Property Taxes Can Rise Until You're Forced Out?

[Townhallsavoy]

Maybe this is a discussion best saved for Monday -

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/26/living/georgia-island-tax-avalanche/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

The linked article is about a small island in Georgia that is worth a lot of money.  The issue is that a group of people have been living on the island for generations.  Because the property value has skyrocketed over the years, they're soon to be forced out because they refuse to pay the property taxes.

Is that really how it works?  Is there anything they can do to help with paying the taxes, or are they just being stubborn about it?

Could my little $179k residence become valued at $1 million thus making it impossible to make the tax payments and forcing me to move?

[bottomfeeder]

Maybe this is a discussion best saved for Monday -

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/26/living/georgia-island-tax-avalanche/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

The linked article is about a small island in Georgia that is worth a lot of money.  The issue is that a group of people have been living on the island for generations.  Because the property value has skyrocketed over the years, they're soon to be forced out because they refuse to pay the property taxes.

Is that really how it works?  Is there anything they can do to help with paying the taxes, or are they just being stubborn about it?

Could my little $179k residence become valued at $1 million thus making it impossible to make the tax payments and forcing me to move?

All real estate, imho, is over-priced due to inflation and artificial demand. The local municipalities have influence over the appraisers which results in higher artificial valuations.

ause Property Taxes to Rise

Because property taxes are based on home values, rising home prices lead municipalities to increase property taxes. For homeowners whose economic circumstances have not improved other than experiencing an increase in the price of their homes, increased property taxes put an added strain on their finances.

I suppose they can always take out a home equity loan to pay their higher property taxes.

Higher home prices can also lead municipalities to make overly optimistic projections on future tax revenues and to misallocate and/or over spend based on the (perhaps false) prospect of future increased tax revenue.

Prevent Mobility

The whipsaw in housing prices over the past ten years (dramatically higher, then lower then higher again) creates an immobile work force whose fortunes and mobility are tied to the values of their homes.

Often homeowners remain in areas where their job prospects are dim because their home equity is underwater from the last housing bubble/bust or can’t move to where they may get a job because housing prices are too expensive in those markets.

An immobile work force hinders economic recovery that would otherwise take place.

http://smaulgld.com/the-dark-side-of-rising-home-prices/