A question that often comes up when working with buyers is “How do property taxes compare across different cities in the Des Moines area?”. It’s a relevant question when considering areas to live in, particularly if you are not tied to a specific city, school district, etc.

Before we get into who pays the highest/lowest, it’s important to understand how property taxes are calculated. The basic formula is:

(assessed value x rollback) x tax levy

The assessed value is determined by the county assessor and is based on the market value of your home.  The rollback is set by the state, the rollback for 2008 is .455893. To find the historical rollback figures you can go to here:
http://www.assess.co.polk.ia.us/web/info/rollback/rollback.html

The levy numbers (mill rates) are a combination of local expenses including city, county, school district, hospital and special assessments.  This is the factor you need to consider when comparing taxes in different areas. Since cities, counties and school district boundaries overlap you need to look at the specific tax district for a home you are considering. You can  find the tax levy numbers for Polk County here:
http://auditor.co.polk.ia.us/tax/levies07.pdf

The Dallas County figures are here starting under Sheet 3:
http://www.co.dallas.ia.us/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=1470

You can see the variations in areas by looking at the above tables.  The totals contained in the tables are based on the valuation per $1,000.

An example tax calculation for a $200,000 home in Clive would be:

(($200,000 x .455893 = $91179) /1000=91.179) x 34 = $3,100

So who has the most favorable rates? You can compare costs by looking at the tax levy tables. In Polk County, an area of Des Moines in the SE Polk school district has a levy of  49.71, that is the highest in the county. Sheldahl in the North Polk school district is currently paying the lowest in Polk County with  a levy of  32.11. How does that affect your tax bill? The  $200,000 home with a levy of 49.71 would be paying $4,532 per year while the same home levied at 32.11 would be paying $2,927.

Most home buyers would consider that to be a significant difference. However, I think it can be a mistake to look a property taxes as the primary factor for considering where you would like to live. There are many other things to consider including school districts and proximity to areas of interest (shopping, recreation, cultural, etc.). Another factor is the overall cost of living, while property taxes may be low in a certain area that savings could easily be spent on increased commute costs.

As always, it pays to do some research upfront and consult a real estate professional when you have questions.

Anyone who is paying even a little attention to real estate knows that in most areas and price points, we continue to remain in a buyers market. There many good reasons to buy a home right now:

1. Interest rates remain close to record lows
2. There is an $8,000 tax credit available to first-time buyers
3. Inventory and selection remains good
4. Considering the builder/seller incentive, foreclosures, etc., there are plenty of good buys out there

Unfortunately as the recession looms on, some buyers are nervous about employment and are hesitant to move forward with their purchase.

Last week Iowa Realty announced a new program – the HELP program from The Rainy Day Foundation. This program is based on similar plans from the auto industry. The essence of the plan is if you lose your job within two years of purchasing your new home, your mortage payments would be covered for up to six months. Some of the details include:

• The plan is funded by sellers at a cost of $500, buyers can’t purchase it themselves
• If two people own a home together and one loses their job, the portion of the mortgage payment is pro-rated
•  There is a two month waiting period

You can read more about it by clicking on the link to this flyer:
http://www.desmoineshomestoday.com/docs/help-flyer.pdf

Feel free to call or write if  you have questions or would like to discuss the program in more detail.