Author Topic: The Benefits of Home Ownership?  (Read 99460 times)

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Online Chino

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #105 on: September 17, 2015, 07:55:49 AM »
I feel like I must have gotten lucky when I bought my house. It took all of 10 minutes for my bank to give me $150k at 3.25%. I thought I was doing something wrong because it was so easy.

Online Stadler

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #106 on: September 17, 2015, 08:07:40 AM »
I feel like I must have gotten lucky when I bought my house. It took all of 10 minutes for my bank to give me $150k at 3.25%. I thought I was doing something wrong because it was so easy.

Well, full disclosure, I went FHA for several reasons, and I don't think I would have in a perfect world.  That was a lot of the administrative effort.   I needed to stay as liquid as I could, and couldn't bring a ton of cash to the closing.  So - and no red flags, I've done this before - I was able to get a little more house for the same amount of money down.  With three kids, two dogs, and a limited geography, it was the best compromise.

Offline cramx3

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #107 on: September 17, 2015, 08:18:03 AM »
I went conventional when I purchased the house, but had to go FHA when I refinanced on my own to get my x's name off everything since we went in 50/50 initially.  Didn't exactly have any cash after I paid her out so it was my only option to keep the house (which is close to my friends family, and easy commute to work.... plus I knew it would help scoring a future lady) plus it was a great investment while the rates were still low.  The paperwork is insane and the hours spent with my broker were a lot, stressful, and the thoughts in your mind are like what everyone is saying here, plus I had a lot of emotion running through my from the break up.  The initial buying process was a lot less stressful for me since my mother is a real estate agent so she made things super easy, plus gave me her commission that went back into the house (granite counter tops in the kitchen), and also set me up with a mortgage broker and lawyer who helped for little or no compensation.

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #108 on: September 17, 2015, 12:57:22 PM »
Thank god for the Canadian banking system. 
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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #109 on: September 17, 2015, 08:59:01 PM »
I feel like I must have gotten lucky when I bought my house. It took all of 10 minutes for my bank to give me $150k at 3.25%. I thought I was doing something wrong because it was so easy.
There's quite a bit more to a loan than that.

Online Chino

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #110 on: September 18, 2015, 04:08:42 AM »
I feel like I must have gotten lucky when I bought my house. It took all of 10 minutes for my bank to give me $150k at 3.25%. I thought I was doing something wrong because it was so easy.
There's quite a bit more to a loan than that.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll email myself from 11 months ago and let me know.

Offline cramx3

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #111 on: September 18, 2015, 06:33:21 AM »
10 minutes including the actual approval?  Took my bank awhile just to approve the loan after all the paperwork was submitted, which took way more than 10 minutes, heck just 10 minutes to print it all.

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #112 on: September 18, 2015, 06:35:31 AM »
Thank god for the Canadian banking system.

Don't get me started; this is my fifth house - no defaults, no foreclosures, no bankruptcies, no modifications, EVER - and by FAR the most difficult to purchase.   We HAD a system that worked, but in typical fashion, the knee-jerk "punish the corporation" mentality of certain leadership has, as it inevitably does, trickled down to the consumer as opposed to ACTUALLY punishing the corporation, and well, we are where we are.  This is why Trump sounds so good to so many.

Online Chino

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #113 on: September 18, 2015, 06:47:28 AM »
10 minutes including the actual approval?  Took my bank awhile just to approve the loan after all the paperwork was submitted, which took way more than 10 minutes, heck just 10 minutes to print it all.

It wasn't literally 10 minutes  :lol Sorry if that came off as super serious. I spent about 15-20 minutes on the phone with a mortgage broker and had to fax a few things for identification purposes. The lowest I could get them was 3.5%. I called the guy at Webster Bank that my dad refinanced his mortgage with about two and a half years ago. I talked to him for about 10 minutes and faxed him a few paystubs. The bank approved my loan and called me back in less than a day saying they could do 3.25%. I had the house less than two weeks later. Regardless, I was expecting weeks of going back and forth and wanting to punch stuff, and it ended up being incredibly easy and hassle free.

I found dealing with the closing attorney (sorry Stadler) to be the most difficult part. The guy who was handling my closing (Kie Westby) was also running for attorney general and the election was in the same week as my closing date. He was super hard to reach and bailed about 4 hours before I was supposed to close.

Offline cramx3

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #114 on: September 18, 2015, 06:49:47 AM »
10 minutes including the actual approval?  Took my bank awhile just to approve the loan after all the paperwork was submitted, which took way more than 10 minutes, heck just 10 minutes to print it all.

It wasn't literally 10 minutes  :lol Sorry if that came off as super serious. I spent about 15-20 minutes on the phone with a mortgage broker and had to fax a few things for identification purposes. The lowest I could get them was 3.5%. I called the guy at Webster Bank that my dad refinanced his mortgage with about two and a half years ago. I talked to him for about 10 minutes and faxed him a few paystubs. The bank approved my loan and called me back in less than a day saying they could do 3.25%. I had the house less than two weeks later. Regardless, I was expecting weeks of going back and forth and wanting to punch stuff, and it ended up being incredibly easy and hassle free.

I found dealing with the closing attorney (sorry Stadler) to be the most difficult part. The guy who was handling my closing was also running for attorney general and the election was in the same week as my closing date. He was super hard to reach and bailed about 4 hours before I was supposed to close.

Wow, that is quick.  As I was reading, I was thinking this sounded just like the pre-approval process. 15 minute phone conversation and bam you get a number.  But since you said you actually closed, I am amazed, but that's great though.

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #115 on: September 18, 2015, 06:58:44 AM »
The phone parts don't surprise me; in July I had a refi on a second home I own (also to get an ex off the mortgage) basically pre-approved in three phone calls and a Fed Ex package, which kind of sounds like what Chino is describing, but the "close in two weeks", that's a shocker, because even with the painless interaction with the consumer, there is still a lot of "behind the scenes":  appraisals, insurance, closing docs, title search, etc. that even if easy and painless, still takes time to do.   That wasn't too bad because it was not FHA and it was the same lender as the current mortgage, so they had a lot of my info, and had a credit history at their finger tips.

Offline carl320

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #116 on: September 19, 2015, 01:26:32 PM »
I was under the impression that I needed all of the pay stubs, tax returns, etc. for pre-approval so I had all of that on hand on Wednesday.  I guess that will help speed things up, and possibly help if I am interested in a place.

One gripe though.  I've looked at about ten houses already in a nearby town.  Just for reference, I live in Northern Indiana, 100 miles from Chicago so the COL is pretty low.  I went into the search with (what I thought) was a reasonable budget for the area (50-60k), and the houses I've looked at are junk.  I even raised the budget (90k) and I still find wavy floors, cracked slabs, and houses that smell like cat urine.  I know realtors are trying to sell houses, but do they go into the houses before they are listed? 

Maybe my budget is still way too low for the area I'm looking in...
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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #117 on: September 19, 2015, 02:53:25 PM »
They will probably ask you for your most recent pay stubs and stuff a couple of times during the process. That was annoying.
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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #118 on: September 21, 2015, 07:11:57 AM »
I was under the impression that I needed all of the pay stubs, tax returns, etc. for pre-approval so I had all of that on hand on Wednesday.  I guess that will help speed things up, and possibly help if I am interested in a place.

One gripe though.  I've looked at about ten houses already in a nearby town.  Just for reference, I live in Northern Indiana, 100 miles from Chicago so the COL is pretty low.  I went into the search with (what I thought) was a reasonable budget for the area (50-60k), and the houses I've looked at are junk.  I even raised the budget (90k) and I still find wavy floors, cracked slabs, and houses that smell like cat urine.  I know realtors are trying to sell houses, but do they go into the houses before they are listed? 

Maybe my budget is still way too low for the area I'm looking in...

This is meaningless in a direct way, since geography does play a part, but if you're talking HOUSE, and not condo or town home, my initial impression is that your numbers are unrealistically low if you are unwilling to put in effort (either rehab or cleaning).   Here, where I am (northern Connecticut) double your range, and you're STILL in "cat piss" zone.   Even in South Carolina, where the market is not fully back yet, you can't buy a reasonable townhome for less than $125K. 

As for the realtors, I'm not sure what you're asking them to do?  Their job is to sell the houses brought to them.  Cat urine smell and all.   If it is worth $60k, SOMEONE will buy it.   

What you might try is take a weekend and go the other way:  call an agent, tell them "I want this, that, and the other thing" and see what they show you.  You'll get three or four examples, you'll see what the asking prices are for those examples, then you can sit down with him/her and say "well, here's my desired range, and here's what I'm willing to compromise on" and see if the two circles (the set of houses you want and the set of houses that are for sale) overlap.  If they don't, you have a hard decision to make.

Offline cramx3

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #119 on: September 21, 2015, 09:27:06 AM »
Also without knowing the area, my initial thought is that budget is too low as well for a house that isn't going to have problems and need work.  I also live in NJ where the prices are ridiculous so I could be completely off base.

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #120 on: September 21, 2015, 09:48:27 AM »
I live in SoCal, so every time (except maybe SanFranBay area) somebody says they paid $X for a house, my first thought is they bought a porta-potty.   :xbones

Offline El Barto

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #121 on: January 13, 2017, 10:25:54 AM »
Question for the guys (and possibly gals) good with this stuff:

Appears that most of the tax benefits associated with home ownership are based on the interest paid. If one were to buy a house interest free, say, from a family member, would there still be much of a benefit in taxation? Obviously there wouldn't be enough to negate the amount of interest one would pay via traditional mortgage, but there are other aspects I'm curious about.
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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #122 on: January 13, 2017, 10:33:15 AM »
Depends also if you live in the house, if it's your primary house, if there are any tenants, etc.

You get a property tax deduction as well, though it would be much less than the interest aspect.  Finally, depending on how you structure it, there might be a depreciation aspect as well. 

Talk to a tax guy, and if you're loathe to do that (I understand that, by the way) get a copy of TurboTax and play with it.  See what impacts what. 

Offline El Barto

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #123 on: January 13, 2017, 12:59:24 PM »
Depends also if you live in the house, if it's your primary house, if there are any tenants, etc.

You get a property tax deduction as well, though it would be much less than the interest aspect.  Finally, depending on how you structure it, there might be a depreciation aspect as well. 

Talk to a tax guy, and if you're loathe to do that (I understand that, by the way) get a copy of TurboTax and play with it.  See what impacts what.
That's a good idea. W2s are only a week away and I can play around with HRBlock to see some numbers. In the end the whole thing is going to be convoluted enough that I'll no doubt needs some professional help, though. Just trying to get some general ideas in advance.
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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #124 on: August 30, 2017, 08:48:40 AM »
Didn't know where to put this but we just had a paver patio with outdoor fire pit built. One of the downsides of subdivision living is the houses are pretty much on top of each other....and with the model house our neighbor built his covered patio and ours are somewhat close together. So, our thought was to build a patio extension off our current covered patio....put a half wall up.....and on the other side of that half wall plant some landscape bushes/trees that will grow vertically that will break up the view a bit. So...we have the patio built....still need to get the landscaping going which I hope to do this fall.

Pics below will show the stages of construction.....





























Then I added lamps on Sunday:




I lucked out on the cost of the patio as one of my best friends Father in Law owns a Masonry company and he told me for the past couple years as I talked about this that when I decided to do it he'd hook me up. So I bought the materials and then just paid his guys cash....$30 hr and they nailed it for us. I drew up the design in CAD and they built it.


I'm hoping for some Labor Day sales on patio furniture. We're wanting to get more like a 'social' set....with a couple outdoor love seats and chairs and maybe small table. But I'm planning the inaugural fire for this Friday.
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Offline cramx3

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #125 on: August 30, 2017, 09:36:32 AM »
That looks really nice and well done.  Love the fire pit.

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #126 on: August 30, 2017, 09:48:31 AM »
Yeah, but hard to film a porno on that with the neighbor's deck eight feet away.  :)

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #127 on: August 30, 2017, 09:57:30 AM »
That looks really nice and well done.  Love the fire pit.

 :tup   thanks. The fire pit is my favorite part....stocked up on wood from my Grandpa's property last weekend so I'm set for some fall bonfires.

Yeah, but hard to film a porno on that with the neighbor's deck eight feet away.  :)

How do you know he's not in the script?   :lol
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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #128 on: August 30, 2017, 10:08:23 AM »
Yeah, but hard to film a porno on that with the neighbor's deck eight feet away.  :)

How do you know he's not in the script?   :lol

I've seen your neighbor.  :)

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #129 on: August 30, 2017, 10:14:50 AM »
Yeah, but hard to film a porno on that with the neighbor's deck eight feet away.  :)

How do you know he's not in the script?   :lol

I've seen your neighbor.  :)

 :(
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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #130 on: August 30, 2017, 11:42:49 AM »
Yeah, but hard to film a porno on that with the neighbor's deck eight feet away.  :)

How do you know he's not in the script?   :lol

I've seen your neighbor.  :)

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Offline Orbert

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #131 on: August 30, 2017, 04:32:49 PM »
Is the neighbor's wife in the script?  That's how these things usually work.

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #132 on: August 31, 2017, 11:06:13 PM »
Does anyone else live in NJ and love the absurd property taxes and how little your money buys you? I purchased my first home back in April of 2012 in Central jersey. It had caught fire the year before and was purchased by    contractors who redid the entire thing. It sold for 259k. It was a 900 sq foot home and the property taxes were 6600 a year last time I checked. I have since moved to a different house with my wife, but you get the point.
« Last Edit: August 31, 2017, 11:11:55 PM by gabeh1018 »

Offline cramx3

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #133 on: September 01, 2017, 07:06:16 AM »
Does anyone else live in NJ and love the absurd property taxes and how little your money buys you? I purchased my first home back in April of 2012 in Central jersey. It had caught fire the year before and was purchased by    contractors who redid the entire thing. It sold for 259k. It was a 900 sq foot home and the property taxes were 6600 a year last time I checked. I have since moved to a different house with my wife, but you get the point.

Sounds like my house, 1000 sqft, 6600 in taxes, central jersey  :lol

Yea, we don't get much bang for buck with our taxes here, but I love the area and being close to NYC and not far from Philly.  I think that is where I find the value in location (lots of jobs and concerts), not what my tax money returns to me.  I also don't have kids so not like I'm finding value in my local school system (although I support it).

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #134 on: September 01, 2017, 07:11:38 AM »
Does anyone else live in NJ and love the absurd property taxes and how little your money buys you? I purchased my first home back in April of 2012 in Central jersey. It had caught fire the year before and was purchased by    contractors who redid the entire thing. It sold for 259k. It was a 900 sq foot home and the property taxes were 6600 a year last time I checked. I have since moved to a different house with my wife, but you get the point.

Sounds like my house, 1000 sqft, 6600 in taxes, central jersey  :lol

Yea, we don't get much bang for buck with our taxes here, but I love the area and being close to NYC and not far from Philly.  I think that is where I find the value in location (lots of jobs and concerts), not what my tax money returns to me.  I also don't have kids so not like I'm finding value in my local school system (although I support it).

So, you're mandatorily paying for something that you don't intend to ever use.  Imagine that! 

Not a dig at you specifically at all - it's a dig at how people can lose their shit over this philosophy for healthcare, but accept it when it comes to (the property tax contribution towards) education.
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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #135 on: September 01, 2017, 07:16:30 AM »
Does anyone else live in NJ and love the absurd property taxes and how little your money buys you? I purchased my first home back in April of 2012 in Central jersey. It had caught fire the year before and was purchased by    contractors who redid the entire thing. It sold for 259k. It was a 900 sq foot home and the property taxes were 6600 a year last time I checked. I have since moved to a different house with my wife, but you get the point.

Sounds like my house, 1000 sqft, 6600 in taxes, central jersey  :lol

Yea, we don't get much bang for buck with our taxes here, but I love the area and being close to NYC and not far from Philly.  I think that is where I find the value in location (lots of jobs and concerts), not what my tax money returns to me.  I also don't have kids so not like I'm finding value in my local school system (although I support it).

So, you're mandatorily paying for something that you don't intend to ever use.  Imagine that! 

Not a dig at you specifically at all - it's a dig at how people can lose their shit over this philosophy for healthcare, but accept it when it comes to (the property tax contribution towards) education.

I paid $7600 in tax last year on my house. 1800 sqft and paid $143K for it.

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #136 on: September 01, 2017, 07:18:10 AM »
Does anyone else live in NJ and love the absurd property taxes and how little your money buys you? I purchased my first home back in April of 2012 in Central jersey. It had caught fire the year before and was purchased by    contractors who redid the entire thing. It sold for 259k. It was a 900 sq foot home and the property taxes were 6600 a year last time I checked. I have since moved to a different house with my wife, but you get the point.
I've come to accept it.  I am actually in contract to buy a house in Bergen county right now.  I could pay less tax elsewhere in the country, but there ain't no free lunch.*  This region doesn't experience boom and bust job markets like many other places, and the pay in my field of work is commensurate with the cost of living.  I could move 2 or 3 hours west into PA, get a bigger house for half the price and less than half the property taxes, but I can't earn nearly what I earn here with the job security I currently have.

*I actually briefly considered moving to another division of my company on the other side of the country a few years ago.  It is now scheduled to be shut down, and employees were offered relocation impossibly far away or simply to find another job.  This company is the only regional employer in my industry, and these folks are in a real tough spot.
« Last Edit: September 01, 2017, 07:43:14 AM by jasc15 »

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #137 on: September 01, 2017, 07:22:34 AM »
Does anyone else live in NJ and love the absurd property taxes and how little your money buys you? I purchased my first home back in April of 2012 in Central jersey. It had caught fire the year before and was purchased by    contractors who redid the entire thing. It sold for 259k. It was a 900 sq foot home and the property taxes were 6600 a year last time I checked. I have since moved to a different house with my wife, but you get the point.

Sounds like my house, 1000 sqft, 6600 in taxes, central jersey  :lol

Yea, we don't get much bang for buck with our taxes here, but I love the area and being close to NYC and not far from Philly.  I think that is where I find the value in location (lots of jobs and concerts), not what my tax money returns to me.  I also don't have kids so not like I'm finding value in my local school system (although I support it).

So, you're mandatorily paying for something that you don't intend to ever use.  Imagine that! 

Not a dig at you specifically at all - it's a dig at how people can lose their shit over this philosophy for healthcare, but accept it when it comes to (the property tax contribution towards) education.

Not at all the same thing. 

When I pay for YOUR healthcare, and you smoke, drink diet soda (the Devil's Semen), and not bother to get annual checkups, it's money sent to the ether.     When I pay property taxes - which, by the way, I do - not only does not all of it go to "education", but even when it does, it goes to brick and mortar assets that I reap benefits from (indirectly) in other ways.  I am also funding salaries that contribute to the town in various ways, and I also increase - in some cases - the value of my town in terms of desireability and property value.

I live in Northern CT now, and the school system in my town BLOWS.    My son is out, my daughter is out, my other daughter now goes to private school in CT, and my youngest son is in a special program.  We're having him tested and the hope is we can get him out of there and into a special school.  Having said that, there is still value brought to the community for paying for that.   When I lived in Glastonbury, CT, - where the schools are outstanding (Top Ten in the state) - we got a noticeable bump in property values for same.  I grew up in a small(er) town in CT, and they are a top ten in the state school system; what was a farm community (my grandparents built their own house when my mom was a little girl) is now probably a stretch for me financially to live in.  But, also unlike healthcare, I can move a short distance, have all the amenities of my community, and NOT pay for a school system that I don't use, or that doesn't bring me value. 

Contrast with your vaunted healthcare, where people are paying more than ever for healthcare, are being penalized by even HIGHER taxes for not contributing, 80% of Americans want the current system repealed or revamped, and it led good, diligent Americans - who are not racist, who voted for Obama - to decide our best option was a media-whore businessman with no elected experience whatsoever.   

Not at all the same thing. 

Online Chino

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #138 on: September 01, 2017, 07:26:47 AM »
What Stadler said. I might not ever go to the parks that my taxes pay to upkeep, but if they make families want to move to the town, I see their desire reflected in what they're willing to pay for my house.

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Re: The Benefits of Home Ownership?
« Reply #139 on: September 01, 2017, 08:44:24 AM »
True to form, you have a refute for anything I comment on - even when I'm being mostly facetious.  At some level, it is similar - A portion of property taxes is put towards the school systems.  If I don't have children, I'm contributing to something that benefits society, but I get no direct benefit from.  This is to some extent the argument I see against the fundamentals of Obamacare.

WHY CAN'T I HAVE A PROPERTY TAX PLAN THAT EXCLUDES WHAT I DON'T USE!?!?!  ESPECIALLY WHEN I LIVE IN A NEIGHBOURHOOD WHERE TRUANCY AND FAILURE RATES ARE SO HIGH!  CLEARLY NOT DOLLARS USED WISELY.

I'm not saying the education system doesn't GET the money, but (to use the healthcare arguments I see/hear) shouldn't the person that has 5 kids be paying more than the person who has zero kids?

As I said, I was being mostly facetious... this need not turn into our usual back and forth point/counter-point.
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