Jamie C. in Bull Valley: lost $173K in equity in 25 years

Jamie sold his 4,400 four-bedroom, five-bath 5,000 -square-foot, five-bedroom, fully restored log cabin on three acres in rural Bull Valley for $350,000 in May.

He bought the home in 1993 for $300,000, or $523,000 in today’s dollars.

At date of sale, Jamie’s tax bill in 2017 was $17,293, or 4.9 percent percent of his home’s value.

Jamie paid about $296,000 in property taxes over a 25 years of Bull Valley home ownership, or 84 percent of the home’s final sale price. Meanwhile Jamie’s home value decreased by 35 percent.

Jamie paid about $296,000 in property taxes over a 25 years of Bull Valley home ownership, or 84 percent of the home’s final sale price. Meanwhile Jamie’s home value decreased by 35 percent.

Indiana has a hard 1 percent cap on property taxes. This means local governments are not allowed under state law to charge homeowner’s more than 1 percent of their home’s assessed value per year. The average property tax rate for the state of Indiana is 0.89 percent. Meanwhile the average property tax rate in Illinois is 2.3 percent.

If Jamie’s home had been in Indiana the most he could have been charged in property taxes would have been around $3,529 per year or $13,764 less than what he last paid on his Bull Valley home.