Texas - Where to boat and what up with property taxes?

[C-2]

Kicking the idea around of moving somewhere else....where are the best lakes in Texas, as in what Metro area to look at/consider? Looking for horse property (only a couple, 1-2 acres is more than enough property) in the $500K range.
And what's up with property taxes....they are double where we're at here in So Cal? Do they go up every year?
Thanks in advance :)

[texas-19]

The Austin area is centrally located and their are many lakes in the area.I guess it depends on what kinda boat you have to determine what ones whould be best for you.
Don't know what the taxes are their but i would guess
that they have some of the highest in the state.I live between Houston and Corpus in a rural area.Hardly no construction so taxes are low.They tried to raise them twice in the last 5 years.We protested and got them lowered both times.We have a 1700 sq;ft;brick home, 30 x 50 metal building and 2 acres of land and pay $1750.00 a year in taxes.I know that is low compared to some but if you want to live away from the big cities it's not bad.Now if you try to buy the same close to a big city someone else will have to speak up.I have a friend that lives by NASA in clear lake and he pays close to $6000.00 a year and lives in a subdivision.Southern Cal and south Texas is kinda like comparing apples to oranges though.If i had a choice i would live farther away from the coast,those damn hurricanes can wipe you out and the humidity chews on you day and night.Good luck
Hey just out of curiosity how much you pay for taxes if you don't mind?

[missboatnam1]

i heard Texas is place to go, about 5 of my co-worker have left Ca to go to Texas.....to awncer you question about taxes, how out of controll california is, we are at 2%, which for us is $12,000 a year...even if we paid our home off we would still have a $1000.00 month payment for taxes alone....Crazy huh :220v:

[Liberator TJ1984]

Think it just depends on how you live it up :D
I live on 20 acres ,2000sq.ft home , 890sq.ft garage out in the country about 20 mi. North of Corpus Christi and taxes are around $ 2500 a year ;)

[C-2]

$2K for a tract/1600 sq ft home.
Most homes I've seen in Texas are ranging between $6-7K
Even if we buy cash, it would almost be a "mini" mortgage.
Where are some good areas without high taxes, good schools and peeps?
I've been thru Odessa/Midland (too flat), El Paso (nah) and Dallas/Arlington/Denton. I like those areas, what lakes are close by? We have a 21' boat, but would also be adding a 35' if we make a move like this.
Damn missboatnam - never knew taxes were that high "just over the hill." BTW, you or Jim can call me whenever you need to follow-up on that locate.
Thanks for the help, keep it coming.

[NOCTURNAL]

C-2 -
I moved from Orange County to Houston over the summer. The other thing to consider is that there is no state income taxes. You would have to look at the total of both your property taxes and income taxes in CA versus just property taxes in TX. Another thing to consider is that if you have a pond on your land, then you pay a reduced amount on property taxes; so there are ways to reduce taxes.
The house gets reasessed out here (no Prop 13). All things considered, TX should be cheaper.
The Dallas area is similar to the OC as I saw it. Many people are money oriented and chase the dollar. The DFW area is also close to Lake Texoma on the OK/TX border. It is roughly 1-1/2 to 2 hours from Dallas (depends if towing, etc) so it is closer than the Havasu drive. DFW also has other lakes (Lewisville, etc) that you can boat on.
The housing difference is huge. You can literally get a mansion in TX for the price of a condo in LA/OC.

[VillainDave]

Hello every one! I haven't been on here for about year .
I know how you feel C2 We moved here to Texas about a year and a half ago from CO and the taxes are crazy We have a nice big home 40 miles north of Dallas on the back side of Lake Lewisvile so to answer your question yes the taxes are carzy because of the 29 million dollar high school football stadiums that each school has to have. They are trying to fix the tax issue so we'll see how it turns out! But the good news is unlike CA for 500K you would have a 6000sq ft home on the lake with a dock!

[Devilman]

There are plenty of places to move where the taxes are realistic and lakes or rivers are reasonably close. Just depends on how close to those big city, metropolis areas you want to be..... That and the job market/ living environment you are seeking... we are still small town, taxes ain't crap. Town isn't much to write home about, but we are pretty centrally located & we have 2 lakes & a river to run on within 30-45 minutes away... You should be able to locate the area/county you are interested in, and look up what the taxes are, by typing in the search, Texas Tax Assessor, or something to that effect. Ought to be able to get an idea that way. Good luck!! :cool:

[C-2]

What's the deal with the ponds? We notice most of the larger places have them, and what about the tax credit Nocturnal mentioned? Some of them are a real eyesore.
Thanks again.
My side of the family actually is from the Ft Worth area. Started from Tennessee to McKinney, to Ft Worth to Cali. In fact I think relatives has a waterfront lot on Lake Sherman(?) they were willing to give my uncle.

[Devilman]

What's the deal with the ponds? We notice most of the larger places have them, and what about the tax credit Nocturnal mentioned? Some of them are a real eyesore.
Thanks again.
My side of the family actually is from the Ft Worth area. Started from Tennessee to McKinney, to Ft Worth to Cali. In fact I think relatives has a waterfront lot on Lake Sherman(?) they were willing to give my uncle.
You might try hitting up Oldbuck40. He's on these boards & he's from Waxahachie, which is fairly close to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. He may be able to give you a little insight into that area....