Property tax on new home higher than purchase price

Exactly. The first thing that came to everyone's mind was that the owner's a drug runner.

I must say, sitting on a mesa, it does have a very nice view of the Rio Grande Lower Valley and Mexico from the back yard.

This house in my neighborhood reminded me of the same thing when it was first built.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/1211+Garner+Ave,+Austin,+TX+78704/

It had been built on a lot where there was only a couple of trees, and all other vegetation had been removed.

I'd refer to it as the Columbian Drug Lord House. Mostly because it just stuck out like a sore thumb. 3 stories just right in your face.

Now that it's had time to mellow and become part of the environment, and has lots of garden around it, it's actually quite nice. However, it was at the time at least twice what the other houses around it were worth.


I always expected the "lil mule" in Romancing the Stone to come busting out of the garage.

I'm in galveston county texas

3 texans!

Boy am I glad to live in CA with Prop. 13 in place. We pay 1% of the purchase price in property taxes and it can only increase 1% of the tax we pay per year.

What happened when Prop 13 first started?

I mean how was the tax figured for people who already had purchased their homes?

Also, what happened if you add an addition to your house? How is that added to the value?

Not sure the property tax laws in Texas but I would think them even more protective of home owners than a place known as Taxachusettes. If I find anything I will let you know...but the abatement process worked well for us...just alot of paperwork.

I don't know what happened when Prop 13 first started, that was before my time, but if you remodel your house and build an addition, the property value will be new assessed and from that new amount you'll pay the 1 %

This was a new house? If so, it needs to be re-appraised in order to find why the taxes as so high. The appraised value you received, is wrong. Also, why was the sale price of the house set at $172,500 ? That sounds too low. In Boston, a car space can sell for more than $250,000 and 2 bedroom condos ( not fancy) are going for more than $350,000.

Well I guess then his home would be priced low if he lived in Boston.

But he doesn't.

Did you read through the thread?

No, Miller didn't - he/she's far out there anyways!

You said the "property" was appraised. So this means the house plus the associated land. How much land is associated with your house ( or shed)?

Why not move up here to beautiful Massachusetts? Folks are pleasant, well education and cultured. I have to mention "cultured", since of all the HICKS I've ever met, the HICKS in Texas take the prize.

Is the Dallas airport the hub for the WHORE trade in Texas?

Might I comment that pleasant, well educated and cultured people wouldn't call anyone a hick.

Also, don't know what you're referring to as far a sex trade going on at Dallas airport.

Or were you just being pleasant, well educated and cultured by calling someone a whore?

Also, I'm pretty sure none of the Texans who are posting on this thread know much about whatever you're talking about from first hand experience of living in Dallas, as we live in Austin, Galveston and El Paso. I'm closest in Austin, and Dallas in over 200 miles away. It's over 300 miles to Galveston, and I think about 800 to El Paso.

Texas, bigger than France.

To get back to the point, property values obviously differ greatly around the United States, and Galveston, where the OP lives, has a much lower property value.