Lets get rid of parks, community pools, community centers, dog catchers, park rangers, street sweepers, and recycle centers for a start. Kids don't need summer programs or places to play. You want cuts this is a start. Lets save a dollar I'm sure all the people that will be associated with doge will feel the difference. And i could go a lot farther.
Why owning a home is so pricey ...
- Thread starter GON
- Start date
You own the land. But yes there is this thing called taxes. Many on here who own their home are sitting on TONS OF EQUITY and there is no way they would lose their home (for whatever reasons)-it can be tapped for multiple purposes.
Sounds like a good start to me.
We voted for a community pool. After the vote passed they changed it to be literally on the city end of the county line, not next to the existing outdoor pool in the middle of the county. Rather than letting the YMCA run it, its run by some other morons. The hours are such that NO working person could ever use it.
Then we voted for parks. They built some nice parks, along the river. They put up a bunch of amenities that you can never use, like picnic shelter for 100 people and a amphitheater. Now you have to pay to get into the park, because no one rents those out as expected so the upkeep wasn't planned. A nice lawn by the river would have been fine.
I also pay for a seniors center. Never mind that seniors hold most of the wealth and already get a property tax discount for being over 65 by state law.
I can't wait to get out of this worthless county. Soon.
Owen Lucas
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From what I understand DOGE is not about cutting essential programs. It’s about efficiency and cost effectiveness.
Government spending should be focused on getting the most bang and productivity for your buck.
The issue with government spending is there is grift, pay to play, and kick backs. No bid contracts are a bad idea, cost plus sounds shady, and other schemes to profit off the tax payer.
Local budgets should be inspected for optimal spending. Are police departments using the most cost effective insurance policies or ones that the mayor chose because of some back door deal? Is the water and sewer department responsible with maintenance costs? Are admin offices making horrible deals with HP to buy overpriced ink cartridges and toner?
Time to investigate kick backs schemes and make sure govt spending is optimized on every level. Prepare to see officials exposed and rats fleeing the ship soon.
The number of migrants admitted to the country definitely plays a role in the homeless rate.
I have told multiple people that the value of an areas homes going up is a bad thing. Insurance and taxes are more. If you sell you can't buy anything better. They look at me like deer in the headlights.
Even if people can afford them, that means less money to spend on other things - like vacations and iphones and eating out, which means less jobs. Once the house is built, it just sits there - no jobs created until its old enough to need maintenance.
Something in the economy will have to give. My guess is its inflation. National home prices peaked relative to inflation in June 2022. Adjusting for the headline CPI there down approximately 1%. We will see this spring, which will unfortunately take until late fall to get any actual data it lags so far. I am not predicting a crash, I just think we have nowhere positive to go, which is why the market is all but frozen in many places.
Even if people can afford them, that means less money to spend on other things - like vacations and iphones and eating out, which means less jobs. Once the house is built, it just sits there - no jobs created until its old enough to need maintenance.
Something in the economy will have to give. My guess is its inflation. National home prices peaked relative to inflation in June 2022. Adjusting for the headline CPI there down approximately 1%. We will see this spring, which will unfortunately take until late fall to get any actual data it lags so far. I am not predicting a crash, I just think we have nowhere positive to go, which is why the market is all but frozen in many places.
^This x infinity.
Owen Lucas
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This might be an extreme view but a possibility nonetheless. It is likely that the AI revolution will usher in some sort of universal basic income because there will be so much unemployment. Combine this with the fact that the population is declining, so maybe it will be possible to kick the can down the road for the next 20 years until the AI disruption changes the game? It's a long shot but something Elon and a lot of the futurists have been speaking about. To me, its when, not if.
My parents are in a quiet neighborhood ~3 blocks from some "hiking trails"
Their insurance company of ~30 years was worried about wildfire and simply dropped them. No options, no offers of additional riders or optional higher premiums. Just BOOM! -- they nixed a whole swath of solidly middle class (borderline upper-middle class) homes.
If you knew the area, the odds of a wildfire getting to their block is extremely low. I grew up in that house since '78 and never even a scare that it might burn.
It leads me to wonder -- if insurance companies are THAT risk adverse, what's the point? If you only want to insure a sure thing, why bother?
I bet you ten billion I won't get hit by a plane in the next two seconds
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I WIN!!!!
Their insurance company of ~30 years was worried about wildfire and simply dropped them. No options, no offers of additional riders or optional higher premiums. Just BOOM! -- they nixed a whole swath of solidly middle class (borderline upper-middle class) homes.
If you knew the area, the odds of a wildfire getting to their block is extremely low. I grew up in that house since '78 and never even a scare that it might burn.
It leads me to wonder -- if insurance companies are THAT risk adverse, what's the point? If you only want to insure a sure thing, why bother?
I bet you ten billion I won't get hit by a plane in the next two seconds
.
.
I WIN!!!!
Actually, I agree, except go drive across the Navajo Nation and you'll see why animal control is a good idea. Unless we could just have LEOs do it -- I think they'd consider themselves above it.
@GON knows what I'm talking about with strays on the rez
My understanding is the re-insurance industry will blankly deny to re-insure entire counties, regions, or whole states based on such risks (flood, fire, hurricane, etc). So the fact that your particular house was not at risk may have been condemned along with the baby and the bathwater so to speak.
This is going to be a huge issue going forward.
I inherited a house from my dad in 2012. I used it as a rental. I got a fair rent on it. Taxes, insurance, HOA and periodic upkeep took about 2/3 of the rent. I sold it a year ago. I put the money in annuities. I get the same amount every month and have ZERO taxes, insurance, HOA or upkeep expenses. Triple for me every month!
Home ownership used to be a no brainer. Now it's almost more of a no brain. Sad.
Home ownership used to be a no brainer. Now it's almost more of a no brain. Sad.
DOGE can begin by enforcing the collection of delinquent income taxes from dodgers and those that are paid in unreported cash. Also get rid of the deductions that only high earners can ever hope to enjoy. Give the IRS a large enough budget so that they can enforce our tax laws. Or maybe we should just avoid hard decisions and keep raising the National Deficit. Our choice.
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About 11 years ago I bought a house. My sunk costs every month (taxes, insurance, maintenance) we higher than renting. However I did get more Land, square footage, amenities.
Conventional wisdom from everyone was how renting is just throwing money away. It really depends. Renting was certainly simpler, cheaper, I had less posessions. Owning is more fulfilling but is more work and sunk cost.
Conventional wisdom from everyone was how renting is just throwing money away. It really depends. Renting was certainly simpler, cheaper, I had less posessions. Owning is more fulfilling but is more work and sunk cost.
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Where I live county taxes approved to go up 23% in 2025. I was a bit surprised. Imho that shows poor governance. A while back the gov (my party) said rich people like him and me need to pay our fair share and therefore he proposed to raise the state income tax by 33%. Luckily the opposing party said that’s tone deaf we’re in a pandemic and stopped it.
It is getting expensive. Especially with no mortgage interest and salt deductions (effectively) for many it does make sense to look into renting.
It is getting expensive. Especially with no mortgage interest and salt deductions (effectively) for many it does make sense to look into renting.
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The median age of homebuyers is the highest ever (38). The median monthly payment vs. median income is the least favorable it has ever been. This market is unprecedented in its infeasibility for even successful people.
I have been investing in real estate for a while now and have been fortunate enough to benefit from price increases. I recently consolidated my investments and purchased my home outright. The search was bonkers. Inventory is crazy low, prices are crazy high.
Add to that the fact that new builds are 1. large, 2. expensive, 3. prone to predatory HOAs, and finally 4. poor quality, I do not see how younger generations are ever going to own a home without inheritance.
I have been investing in real estate for a while now and have been fortunate enough to benefit from price increases. I recently consolidated my investments and purchased my home outright. The search was bonkers. Inventory is crazy low, prices are crazy high.
Add to that the fact that new builds are 1. large, 2. expensive, 3. prone to predatory HOAs, and finally 4. poor quality, I do not see how younger generations are ever going to own a home without inheritance.
Owen Lucas
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Lets start with the IRS and the government itself:
https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/view_newsletter.aspx?id=112957&c=JErnst
More than 5,800 IRS and contractor employees owe nearly $50 million in overdue taxes.
Of the 3,323 IRS employees with unpaid taxes, 2,044 owing more than $12 million were not on a payment plan.
Of the 2,484 IRS contractor employees with unpaid taxes, 1,729 owing more than $17 million were not on a payment plan.
Despite the IRS having the authority to fire employees who willfully fail to pay taxes, just 20 of the agency’s tax cheats were terminated.
Over 500 former IRS employees with tax compliance issues or conduct and performance problems, including criminal misconduct, sexual misconduct, inability to perform duties, fighting and assault, and unauthorized access to tax return information, have been rehired by the agency and its contractors.
Government-wide, 149,000 federal employees owe $1.5 billion in unpaid taxes. Tens of thousands are repeat cheats, failing to file tax returns year after year and that number is steadily increasing.
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