real estate values, taxes, etc

This subject

I live in a summer lake tourist area along the NC/GA border. Property values are sky-high, and even single-wide trailers on a small lot go for over $100K. Lakeside lots start at $250,000, and with a house, from half a million and up.

Rentals start around $800-$1,000 for barely adequate housing. Wonder why I want to move? LOL.

What I do get is cooler summers, GREAT views, lots of mountain streams, and somewhat mild winters (for the mountains). What I do not get: decent shopping, esp. food, no social activities much except church socials although there are lots of outside things to do like rafting, hiking, etc. Not for the faint of heart, nor someone my age.

Darius - I think the first impt thing to do might be to clarify where you do not want to live. Or areas where you would prefer to live. Just cuz cheaper area, doesn't mean it is the best choice for you!

Might be things like not near ___ because: Ex - earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, too hot, too cold, too filthy, too much crime, too expensive, don't know anyone w/in 1,000 miles, etc. (Like I wouldn't live in hurricane belt or near DC, because too high cost)

Or, near _____ because of: _______. Ex - prefer near xx area (N, S, E, W, Mid-___) cuz of weather, recreation, hobbies, cost of living, etc... (Like I would melt in the heat of the south or my arthritis would kill me in the north!)

My wish for you is that you get the place of your dreams and it is just perfect for you! ~ Suzi :)
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Thanks, Suzi. I did this similar exercise last winter but not much feedback.

Frankly, I'd prefer along the appalachian mountains but NOT the northern end in NY, LOL. NO big cities, not in tornado alley, not in the hurricane-prone south or eastern coastal areas (Yeah, I know you cannot escape ALL bad weather!)

... then I get picky and say... not too hot, not too cold, decent growing season... and i really know no place is perfect. I'm kinda hoping for information about SE KY, SW VA, and maybe even into Ohio.

I don't know about the specific areas you are interested in, but when Adam was looking into jobs across the country, I went to www.realtor.com to look at houses and house taxes, etc and to see what was available. You can pick a city, then click more options and select surrounding cities. Then, I went to http://www.homefair.com/homefair/calc/salcalc.html to see what the cost of living change would be.
Everytime we watch City Confidential, or anything else talking about a city for that matter, I always go to realtor.com and nose into the house values, lol. I also like to check my city to see if things are going up or down.
Rachel

Thanks Rachel. I do use Realtor.com a lot but it's hard if you don't know city names. I downloaded the KY road map but it's HUGE... 40 inches across!

oh my! Have you tried the map search option on Realtor.com? You just click on an area, then it lets you pick counties I think, plus adding the option of surrounding cities helps quite a bit. I think I'm an addict, I love to play over there. Rachel

Nope, but I will.

I actually had hoped this thread would bring in comments from all over the US, interesting to everyone and not just my particular situation.

Of all the areas I've seen, the one to me that seems to be nice and scenic but still with reasonable property prices available is the Ozark Mountain region. I really think if I were looking for a place to retire, I'd look in that direction. It gets too dang hot here in the summer to suit me but I'm kind of stuck. I was looking at a Mountain Home, Arkansas realty site and some of those homes were downright cheap. I know you get what you pay for but it seems to me you would be much more apt to want to 'fix-up' a place if it were your own.

Thanks, Vashur... I have thought about the Ozarks, but have done no searches yet. I lived in Wichita, so I am familiar with HOT.

Darius - We live in Dallas area for now but bought land in Eastern Oklahoma. It is stunning out there with real mountians and valleys. The fall trails are famous but not to many people so land is cheap. Our 10 acre area we bought for our future home and gardens we bought for 2000 dollars. There are lots of large homes in the area you can get with with land for 10,000 to 15,000 dollars (yes they do need some work but how can you say no to that?) When we bought we bought mountian land seeing that we wanted part of my Great Great Grandfathers farm but there are wonderful valley spots and lots of small towns in the area. Our land is near Falfa (not on the map) but in Pear Grove (also not on the map) the town close to us (10 min) is Talhina. Great area - good cheap land and good folks.

Darius,

I know you love the Appalachians - and I know the Ozarks don't compare - but think about this....

It's possible that you could qualify for aid in Arkansas because they're caps may be lower. I know each state has different limits. So that's something to think about.

Also - and I'm being a bit prejudice here - but in the Mt. Home area - you're surrounded by two beautiful lakes - Lake Norfork and Bull Shoals. Plus - out in Yellville and outlying areas -you're on the Norfork river. It's hot in the summer - for a while and dry spells too - but it's also apt to get snow in the winter and sometimes deep! Mt. Home has great health facilities, great shopping (Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes coming soon) - and several grocery stores - and farmer markets galore. It also got all kind of going ons all the time - has a "tourist season" but - as of yet - hasn't caused property values to go through the roof - YET - but it's coming. We love it up there - as does my in-laws - and we'll probably retire there eventually. And - if you moved up there - you'd have me to visit you several times a year!

Look into it - it's worth a shot!

Good luck.

M.

Darius my advice is to live near your friends and family. You can't replace them.

See if you can get to this....

http://www.realestateutilities.com/mh/search-details.asp?v_mlsnumber=74993&v_id=25&v_category=mhresidential

I positively LOVE where I live & would never want to move.

Bought our 21 acres & fixer-upper contemporary home for under $200,000 back in 1996, & unfortunately can tell you that a lot of folks are currently discovering what a wonderful place Culpeper, VA, is, so real estate is going up. However, that was also happening when we moved here, but perseverence paid off.

We have 7+ supermarkets, several organic/gourmet markets selling local meat & produce, as well as several farmers markets within a 20-minute drive. Have local theatres - film & live - are close to fabulous state parks & shopping. We recently got in a Lowe's, a Staples, PetCo, & a Border's Books is currently under construction. I have several Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, French, & even Thai restaurants less than a half hour away. I'm about 2 hours from DC & everything that has to offer. And since I have horses, I won't bore you with the vast numbers of equine activities here in Virginia. They're mindboggling.

While summers are hot & humid, winters tend to be mild. Quite frequently we're working outdoors in T-shirts in Nov. & even Dec. January & February tend to be our cruelest months.

All in all, like I said - can't imagine living anywhere else.

Hmm - I live in the foothills of the appalachian mountains up here near Pittsburgh, Tax-avania, oops, I mean Pennsylvania. PA is a commonwealth. Everyone pays the same flat rate % of taxes, regardless if poor or wealthy.

Therefore, Tax rate here is high, at least to me. NY taxes work like the fed tax system. When I moved here from NY, I discovered that it cost me $5,000 more a yr to live here between state taxes, wage taxes, cost of living, rent, etc.

In NY, got back more than ever paid in, as single mother of 2. Here, pay about 2.8% of all wages to state, regardless. Then there is the 1%, plus $52 a yr, to local tax authorities for the priviledge of working here too.

Then, there are the real estate taxes. I pay $350 a month for my mortgage and about $225 a mo for taxes and insurance. Insurance isn't much... guess what is!

So many invisible things that have to investigate first. My Dad used to always want to move to the Ozark Mtns. It always sounded like a great place to me too! I saw some of his real estate stuff he had sent to him and when Vashur said that, I was like... me too! me too!

I agree, family and friends are awfully impt! Irreplaceable!! My move here got me 350 mi closer to my Dad, which was awfully impt to me!! We got to see him a lot in the last 6 yrs of his life because we were closer. Wasn't able to see him more than 3-4 times a yr from NY.

Has it been worth it here in Tax-avania? Yes, for me. Would it be worth it for you to come here? Prob not. Don't know enough about SE KY or SW VA though.

As for OH, grew up there, 30 mi SW of Cleveland. Only know about that area, but friends found it much cheaper to live in OH than NY, after they moved to NY, then back again. For you? Don't know. Maybe the southern parts...

I wish you the best!! ~ Suzi :)

PS - I still like the Ozarks idea a LOT!!

Darius - here are couple interesting sites with info you may find useful in your quest.

THE BEST PLACES TO RETIRE: The Appalachian Plateau http://homebuying.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=homebuying&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.seniors-place.com%2Fretirementhavens%2FEastIndex.html

THE BEST PLACES TO RETIRE: more of the eastern US
http://homebuying.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=homebuying&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.seniors-place.com%2Fretirementhavens%2FEastIndex.html

~ Suzi :)

Darius, I live in north central kentucky, the "bluegrass" area of the state. I can't quote off hand the tax percentages, but will be willing to do some research on that. South east Ky is one of the poorest sections of the state. High unemployment, near poverty conditions. If I were to pick any place in the state to live it would be farther north along I 75 from Berea to Covington. Berea is a college town with an emphasis on crafts, is fairly large and has everything in the way of stores shopping etc. Along this corridor is Lexington,Richmond Dry Ridge and then Covington. Covington is about 10miles from the Ohio line. Iam about an hour west of Lexington. Ky does have a6% sales tax. LMK if you want me to research further tax rates, and levels of income for assistance. I would be happy to do that for you.

Wow those taxes are high!!! Moving here to VA from NY has put us in tax heaven. We pay an absolute pittance of a property tax, no "work" tax, a 4.5% sales tax, & always get a sizable refund every single year - have never had to pay.

darius, I wish I could offer you better help... we live in an upscale part of town but the nearby area of Cuyahoga Falls has lower taxes than ours by a large percentage. We are close to the University of Akron and Kent State University... Akron has many country style suburbs and farm land is still out here in the outskirts... yet there is awesome shopping and social stuff and activities to do. Beautiful park system, Lake Erie just an hour away, Cleveland an hour away, with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Great Lakes Science Center, Little Italy, Art and Natural History Museums, Cleveland State University, Case Western Reserve, and the famous Cleveland CLinic. We have major league baseball, basketball, football... minor league baseball in Akron... the Cuyahoga River is beautiful and there is the Western Reserve Valley area where there are waterfalls and beautiful natural settings... skies still dark enough to count the stars.

We get down to a low of about -15 at the coldest I can remember and summer ONCE in my life was 108 but normally is in the 80's with humid conditions. We are zones 5 thru 6 in Ohio, I am Northeast, and I have lived her all my life.

Sales tax varies from county to county but it averages 5-6%.

Hope this helps.

Folks in Ohio are known to be mostly very friendly. There's a church on just about every corner... lots of trees left here, I'm afraid I love it...!

Darius, how far away are you willing to go? ;-)

Oregon is a beautiful state. Too many things to do/see to mention. Here in the Wilamette Valley (zone 8) we have a very long growing season. The temp is very mild......we have very little snow in winter, if any at all......and in the summer it rarely reaches 100° and it doesn't get very humid. Now, the big question is, how do you feel about rain? We get about 8 - 9 months of it every year. It makes things green and beautiful though!

We don't have a sales tax, but we do have to pay state taxes which come out of our paychecks like federal tax.....I'm not sure what the percentage is....it depends on how much you make, I think.

Housing costs are on the rise, but you can get a very nice place with a bit of property for around $250,000 - $300,000 if you are willing to live away from the cities. It's not a far drive though and the traffic isn't bad......as long as your not in the Portland area.

We have had the occasional earthquake, but I haven't felt one since I lived in Klamath Falls in 1993. And Mt. St. Helens is too far away to be a threat to us.

I love it here. I can drive an hour west and be at the coast.....I can drive an hour east and be in the mountains.....I can drive and hour north and be in our largest city.....I can drive an hour south, but.....well.....let's just say you would end up in Eugene and there is a VERY liberal arts college there.....I'll keep my comments to myself. ;-)

Mendy

Hmmm - Maybe I should state that I got my 4 Bed/1 Ba home on 1/6th acre (50'x150') for $65,800 in 2002. It is in a great, safe neighborhood and that was after the new roof was included in the price.

Yes, I did get a great deal for where I am (4 bed for under $100K), but IF I had uprooted my DD from school again, I could have gotten decent home with about 5 acres in next county, 15 min away, for about $50K. The county I am in also has a higher tax rate and higher property taxes.

Not sure how much Darius is willing to go, but interested for me if there are any other areas out there with decent homes, with land would be nice too... less than or equal what I paid $66K??!! ~ Suzi :)

Mendy, my dear friend lives in Eugene... and you're right, it's a unique community. But unless I am mistaken, darius would probably enjoy the atmosphere there... personally I loved Oregon!

Jan's house was $65,900 but it's quite small. One caution: they have a lot of mold in OR because of the constant moisture in the air there... and I know you have trouble with that.

For retirement our priorities were family, medical care, close to shopping/banks/etc. and good schools only for the reason of resale, eventually (hopefully not soon!). Retirement communities were written up, possibly in AARP, and you might contact them for information if that's of any interest to you. Then you'd also have transportation available, friends, community houses, crafts, sports, activities.

It's an awful lot to think about and we traveled over a wide area, even down to Lake Norman, but ended up ninety minutes from where we lived and yet it's like a different world out here: peaceful, quiet, little traffic, one stop light and yet we have all we had wanted.

Good luck, Darius! It's a lot to think about.

Gosh, great imput from lots of you! Thanks, thanks, thanks.

My top criteria is no mold, followed by price, and all the rest are negotiable. I wasn't able to save much money while I was working and unforseen circumstances since then wiped out what I did have. So, I have to be able to live on my social security check, which is under $900 a month.

I have no family to speak of except one half-sister who will probably move in with me in the future (after her kid finishes school). Almost all my friends are right here on DG!

I'm afraid the cheapest rentals around here aren't any lower than $750, which certainly wouldn't leave you enough $$ to live on per month, unless you plan to work again.

Darius
Reading another of your treads I now what problems you have with your lungs. Have the same. I moved south to make the snowy season shorter. It is not just mold and humidity that worsen our condition. Cold does it to even if the winter are short. but in this country you cant avoid snow totally then I have to emmigrate :)
best reg
Janett

Breezy, I knew from your first post that i could no longer afford that area of VA... unless I quit cooking wonderful foods entirely... but I thank you for posting. Heck, maybe I will win the lottery!

Janett... yeah, breathing problems are the PITS. My best to you!

Janiejoy, I don't know about the mold.....the only time we had a problem with it is when we had our old windows in our house and then it was only on one window that had a broken seal. Is this the kind of mold you were talking about or is it something else?

In 1997 we bought our 725 sq. ft. house for $82,500. It is on a small piece of property, but for right now, it's enough for me. I guess it all depends on what you want.

Mendy

Mendy is right: it all depends on what you want.

Darius - don't write it off entirely. There are many small outlying towns just a very few miles from where I am that are lower-priced living-wise I"m sure, yet still close enough to the amenities.

Wow...I checked out the website linked above just for the 'heck' of it....I'm not believing what I'm seeing!

There's a guy down the road from us who, when we bought our house in '98 (they were asking $85K then) asked us if the previous owners had finally 'got off their high horse' (! lol !) who now has his farm up for sale....for 2.9 million!!!! That's just 'whacked', IMHO.

Another place down the road...nice place w/100 acres of land for 439K!!!
Land value around here is said to be about $2000 per acre, so that means he wants 239K for his house!! Yikes!

So, I was going to say that real estate around here is pretty reasonable....but I digress!

My sis sent me some sites she found on Realtor.com, all somewhat reasonably close to here, for me to check out.

There was actually one in my town, didn't look too bad on paper... Fixer-Upper 2BR/1-1/2 Baths, 1/3 acre for $45,000... until I saw it in person today. YUCK! Needs a roof and a foundation, plus things like new windows... I didn't even go inside.

I figure it could be fixed up for about $70,000+ and then you'd have maybe a $60,000 house.

Western Washington? Oregon has some beautiful gorgeous areas! Hawaii is a NO because of our volcanic emissions - terrible for breathing problems - Idaho?

Your cousin Carol

Might check this website for houses for sale. Some can be very good buys. They are usually fixer uppers. However, some are not.

http://www.resales.usda.gov/sfhdirect/sfh_prop_main.cfm

Great Site, Thanks NJ!

Darius, The property values and cost of living is much better in the Louisville, KY area. We always get a shock when we leave our "little nest egg" and go to the Northeast.

Our weather as of late, is not typical for this region. We do get hot in the summer, but you know to expect it and deal with it. Not like this whole summer business, but then the whole country has been like this.

You can check out prices and stories from our area by reading our local newspaper The Courier Journal (Louisville). www.courierjournal.com There are real estate listings, jobs, things to do, etc. Get a taste of our community. I live about 40 miles west of Louisville in a small community of Meade County.

We have our problems like any town, but we truly love living here and the people can't be beat. Hospitality at its finest. :) Kathy

Darius, I second Misty Meadows critique of the Louisville Metro Area. I live about 50 miles east of Louisville, and enjoy the "country life" but am close enough to go into the city to enjoy the aminities there. Take a look and think about it.

Darius,

If you find something good, let me know. I am thinking about re-thinking.

Molly

Molly, Come to us as well :) We have beaches (not ocean) and heat and sun and cool in the winter, and colorful falls, and awesome springs. It is good to have 4 seasons.

(Not to mention some of the best veggies and fruits and meats this side of the Mississippi).. :)

Kathy