CA Members, Buy Guns Now

[Brad Johnson]

Brad:  $140 CHL, mandatory HPV vaccinations, Trans-TX Corridor, no liquor sales on Sunday, TAKS tests, no tanning beds for 16yo's, criminalizing sex toys, Rick Perry....need more?

$140 CHL.  Sure, but that's for FOUR years ($35 a year for the math challenged) that graduates to a 10 years period after the third renewal.  Huge discounts for veterans and seniors.

Mandatory HPV vaccinations.  Shot down.  Ain't happenin'.

Trans-TX corridor?  Find me a state that doesn't have a govt program to dislike and I'll move there tomorrow.  It's pretty much dead in the water anyway.

No liquor sales on Sunday.  I don't like it either, but I have this nifty workaround called "buying what I want someting during the other six days of the week the stores are open".

TAKS test.  Every state has some kind of mandatory schooling competency test.  And?

No tanning beds for 16 yr olds.  That's right, not unless they get their parent's permission.  Just like tattoos (which is 18 I think).

Criminalizing sex toys.  Local municipalities choice.  Stupid choice, but still their choice.  Last I heard it was not a choice unique to Texas, either.  It just happened to make national headlines from here.

Rick Perry?  Meh.  Could be worse.  We could've gotten Bill White.

Brad

[Monkeyleg]

...no tanning beds for 16yo's...

What's that all about?

[seeker_two]

Tanning beds: Verboten for 16 & under. 16.5 to 18 w/ parent permission.  Brad: just b/c other states do it isn't an excuse...like just following orders. And White wouldn't be any different than Perry...Dewhurst is the real power.

[Brad Johnson]

And White wouldn't be any different than Perry...

Au contraire'.  You think some of the things Perry has done are draconian?  Ricky P. doesn't hold a candle to the esteemed Mr. White.  For elaboration check into his background.  Specifically the Mayor of Houston part.  Second term.

Brad

[Monkeyleg]

Tanning beds: Verboten for 16 & under. 16.5 to 18 w/ parent permission.

Is it also illegal for those under 16 to lie in the sun?

[Brad Johnson]

It's "all natural" so it's okay.

Brad

[seeker_two]

Is it also illegal for those under 16 to lie in the sun?

No...but the Texas Legislature does convene this January.....

[Jamisjockey]

No income taxes, so property taxes are off the charts. 
Red light cameras. 
No Refusal DUI checkpoints.


You still couldn't move me to CA, even at gunpoint.

[Brad Johnson]

Red light cameras. 
No Refusal DUI checkpoints.

City/county thing, not a state thing.

Brad

[Ben]

No income taxes, so property taxes are off the charts. 

Property taxes are one of the last good things about CA, and something the Dems have been wanting to change for a long while. If they do, I predict implosion. We are currently capped at 1% of assessed value with an allowable 1% increase in the tax per year (which every county takes). If taxes were to just double to 2%, people in $500K homes with 90% mortgaged and stretching to make those mortgage payments, well, it won't be pretty.

What are Texas property taxes? Obviously it would depend on income and property values, but I'm interested in what the cost/benefit is of no income tax / high property tax vs state income tax / low property tax.

[sumpnz]

My recollection of TX property taxes from when we'd looked into a few years ago, and extrapolating from what I remember friends from CA telling me about their property taxes, was that if moving from CA and buying a similar property, although the price for the house in TX would be less than half, the taxes will probably be around the same, or a bit higher.

My memory could be faulty though.

Now if you want low property taxes, AL is a good state to be in, or was in 2001.  I looked at houses roughly halfway between Birmingham and Tuscaloosa back then and for a $130k house, property taxes were around $3-400/year.  Wound up not taking that job (pathetically low salary, plus SWMBO didn't much like the idea of AL, and I'd have all but certainly been layed off 9 months later in the aftermath of 9/11).

[Jamisjockey]

Property taxes are one of the last good things about CA, and something the Dems have been wanting to change for a long while. If they do, I predict implosion. We are currently capped at 1% of assessed value with an allowable 1% increase in the tax per year (which every county takes). If taxes were to just double to 2%, people in $500K homes with 90% mortgaged and stretching to make those mortgage payments, well, it won't be pretty.

What are Texas property taxes? Obviously it would depend on income and property values, but I'm interested in what the cost/benefit is of no income tax / high property tax vs state income tax / low property tax.

TX property taxes vary wildly depending on where you live.

In my neighborhood, in Pearland City limits, the tax rate is about 3.8%.  So, property taxes on a $200,000 home are about $5900. 
Sales tax is over 8%.
We will mostly likely move out of City limits down the road.  Of course, we're just renting...someone else is paying the property taxes 

[AZRedhawk44]

Of course, we're just renting...someone else is we are paying the property taxes as they're passed on in our rental price   

[Brad Johnson]

What are Texas property taxes? Obviously it would depend on income and property values, but I'm interested in what the cost/benefit is of no income tax / high property tax vs state income tax / low property tax.

No state property tax.  Property taxes are assessed at the city/county/school level.  Taking into consideration the homestead exemption my effective property tax rate is 2.15% (actual rate is 2.38% for our school district). 

Texas state sales tax is 6.75%.  Lubbock city and county taxes add an additional 1.5% (8.25% effective rate).  No sales tax on commodities or unprepared food items.  No sales tax on real property transactions.

Of course, we're just renting...someone else is we are paying the property taxes as they're passed on in our rental price 

Plus the additional 10-15% rent property owners want to cash flow.

BRad

[Jamisjockey]

This house isn't a cash flow rental....more like a "would like to sell it, but would take a beating" and probably is being rented at a slight loss.

[Brad Johnson]

Feels good to catch a break every now and then, eh?

I'm curious, what are rent rates in your area?  Be nice to have a comparison with rates here in Lubbock.

Brad

[Jamisjockey]

Feels good to catch a break every now and then, eh?

I'm curious, what are rent rates in your area?  Be nice to have a comparison with rates here in Lubbock.

Brad

Our house:
2006 in a masterplanned community, 3200sqft, some upgrades, $2100 mo.

www.har.com is standard mls listing site. 

[longeyes]

While the GOP is navel-gazing about what to cut, they might think about questioning the root concept of property taxes.  You never own your home; you are a lifetime indentured servant.

The rates cited above would render much of California uninhabitable by homeowners, given the average current price of CA homes.

[Monkeyleg]

Now if you want low property taxes, AL is a good state to be in, or was in 2001.  I looked at houses roughly halfway between Birmingham and Tuscaloosa back then and for a $130k house, property taxes were around $3-400/year.  Wound up not taking that job (pathetically low salary, plus SWMBO didn't much like the idea of AL, and I'd have all but certainly been layed off 9 months later in the aftermath of 9/11).

Our house cost us $160K (which got us a very nice house), and our property taxes are $650 a year, compared to $4300 a year for our house in WI. My state income tax is 18% less than it was in WI. Vehicle registrations for three cars and a motorcycle ran us $250 compared to $335. Gas tax is 30 cents less.

I still can't figure out where the politicians in WI spend the money. AL actually has money in a rainy day trust fund. Wisconsin depleted the state's rainy day fund years ago.

[AJ Dual]

Our house cost us $160K (which got us a very nice house), and our property taxes are $650 a year, compared to $4300 a year for our house in WI. My state income tax is 18% less than it was in WI. Vehicle registrations for three cars and a motorcycle ran us $250 compared to $335. Gas tax is 30 cents less.

I still can't figure out where the politicians in WI spend the money. AL actually has money in a rainy day trust fund. Wisconsin depleted the state's rainy day fund years ago.

That'll be changing starting with the 2011 legislative session. 

[Ben]

No state property tax.  Property taxes are assessed at the city/county/school level.  Taking into consideration the homestead

Yeah, sorry, my bad -- it's the same here, collected by County. Prop 13 just limited local governments to 1% of appraised value statewide.

[lee n. field]

Our house cost us $160K (which got us a very nice house), and our property taxes are $650 a year, compared to $4300 a year for our house in WI. My state income tax is 18% less than it was in WI. Vehicle registrations for three cars and a motorcycle ran us $250 compared to $335. Gas tax is 30 cents less.

Just, wow!  Our house, for the purpose of taxation is assessed at $30something thousand.  Taxes at about $750 last year.

[HankB]

TX property taxes vary wildly depending on where you live.

In my neighborhood, in Pearland City limits, the tax rate is about 3.8%.  So, property taxes on a $200,000 home are about $5900. 
Sales tax is over 8%.
We will mostly likely move out of City limits down the road.  Of course, we're just renting...someone else is paying the property taxes 

I live in a suburb of Austin. Total property taxes are a little under 1.5% of appraised valuation, so for a $300,000 house with homestead exemption you'll pay about $4250, more than half of which is for the local school district. Total sales tax rate is 8.25% locally. These are not terribly different from what I left in Minnesota 14 years ago, but there is NO state income tax - so moving here was like getting a promotion. (And we don't have 8 months of winter.  )

Some blue laws are just downright silly. (Liquor stores and car dealers close on Sunday!) But you don't need a license to carry a firearm in your vehicle, only on your person. (And holding a Texas CHL exempts you from NICS when you buy a gun.) And so long as you jump through the legal hoops, you can own fun stuff like machineguns and suppressors.

Rick Perry? Not perfect by any means, but not horrible, either. His HPV vaccine mandate was just noise, as his "executive order" had no force of law behind it. And IIRC, he signed a law granting discounted college tuition at state universities to illegal aliens. (His #1 blunder - and it's a big one, IMHO.) He also loves toll roads too much. But he carries a pistol himself, supports RKBA, and has been known to show up unannounced at some local gun shops.