tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-877141313085074936.post4104489892396591157..comments2014-01-17T00:48:27.180-05:00Comments on The Umbrella Treasury: Why We're Waiting to Buy a HouseJ.W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00471547517293434732noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-877141313085074936.post-2848546412544592822013-04-09T18:34:43.842-04:002013-04-09T18:34:43.842-04:00I'm glad you were able to buy into an area wit...I'm glad you were able to buy into an area with more manageable property taxes. <br /><br />I think that one of the reasons why New Jersey taxes are so high relates to the structure of local government. NJ has so many small, small towns that could be combined into a larger municipality to reduce infrastructure expenses. But that seldom happens. It's an incredibly densely populated area, but even so, so you have these little towns of 5,000 people...and each town has its own school system, police force, fire department, city hall, library, etc. J.W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00471547517293434732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-877141313085074936.post-1122115656631460512013-04-09T18:29:50.939-04:002013-04-09T18:29:50.939-04:00Yep, I have to keep reminding myself -- no reason ...Yep, I have to keep reminding myself -- no reason to rush!J.W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00471547517293434732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-877141313085074936.post-32110923510058717702013-04-09T18:29:31.054-04:002013-04-09T18:29:31.054-04:00I completely understand re: the property taxes. I...I completely understand re: the property taxes. I know so many people in this area (mostly in our parents' generation) who paid off their mortgages, but decided to move because the property taxes were too high. A lot of these folks bought a home 30+ years ago for say, $300,000. Their homes are now worth double or triple what they paid...and the property taxes are $20,000-$30,000/year. <br /><br />And the commuting costs can become crazy! We between our one car payment, gas, insurance,repairs, and train tickets, we spent just a little less on commuting than we do on our living expenses. Granted, we found a great deal on our apartment and pay less than market value. But still...J.W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00471547517293434732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-877141313085074936.post-16572420272945458032013-04-09T18:20:27.864-04:002013-04-09T18:20:27.864-04:00Yikes -- 12% in one year isn't a good trend fo...Yikes -- 12% in one year isn't a good trend for prospective homebuyers. <br /><br />You guys are in Orange County, right? I grew up there, and I can remember house hunting with my parents. It was February of 1997 when they started looking at houses, but our other home hadn't sold yet. By the time our home sold in April and my parents were ready to make an offer on a new home, prices had gone up by 10% -- in two months! People were buying houses, sight unseen, because they were worried about low inventory and rising prices. It was a crazy time. After the most recent mortgage crisis, I hope this will never happen again. J.W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00471547517293434732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-877141313085074936.post-18156129150507549722013-04-09T09:35:02.647-04:002013-04-09T09:35:02.647-04:00Those properly taxes match what I saw back in the ...Those properly taxes match what I saw back in the Chicago suburbs. Thankfully in Utah it's cheap. My taxes are only $2400 for a $300K house on a .25 acre plot. In chicago suburbs the equivalent house would be more like $8-$10K. Im not sure exactly why it's so much cheaper here but I know the school system isn't the greatest and we have one of the lowest per student spending in the US. I'm sure that counts for a lot.Kashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04654276911677134739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-877141313085074936.post-44926011973547028882013-04-09T07:31:23.557-04:002013-04-09T07:31:23.557-04:00Property taxes sound crazy in your area and that w...Property taxes sound crazy in your area and that would definitely impact my decision too. I don't mind you for waiting until the time is right. There's no reason to rush!!! =)Holly@ClubThriftyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16943656467827987350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-877141313085074936.post-83628905699223520322013-04-08T23:12:33.253-04:002013-04-08T23:12:33.253-04:00Oh yes, the property taxes!! Sometimes we think ab...Oh yes, the property taxes!! Sometimes we think about how a mortgage payment would probably be very similar to our rent payment...and then we think about property taxes + insurance and pretty soon it's almost twice as much. <br /><br />Another factor we think about is commuting/transportation costs. We'd need two metro north passes, plus occasional subway rides, and at least one car (since we currently have none). We're *hoping* to be able to pay cash for that car on top of the down payment, so that's more saving we'll have to do before we feel really ready to move. Lisa @ Elle Seeshttps://elleseesandsays.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-877141313085074936.post-85172604090983212412013-04-08T19:31:52.627-04:002013-04-08T19:31:52.627-04:00we have also toyed with the idea of purchasing a h...we have also toyed with the idea of purchasing a home. It is definitely where we are heading, but we are saving our pennies right now for the opportunity. Maybe end of 2014? we definitely don't want to be priced out, which we will if prices keep going up (in our area, they went up by 12% in the past year!) Newlyweds on a Budgethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10165059665185786849noreply@blogger.com