"I couldn't possibly fail to disagree with you less."
12 January 2004Now how much would you pay?If you've got a spare $10,130 burning a hole in your pocket, you can come live next door to me for a year. I've been avoiding asking the owner just how much he wanted to rent the place, but someone pulled one too many information sheets out of the little plastic tube, and the extra one was found lodged just this side of my flower bed, and thus informed, I pass the details on to you. What you get: Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, central heat and air, washer/dryer connections, 1550 square feet of space by whatever arcane mathematics they use to determine such things, decently huge back yard, the dubious privilege of living next door to me. What you don't get: A garage (this one has been converted to actual living space), much of a view. What they want: Twelve-month lease, $650 deposit, $790 a month. What they don't want: Smokers, pet owners, Section 8. I haven't been inside, but the outside is pretty decent, and it's a block and a half to the grade school, if that matters to you. Hm! Life in Oklahoma really is less expensive. Here on Long Island, that would cost about $1500 per month, exclusive of utilities. What are the property and income taxes like, Charles? The Curmudgeonly Significant Other has agreed to consider any retirement destination except Florida. The tax rate in my neighborhood (this varies by county, by school district, by municipality, and possibly by the phases of the moon) is $108.59 per $1000 of assessed value; however, assessed value, for tax purposes, runs about 11 percent of appraised value. There is a further provision called "homestead exemption," which specifies that if you are a resident and you actually live on the property, they lop off the first $1000 of the assessed value. The taxes on my house last year, paid mostly by the previous owner (we split 91-9, based on the closing date), came to $571. State income tax tops out at 7 percent, except when the Board of Equalization determines that receipts will exceed expenditures for the fiscal year, in which case the top rate is rolled back to 6.65 percent. I would characterize our property taxes as very low and our income tax as slightly higher than average. Arizona: 1440 square feet, two car garage (OK, 1.5 car garage, but a garage not included in the square footage) 3BR, 1.75 bath, A/C, gas heat and water heater, decently huge fenced back yard. $725/mo for 15 years. Of course, I bought it in 1981 and refinanced last year... Posted by: Kevin at 8:38 PM on 13 January 2004hehehe. San Diego, 1991. 4/2 CONDO, big (1620 sq ft), but no garage, no private yard, community pool. $1100/mo plus HOA fee ($165/mo) and utilities. No Chaz as next-door neighbor. It's more now, although I'm not sure how much more. Posted by: timekeeper at 5:32 AM on 16 January 2004 |