Friday, June 29, 2012

Property Tax Day and Lousy Weather

Here in BC, our property tax is due on July 3. Rather than wait until the last day, I went down to City Hall yesterday to pay. We are over 65 and get the old age grant and we also live in the house so we get the Home Owner's Grant as well. We paid $1,800.31 after both grants. Without them it would have been $2,845.31. Property values fell here in Campbell River but the mill rate went up. Who could have guessed?

I just finished congratulating myself on having an extra couple of thousand left in the bank this month but every time that happens, something has a way of coming up to take care of it.

It rained all night and is still "moist" this morning. Any outside plans are down the tube. I was inspired by my Blogging friend Rick who repaired his rotting picnic table yesterday. I have been putting this job off for a couple of years now and after reading Rick's post, I decided to tackle the job. The rain put an end to that inspired plan.

We are drowning while some of our American friends are praying for rain. Eve and Steve are in Manitou Springs, Colorado are watching the fire line approach the highway which will probably be their signal to evacuate.

John and Anita Calypso have a place in Puerto Escondido, Mexico which was recently hit by a hurricane and survived. They also have a house in Capitan, New mexico which was just threatened by a forest fire of it's own. They rode out both these threats in their hilltop refuge in Xico, Veracruz where it poured rain. There are not many more "Plagues" that can be thrown at this couple.

Norma and I were just saying this morning that we just might have to wait until November to get some nice weather. That will be as we get down the the Southern States on our way back to Mexico!

6 comments:

  1. Almost $3,000 a year for property taxes?!

    (I like the $25 I have to pay!)

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  2. Same here! I just came back from Duncan after shelling out $1,900 in Property Taxes(after both grants) plus another $1,100 to ICBC for car insurance - ouch!!

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  3. Mexico gets 16% sales tax and little else. We pay about $25 U.S. annual property tax for our two houses in Veracruz and about $40 U.S. for our beach house.

    We were paying over $5,000 U.S. in property tax and State income tax in Colorado (lived VERY close to the current fire situation by the way. Then add 8 % sales tax plus plus plus...That 5K is about 4 months total cost of living here in Mexico - Your taxes and insurance costs remind me why we are here ;-)

    Did I mention the weather....;-)

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  4. I had a house in Heidelberg, Germany and for the seven years I owned it only paid $240 a year in property tax. Europeans may pay high taxes in other categories, but at least retired people don't have to worry about staying in their homes once their income is lower in old age.

    P.S. Croft, we would love to have your rain in Colorado Springs right now!

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  5. Yikes, we paid almost $1600 more for our house taxes....and we really don't get any better services - I would believe - than what you get out there.

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  6. Somehow because we moved from the house to the beach site in the RV we are being denied out grant. Hopefully next year we can claim it back. So we have had to pay full price on both properties mainly because the RV is not skirted in!!!!

    I'm with Norma.....time to head south for some heat and sun.

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