42% increase in property tax?

I just figure it out and in the last two years our property tax has increased 42%. Is that typical across america or am I just particularly lucky? Just love this housing bubble. Property values go up but you cant sell to cash in a profit because you will just wind up paying the same inflated rate where ever you move. Only beneficiary seems to be the tax man.

in the governor's mansion?

top of the housing bubble. I bet it is assessed for more than it's worth now.

No. It's not just you.

My property tax has increased 55% over the past few years. I'm paying $650/month now.

with no state income tax they keep raising property taxes until nobody can afford to live here

cut federal taxes, increase the burden onto state and local government, rinse, repeat.

the unimproved half of the farm (a 37 acre parcel) had its taxes drop to $90 a year. The parcel with improvements keeps going up, but I'd expect that as I've been DIYing a new house on it for several years.

It's common now in my area of PA to have an annual property tax bill upwards of $5000 a year for a very modest house. Our neighbor is an old lady on a fixed income and she can't pay it--the sheriff was here with one of those notices telling you to pay up or get sold off. And her house is a TEENY one-bedroom cottage you can barely turn around in.

Also, property taxes are out of sight. Ours have gone up over $200 a year the past two years.

I just can't get over these huge property tax bills in the northeast and in California. I think my county in NC has the lowest property tax rate in the entire state (and still, repukes around here constantly complain that it's "too high"!). My entire property tax bill for the ENTIRE YEAR of 2005 was just over $500. I can't imagine paying that every MONTH.

Our yearly property tax bill was $186. It was quite a shock when we moved to PA, I tell you, and the shock keeps increasing each year. Fortunately, our house is paid for--I couldn't imagine paying a mortgage plus these taxes.

Just after the deadline for grievance day, my bank sent me a notice that my escrow was short and I'd be paying $350 more a month to cover the tax increase. Wish I had a raise like that at work. I couldn't afford my house if I bought it today, forget about the taxes or the heating bills. I don't know anyone who could either. Regrettably where I am, the bubble will get much bigger and may never burst. I'm in an area that's commutable to NYC and still considered "affordable". (After living in a one bedroom prison worth a million buckaroos for awhile, it's only a matter of time before they find their way up here with that money, after selling it to the next sucker.) So much for being able to settle into a lifetime home.

Ironically our local dem committees got together recently and hosted an informational workshop for the public about grieving property tax assessments. Our guest speaker was a local assessor- big mistake. He basically shot down any legitimate reason to grieve- I guess that's how they earn their salary, to discourage any possible dissent. But I'll be there next year...

I go out to the mail yesterday and .... whats this, a letter from my mortgage holder, escrow short ... new monthly payment is ..
Where do they think we are supposed to dig up the extra cash.
I question whether this entire housing bubble is being orchestrated to further concentrate ownership ...
Meanwhile all the politicians get to run around touting that they have drawn the line on raising taxes. (spit)
Wish they would just shut the f**k up!

I guess are lower than most places but still high. I pay around $2000 per year but this past spring a $49 tax credit was given to us by Mitch. This little windfall didn't last long as it came out of education funds. The schools complained about the loss of revenue and guess what? The taxes will go up by about $100. Everything is being shifted to the states and makes me wonder what our Fed taxes are going for. Wars, oil, Halliburton, all Washington is doing is stealing our hard earned money to line their own pockets.

Isnt it this week they have the gaul to "debate" eliminating the estate tax? Guess we will have to make up the loss of revenue somehow ... hmm. Bring in the clowns :(

still increase. Money has to come from somewhere . . . Plus, you have federal tax cuts and maybe you save money from that, but the same (if not more) revenues are demanded from local property taxes. And the local property taxes (with the farmland and charity exemptions) are mandated by rich and poor alike. However, the rich can still choose to reside indefinitely where they are versus struggling non-rich who may lose their house due to the increase of property taxes (not to mention the mandated reassessment of property values as here in New Jersey and New York -- Long Beach, NY just got hit with a whopping 25% increase, but don't worry, Al D'Amato can pay for his beach house).

to try and account for budget deficits from Federal unfunded mandates.

A dystopic novel in the form of a "diary" found many years after the fact. (simplified)

The diarist says that the government raised property taxes to the point that most middle-class people were left homeless.

Written in 1906, I think.