Starved For Cash!

[Reagan]

It appears the con of the appraisal districts will raise their ugly head again!    Thoughts?!

From Klein's website:  

"No matter what any of the Realtors tell you,  housing and property are not selling in Jefferson County. According to records filed in Jefferson County, only 34 homes sold in the county for July (with two days to go). This brings the county to an all-time low of home and land sales to its lowest level ever. 

Now why is this important? Well, the county is cash-starved along with city and other governments who rely on your tax dollars to survive. And it will get worse when we find out that almost every home is either near or close to its appraised values for taxes.

That means that taxes are so high, that many people are refinancing to lower their taxes or walk away from their properties. 

Now the Jefferson County Appraisal District – is marking up the prices again and this time they are going to be downright aggressive, We are told by those in the know that there may be another 15% increase in the property taxes throughout the county. 

“Ya, we are going to have to get aggressive again. It is going to be a wild ride down here in our office. The cost of spending by the cities and operating expenses is rising just like at the grocery store. This means that we need to boost the cost of homes and businesses and try to find other items that might be taxed. We were at the airport this past week and found some not-so-good things. Many businesses are simply not reporting property. We are and our lawyers are going to make contact with them.” Said one employee of the JCAD. 

“And many businesses are closing. It is sad to see, but all we can do is report what we have,” said the source.

Our take? 

Like we told all of you over six years ago – the beginning of the end is coming. Watch for cities like Beaumont, which is spending so fast they cannot even keep up, to have serious financial issues within two years. We fully expect that the city of Port Arthur will be the first to go, then, smaller cities like Groves, Port Neches, and Nederland to follow with layoffs and cutbacks on services.

We are watching closing the Nederland EDC as their downtown project has ZERO leases signed we are told with two more closures on Boston Drive. The “Build It and They Will Come” is not working. The City of Nederland may be the first in the ride to unstable government.

So get ready friends – and be sure to remember where you heard it two years before it happened. This area is no longer on lifesupport. It is officially dead."

[SmashMouth]

8 hours ago, Reagan said:

So get ready friends – and be sure to remember where you heard it two years before it happened. This area is no longer on lifesupport. It is officially dead."

I don't know who "Klein" is, but he sounds like a tool.

[AggiesAreWe]

12 minutes ago, SmashMouth said:

I don't know who "Klein" is, but he sounds like a tool.

Very much so.

The dude is a wack but he definitely has a following. One of which is Reagan, which is not surprising. 

[Reagan]

36 minutes ago, SmashMouth said:

I don't know who "Klein" is, but he sounds like a tool.

The point was that appraisal districts will be at it again.  They’ll be running cover for the elected officials so they can again boast that your increased money pain is not their fault!  
I included the rest of the article for everyone’s viewing pleasure! 😏😁

[SmashMouth]

30 minutes ago, Reagan said:

The point was that appraisal districts will be at it again.  They’ll be running cover for the elected officials so they can again boast that your increased money pain is not their fault!  
I included the rest of the article for everyone’s viewing pleasure! 😏😁

But the guy who threw up the red flag is a dork. It doesn't prove anything except that Chicken Little thinks the sky is falling...

[AggiesAreWe]

50 minutes ago, SmashMouth said:

But the guy who threw up the red flag is a dork. It doesn't prove anything except that Chicken Little thinks the sky is falling...

He is the epitome of Chicken Little.

Got one of those here in this forum. 

[thetragichippy]

I'm not sure about the tax stuff but I do know Real Estate market is in a pickle and it does not take someone "in the know" to figure it out.  I sold my house in Lumberton and moved to Port Arthur to my childhood home right before interest rates went up.  The intent was to build on property purchased in Silsbee. It is still the intent, but with mortgage rates what they are, I have time on my side to wait until rates drop. 

That is what people are doing who want to sell. They don't want to leave their 3-4% rate to get 6% or higher. That means inventory on pre-owned houses is low. That should mean prices would go up......but there is no demand due to mortgage rates. 

One last thing about Jefferson county(my home town), it is expensive to live here versus Hardin county.  The insurance rates are crazy. My home insurance over doubled moving to Jefferson county with a smaller home with a lot less. Car insurance went up too. I can literally save $2500 a year just living in Hardin County......

[CardinalBacker]

Here's the thing... Appraisals at the CAD are going to track market values.  In other words, if somebody from California buys a house down the street for way too much money, that sets the new market values for homes in your neighborhood.  It's just the way that the system works.  

BUT... Klein is wrong in a very big way.    

It doesn't matter if EVERYBODY''S appraisals double... the units can only collect 3.5% more actual dollars than they did last year... so if values across the board go up, then tax rates are forced to go down and your bill should rise by no more than 3.5%.  The problem is if YOU are the only person having an increase in value-then you'll get your feelings hurt.  

It's ALL getting too expensive, and it's going to make ownership a tough proposition.  Taxes have grown and grown, insurance is going up, and interest rates are bananas.  On the other hand, rents have gone way up, too.  Combine that with the fact that consumers are spoiled, and you get an idea of why things are so tight.  I was watching "Urban Cowboy" the other day and watched Bud drive up to his Uncle's house.  It was a new construction, small yard in a suburb.  I'm guessing 3/2/2 or so... maybe 1300 square feet of living space.  Homebuyers today won't own that, so builders don't build them.   Complaining that you can't afford new construction in Lum doesn't mean that the world is somehow harder than it was... it means that you're too proud to buy a starter home in a neighborhood that's fading fast like the rest of us did, kiddo.   

It's all a product of federal government's deficit spending, and can be blamed squarely on both parties who have forgotten what "a budget" actually means. 

 

[thetragichippy]

2 hours ago, CardinalBacker said:

Homebuyers today won't own that, so builders don't build them. 

That's not exactly true. There is an entire neighborhood behind the subdivision where I used to live in Lumberton called Westwood Village. The built brand new brick 1 car garage homes between 900 SF and 1100 SQ....I thought that was the dumbest idea ever......and everyone of them sold......

I'm keeping an eye on Silsbee for any deals. Due to house prices, insurance, etc.....they are now building 1300 sq ft houses for $170 sq ft.......  $237,500 for a "starter" house.......

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You can come across some deals on homes that need work and are sold "as is" .  I didn't really like helping and watching my Dad, but I'm grateful he taught me electrical, plumbing and carpentry so I can do 90% of the work that any house may need....you start subbing that out and your price doubles at least.......

[SmashMouth]

3 hours ago, CardinalBacker said:

I'm guessing 3/2/2 or so... maybe 1300 square feet of living space.  Homebuyers today won't own that, so builders don't build them.   Complaining that you can't afford new construction in Lum doesn't mean that the world is somehow harder than it was... it means that you're too proud to buy a starter home in a neighborhood that's fading fast like the rest of us did, kiddo. 

I agree with a lot of that. My last child graduates from college next spring, and it will just be my wife and me. Our house isn't huge (3,500 sq. ft.), but it's definitely larger than the 2 of us need. Don't need the pool either. Or the 2,000 sq. ft. shop either (blasphemy, I know). Or the 1,600 ft. lean to for mowers, toys, boats, atv's, utv's either. Or 7 acres either. Not if I plan on retiring in the next 10 years or so...

So we sat down to figure out a plan on building/buying a new home, and we could only get it down to 2,500 sq. ft., no pool, 1,200 sq. ft. shop, smaller lean to proportionate to the shop, get rid of 1 boat, 1 ATV, 1 UTV, (that'll leave me with one of each) on 3 acres. I stepped back and realized we have lost our effing minds... I grew up in mobile homes or an old wood frame house under 1200 sq. ft. for most of my young life - and we were fine... And there were 6 people.

Crazy man, crazy.

[thetragichippy]

37 minutes ago, SmashMouth said:

I agree with a lot of that. My last child graduates from college next spring, and it will just be my wife and me. Our house isn't huge (3,500 sq. ft.), but it's definitely larger than the 2 of us need. Don't need the pool either. Or the 2,000 sq. ft. shop either (blasphemy, I know). Or the 1,600 ft. lean to for mowers, toys, boats, atv's, utv's either. Or 7 acres either. Not if I plan on retiring in the next 10 years or so...

So we sat down to figure out a plan on building/buying a new home, and we could only get it down to 2,500 sq. ft., no pool, 1,200 sq. ft. shop, smaller lean to proportionate to the shop, get rid of 1 boat, 1 ATV, 1 UTV, (that'll leave me with one of each) on 3 acres. I stepped back and realized we have lost our effing minds... I grew up in mobile homes or an old wood frame house under 1200 sq. ft. for most of my young life - and we were fine... And there were 6 people.

Crazy man, crazy.

My Dad raised 3 kids in a 3/1/1 in Port arthur. In 1983, after 2 kids moved out,  he took in the garage, moved rooms around, added a large under roof back porch, including carport that attached to a 3.5 car garage he built.  It is crazy what we get spoiled to

[CardinalBacker]

20 hours ago, thetragichippy said:

That's not exactly true. There is an entire neighborhood behind the subdivision where I used to live in Lumberton called Westwood Village. The built brand new brick 1 car garage homes between 900 SF and 1100 SQ....I thought that was the dumbest idea ever......and everyone of them sold......

I'm keeping an eye on Silsbee for any deals. Due to house prices, insurance, etc.....they are now building 1300 sq ft houses for $170 sq ft.......  $237,500 for a "starter" house.......

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You can come across some deals on homes that need work and are sold "as is" .  I didn't really like helping and watching my Dad, but I'm grateful he taught me electrical, plumbing and carpentry so I can do 90% of the work that any house may need....you start subbing that out and your price doubles at least.......

That’s kind of my point. I know a young person that searches for over a year and bought their first house where you’re talking about… WWV.  Four years old, $185/ft. Granite, ceramics, landscaped, etc. Exceptionally nice for a first home. 
 

Definitely not a 60 year old 2/1/1 fixer-upper on pier and beam like I bought to start out in 20 years ago.  And comparable homes to my first are still out there, but my kids are too proud to live in them… but they want to complain that prices on what they want are too high, lol. 

[thetragichippy]

1 hour ago, CardinalBacker said:

That’s kind of my point. I know a young person that searches for over a year and bought their first house where you’re talking about… WWV.  Four years old, $185/ft. Granite, ceramics, landscaped, etc. Exceptionally nice for a first home. 
 

Definitely not a 60 year old 2/1/1 fixer-upper on pier and beam like I bought to start out in 20 years ago.  And comparable homes to my first are still out there, but my kids are too proud to live in them… but they want to complain that prices on what they want are too high, lol. 

They are spoiled. My first house, brand new, I paid 75K in Lumberton in 2000, that was right before Lumberton housing went nuts.....lived there 5 years and sold it for $125K.......Now Starter homes are 200K.....crazy

I just moved my Son(23yo) from a 1 bedroom apt in Austin to a 2 bedroom REALLY nice apt....2K a month. That is insane, but I looked at homes to purchase (was going to help him) - anything decent and over 1000 sq feet is 300K....lol

[CardinalBacker]

2 hours ago, thetragichippy said:

They are spoiled. My first house, brand new, I paid 75K in Lumberton in 2000, that was right before Lumberton housing went nuts.....lived there 5 years and sold it for $125K.......Now Starter homes are 200K.....crazy

I just moved my Son(23yo) from a 1 bedroom apt in Austin to a 2 bedroom REALLY nice apt....2K a month. That is insane, but I looked at homes to purchase (was going to help him) - anything decent and over 1000 sq feet is 300K....lol

I remember those signs at Westwood. “Homes from the $70s”.  I bet it wasn’t as nice at the “starters” in WWV… 

My first five houses weren’t brand new, lol. My kid thinks he should be looking at new construction for his first pad. Truck has to be three model years old or newer, too. Can’t forget the toys… what is life without hobbies? Can’t forget about travel, either. 
 

It’s not just kids, either. I know a guy who just bought new construction in Woosley for $545k… used a VA loan so he could get in there with 0 down. A lifetime of bad decisions got them to 45 years old with no money for a down payment. Payout at 7% will be 1.3 million… and unless something drastic happens, it’ll pay off when they’re 75. 
 

Good luck with that. 
 

I don’t know your specifics, but if you have enough equity in your dad’s place, borrow against it and contract your new place yourself.  Sell dad’s once you’re move-in ready up in Hardin County. You’ll save closing costs, builder markup, etc.  $100/foot isn’t impossible if you can do insulation, paint, wiring, finish plumbing, trim carpentry, etc. for yourself. And you have about 1000 hours of spare time. No pesky lender inspections, draws, multiple closings, etc. and the interest rates don’t matter except for the timeframe that you’re building if you clear enough on dad’s place to cover your construction costs. Live there two years, then repeat. 

[thetragichippy]

1 hour ago, CardinalBacker said:

I don’t know your specifics, but if you have enough equity in your dad’s place, borrow against it and contract your new place yourself.

That is kinda the plan. I'm sitting on a good chuck when I sold my Lumberton house.  I have a real good friend who is a contractor and builds homes. He will "build it" on paper, but I will do what I can and he will give me the time to do it since it's my money and we won't have a time line so to speak. Anything I can't do or does not make sense to do, he will do. I have a plan, just waiting for the right time to start it

[CardinalBacker]

51 minutes ago, thetragichippy said:

That is kinda the plan. I'm sitting on a good chuck when I sold my Lumberton house.  I have a real good friend who is a contractor and builds homes. He will "build it" on paper, but I will do what I can and he will give me the time to do it since it's my money and we won't have a time line so to speak. Anything I can't do or does not make sense to do, he will do. I have a plan, just waiting for the right time to start it

I waited a year and prices dropped a little but not a lot. In the meantime the value of my old house increased, so it offset material price increases on the new one. 
 

I really don’t see any potential changes on the horizons in regard to prices or interest rates. This might be as good of a time as any. Also… late spring starts are good. You fight the heat, but the weather is usually drier and days are longer.  
 

We poured the slab on 5/31 and finished up right at 12/31-seven long months. 
 

have a good schedule, try to stick to it, and just keep grinding. It’s worth it. Don’t waste too much time making decisions. Scheduling 4 tile guys to come out and do estimates will kill two weeks. It’s not worth losing time over money. 
 

The hardest part for me was switching gears when it was over. You blow through a TON of money like it’s not real. Then one day you have to start spending like you used to… like you’re broke. A $1200 trip to Lowe’s isn’t a big deal when you’re spending 175k total. When it all goes back to normal, you can’t just go drop thousands because you want to. It’s an adjustment. 

[bullets13]

We built a really nice house ten years ago on 13 acres.  Good interest rate, took out a 15 year note.  We’ve been paying extra when we can, and are ramping that up.  We’re supposed to have 60 payments left, but we’ve already knocked off 14, and just threw $2500 at the principle last week.  We have a pool, shop, outdoor kitchen, etc.  did a lot of the work ourselves and saved $150k probably.  Now we could sell it for 3x what we have in it.  I’ve thought about doing it, but it would cost so much to build the same thing somewhere else now that it’s probably not worth the effort.  Gonna just stay put and get out from under the note in 3 years or so.  It’s mind boggling to me what houses go for these days 

[bullets13]

My issue with affordable starter houses is that in order to find one that’s affordable at this point it’s either completely trashed or it’s in an area where nobody would feel safe living.  Out of college (2007) we bought a 1100 sq ft townhouse in the west end of Beaumont for $60k.  Sold it a few years later for $68k.  Zillow now has it at $120k, and the neighborhood is a lot rougher than it was then, and the house is 15 years older.  For an actual house the price goes up significantly.  Prices definitely have outpaced wage increases.  

[thetragichippy]

17 hours ago, bullets13 said:

We built a really nice house ten years ago on 13 acres.  Good interest rate, took out a 15 year note.  We’ve been paying extra when we can, and are ramping that up.  We’re supposed to have 60 payments left, but we’ve already knocked off 14, and just threw $2500 at the principle last week.  We have a pool, shop, outdoor kitchen, etc.  did a lot of the work ourselves and saved $150k probably.  Now we could sell it for 3x what we have in it.  I’ve thought about doing it, but it would cost so much to build the same thing somewhere else now that it’s probably not worth the effort.  Gonna just stay put and get out from under the note in 3 years or so.  It’s mind boggling to me what houses go for these days 

If I remember correctly, you are in Jefferson county? 

I think you know I'm back in Port Arthur - the biggest shock to me is how expensive Home insurance is here.  I know it has went up everywhere, but I'm paying close to $4000 a year. In hardin county it was be less than half that amount for a much larger property. I almost considered doing a major remodel and staying in the property, the ease to water and other locations make PA a good spot......Crime is non-existent (so far) in my area.....I just don't see it as a good investment plus the insurance 

[bullets13]

7 hours ago, thetragichippy said:

If I remember correctly, you are in Jefferson county? 

I think you know I'm back in Port Arthur - the biggest shock to me is how expensive Home insurance is here.  I know it has went up everywhere, but I'm paying close to $4000 a year. In hardin county it was be less than half that amount for a much larger property. I almost considered doing a major remodel and staying in the property, the ease to water and other locations make PA a good spot......Crime is non-existent (so far) in my area.....I just don't see it as a good investment plus the insurance 

Yeah, I’m in fannett.  Insurance is bad.  Flood insurance is stupid, even though we stayed dry through two “500-year floods” 

[LumRaiderFan]

On 8/1/2024 at 4:58 PM, bullets13 said:

We built a really nice house ten years ago on 13 acres.  Good interest rate, took out a 15 year note.  We’ve been paying extra when we can, and are ramping that up.  We’re supposed to have 60 payments left, but we’ve already knocked off 14, and just threw $2500 at the principle last week.  We have a pool, shop, outdoor kitchen, etc.  did a lot of the work ourselves and saved $150k probably.  Now we could sell it for 3x what we have in it.  I’ve thought about doing it, but it would cost so much to build the same thing somewhere else now that it’s probably not worth the effort.  Gonna just stay put and get out from under the note in 3 years or so.  It’s mind boggling to me what houses go for these days 

Outstanding game plan and execution, more young folks should apply this type of discipline and sacrifice.

[SmashMouth]

On 8/2/2024 at 9:21 PM, LumRaiderFan said:

Outstanding game plan and execution, more young folks should apply this type of discipline and sacrifice.

Amen to that.