A Quick Primer on Taxes

As I wrote the last "Twenty" I realized that I haven't gone over why I put Village or Town in the notations, at least for quite a while.  As an extension of that, what does it even mean to a buyer or seller?  Certainly it affects the value of the house.  So a quick primer is in order:

All listings that I use are in the Skaneateles area of the multiple listing service.  That does not mean that all are in Skaneateles...Town or Village.  Skaneateles is quite well-known while Spafford or Sennett or Niles are not.  Waterfront homes are on Skaneateles Lake - so searching for a lakefront property it is natural to look under Skaneateles.  The Skaneateles School District extends into Spafford, Niles and Sennett....again, searches make more sense to look under Skaneateles.

Taxes and amenities differ.  The Village has a Village tax....but it also has really low electrical rates, sewers, and public water.  Places in the Town have public water, but not too far away from the Village.  There are no sewer connections outside of the Village (maybe a house or two right on the edge on Onondaga..)  No sewers in Spafford or Niles, either.  Skaneateles Falls (zip code 13153) has public water, but some homes are in the Jordan-Elbridge School District.

Taxes.  Over the last few days for some reason I realize I have been talking a lot about taxes to prospective buyers, most of whom are from out-of-state but not all.  Skaneateles has the lowest taxes in all of Onondaga County.  That's Skaneateles schools and town/county taxes.  The rate hovers around a total of 2.2%.  It also has the highest prices of homes.  You can be in Skaneateles but have J-E schools and therefore much higher taxes.  Our rate, by comparison, for Town of Elbridge and Jordan-Elbridge Schools is around 3.8%.   Of course our house would be assessed higher if it were a few miles down the road.

Does it come out even in the end?  Not really.  So many people are looking for homes in which to retire. They want to pay off their homes and only pay taxes.  A $300,000 home in Elbridge would require at the present rate upwards of $12,000 per year while a Skaneateles home would only mean paying $6,600....a huge difference.  The argument can be what you get for that 300K... and on and on, which is why the discussion continues always.

Remember this:  Skaneateles has the lowest tax RATE in Onondaga County.  And by the way, this is thanks to WelchAllyn and all those waterfront properties that create the base to allow for the low rate.

Another point of interest.....The Town of Sennett has the lowest RATE in Cayuga County!  Thank you Wal-Mart, Panera Bread, Staples.....and all those Grant Ave stores.

Taxes do matter.  Think of the young people who buy $100,000 starter homes (and you still can in Skaneateles.)  $2200 vs. $3800 per year translates into a difference of about $125 per month in their payments.

Looks like I had a lot to say, after all....so much for "Quick"!