yahoo! News](<a href=“US home prices drop for 6th straight month”>US home prices drop for 6th straight month) Sounds like the folks posting here are posting of real-time (ie current) houses going to contract. These numbers will be reported down the road, in a few months.</p>
<p>Correction on #1900.
What was I thinking! 60 man hours. From 9 to 8 every day, 2 days. That is just painting, no surface preparation, wall paper removal and others. I have to provide everything, including drive the painters from 25 miles away, food, tools and paint of course.</p>
<p>Just heard from my realtor that we got outbid on the Walnut Creek property. House was listed at $609,900 and there were 12 offers in total. We made a $625,000 all-cash offer with flexible COE terms based on seller’s time frame. My realtor thinks we had the only all-cash offer over the listed price. The winning bidder offered $665,000 with 20% down. It will be interesting to see if they can make up the appraisal differential because I suspect it won’t get appraised for even $600,000. It is an ORIGINAL condition rancher that was built in 1952. There is $6,000 worth of section 1 work that the seller will not pay for (daughters of deceased parents— estate sale) and that their lender will insist upon before COE. There is also about $12,000 that buyer must pay to replace galvanized pipes and an asbestos removal in the insulation which I didn’t get the chance to get quoted since we never made it to the inspection/contingency period. Was told if we wanted to be put into the backup position, we would have to up our offer to $644,000. Thanks but no thanks. If anyone is curious to see what $650,000 plus buys you in Walnut Creek CA close to downtown see link below:</p>
<p>[160</a> Greenway Dr, Walnut Creek, CA 94596 MLS# 40570023 - Zillow](<a href=“http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/160-Greenway-Dr-Walnut-Creek-CA-94596/18413267_zpid/]160”>http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/160-Greenway-Dr-Walnut-Creek-CA-94596/18413267_zpid/)</p>
<p>are those property taxes for real???</p>
<p>^They are ORIGINAL owners, Doc.</p>
<p>I don’t know what that means - I’m the original owner of my house and it doesn’t make any difference. Taxes in a slum would be higher than that here.</p>
<p>The property taxes in Ca are a little more than 1 percent of the purchase price…plus the taxes rise at 2 percent a year except for some situations when home prices drop. Plus, there are add ons for school bonds and other items.</p>
<p>So jshain…what is your plan?</p>
<p>Prop 13:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>[California</a> Proposition 13 (1978) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_13_(1978)]California”>1978 California Proposition 13 - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>dstark, My plan is to continue to watch the 94595 and 94596 area of Walnut Creek, excluding Rossmoor, and be ready to do another all-cash deal— if necessary. There were just too many issues with this property to go any higher. We still had about $250,000 to $275,000 worth of improvements to do after we did the necessary repairs. Got to draw the line somewhere.</p>
<p>That’s a lot of fixing up…</p>
<p>Do homes in that area that are fixed up sell for prices above 850,000?</p>
<p>dstark, Realistically homes in this immediate area are in the $600,000 to $800,000 range IF there were any resales to be had. The last one that sold last year went for $610,000, fully updated, but the lot wasn’t as good because you could see a tall commercial building from the backyard. Worse lot, but $150,000 (plus) in updates, 150 s.f. larger, but detached garage. These are all custom homes so hard to compare versus tract developments in the same area. This home I bid on was 1759 s.f. with plans to take it to 2159 s.f. by converting existing garage and adding a new garage. We’d have around $900,000 plus into it after all was said and done on a smaller lot and a little less sq. footage for the neighborhood comparables in that price range. Those things become less important for your retirement home than if I were younger but I am still looking at other more expensive areas that would better justify a $900,000 price tag than this neighborhood.</p>
<p>1% of the purchase price is a good deal. There is no limit to how much taxes can go up unless the people vote the characters out of office. Here we get taxed on everything except the air we breath at least not yet.</p>
<p>"6. California
Taxes paid by residents as pct. of income: 10.6%
Total state and local taxes collected: $354 billion
Pct. of total taxes paid by residents: 82.5%
Pct. of total taxes paid by non-residents: 17.5%</p>
<p>California is exceptional in many ways when it comes to taxing its residents. The state has the highest statewide sales tax in the country, currently 8.25%. It also has the highest tax on gas, charging 46.6 cents per gallon. The state collects among the lowest amount of taxes from non-residents and business out of all the states. But with the lowest credit rating in the nation, according to S&P, an ongoing budget problem, and a $10.8 billion deficit, one of the biggest in the country, the state may want to change its approach.</p>
<ol>
<li>Rhode Island
Taxes paid by residents as pct. of income: 10.7%
Total state and local taxes collected: $9.4 billion
Pct. of total taxes paid by residents: 70.9%
Pct. of total taxes paid by non-residents: 29.1%</li>
</ol>
<p>Rhode Island is one of the smallest states and has one of the smallest revenues. Despite this, residents’ tax burdens are among the highest. Each year, the average Rhode Islander pays $671 in state “sin taxes,” or taxes on things such as alcohol, tobacco, and gambling. This is the second highest amount in the country, behind only Delaware. Part of the reason for this is that the state taxes each pack of cigarettes $3.46, the second highest in the country. The state’s tax burden is hurting business as well. Rhode Island has an exceptionally high corporate tax rate of 9% and was recently rated as the worst state for business by CNBC.</p>
<ol>
<li>Wisconsin
Taxes paid by residents as pct. of income: 11%
Total state and local taxes collected: $41.7 billion
Pct. of total taxes paid by residents: 77.9%
Pct. of total taxes paid by non-residents: 22.1%</li>
</ol>
<p>According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin relies more on income and property taxes for its revenue than most states. In fact, both are approximately 25% higher than the national averages. The state receives a smaller portion of federal money than most others, leaving little room for this money to offset state spending. Worst still, taxes on industrial property owners rank among the bottom half, and often the bottom third, of the country, while residential taxes are among the greatest. According to a study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Wisconsin’s middle class pays a bigger share of government spending than any other state, except for New York.</p>
<ol>
<li>Connecticut
Taxes paid by residents as pct. of income: 12%
Total state and local taxes collected: $33.3 billion
Pct. of total taxes paid by residents: 80.1%
Pct. of total taxes paid by non-residents: 19.9%</li>
</ol>
<p>The state with the highest per capita income in the country collects more than $5,000 per resident on average, the most in the country. It is the 30th most populous state in the U.S., but it collects the 19th most in tax revenue. Less than 20% of Connecticut’s tax revenue comes from non-residents and business. According to the Tax Foundation, the state ranks 47th in business environment, with a 7.5% tax on businesses. The state’s residents have a higher tax burden than all but two other states. Part of the reason for this has to do with the fact that the taxes Connecticut commuters pay to the empire state counts as part of the Connecticut tax burden.</p>
<ol>
<li>New York
Taxes paid by residents as pct. of income: 12.1%
Total state and local taxes collected: $243.9 billion
Pct. of total taxes paid by residents: 71.4%
Pct. of total taxes paid by non-residents: 28.6%</li>
</ol>
<p>New York places much of its tax burden on residents from other states. Consider, for example, the amount of state revenue derived from New York City tourism, or those who commute to the city for work. Despite this, state residents maintain the second largest tax burden in the country. The state has one of the highest state and local tax collections per capita, an average of $6,884. It has one of the highest combined averages local and state sales tax rates — 8.3%. The Big Apple also has a number of exceptionally high excise taxes, such as its $4.35 tax on each pack of cigarettes, the highest rate in the country. Additionally, the state has exceptionally high property tax rates. According to the Census Bureau, the top ten counties in the U.S. with the highest property taxes as a percentage of home values are all in New York.</p>
<ol>
<li>New Jersey
Taxes paid by residents as pct. of income: 12.2%
Total state and local taxes collected: $85.9 billion
Pct. of total taxes paid by residents: 79.5%
Pct. of total taxes paid by non-residents: 20.5%</li>
</ol>
<p>New Jersey residents have a higher tax burden than those of any other state. As a percent of their income, taxes in the Garden State were 12.2% in 2009, nearly double that of Alaska. Like Connecticut, much of this tax burden comes from state residents who commute to New York City and pay taxes there as well. This illustrates how a state resident contributes to the tax base of multiple states. Although not reflected in the percent of income residents pay in state and local taxes, it is nonetheless an additional burden commuters have to bear. According to Tax Foundation, the state has the third-worst environment for business in the country, with a corporate tax rate of 9%. It also has an above-average sales tax, as well as one of the highest rates in the country for cigarettes and liquor."</p>
<p>Yeah…we are ok on property taxes…</p>
<p>Property values are high in the desirable places in the state though…</p>
<p>How much would that Walnut Creek house go for in most areas of the country?</p>
<p>Jshain…we always hear…don’t be the most expensive place in the neighborhood…</p>
<p>In my neck of the woods (expensive Fairfield County, CT), the house would be $750,000 or so. I’m not saying I’d spend that for that house – but some would, just to be in my town.</p>
<p>Yeah…Very Happy…like your area is typical. ;)</p>
<p>VeryHappy - we probably don’t live that far apart.</p>
<p>VeryHappy,
What is property tax rate in Fairfield? What would it be on a house, for instance, that sold for $750k?</p>
<p>The tax on that house, in my town, would probably be around $10,000 or $11,000 a year. But in the town just north of me, it would be $16,000 or $17,000. (My town has a commercial base that pays taxes, while the town north of me does not.)</p>
<p>Wow. In the really nice northern suburb of Cincinnati where I live, that ranch would be earmarked for a teardown. Someone would put up a big two story, 4 bed/3 bath, finished basement, atrium entrance, 3 car garage house, for sale at about $750,000. !</p>