coming to a pasture near you. Exurbs.

[greybeard]

Forget the suburbs, the 'exurbs' are the place to be

Exurbs are more rural than suburbs, offer cheaper housing, more space, and a manageable commute to cities. They're a hotter pandemic destination, too.

www.businessinsider.com

Forget the suburbs, the 'exurbs' are the place to be

• Exurbs were the hottest destination for white-collar Americans fleeing cities during the pandemic.
• The areas are more rural than suburbs and offer cheaper housing and more space for those escaping the city.
• The exurban migration could end up mirroring the suburban boom of the 1950s.

It's been happening around every Tx metro areas for years.

People are moving back to NYC, but not to San Francisco — and the migration to the Sun Belt looks permanent

Wall Street's return to work could be boosting New York occupancy, Jefferies said, citing USPS data. The opposite looks to be happening with Big Tech.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[Brute 23]

To say rural areas have benefited from the shift is highly debatable.

 

[greybeard]

To say rural areas have benefited from the shift is highly debatable.

Not to a county taxing entity (Commissioners/school boards) or to the Central Appraisal District. New homes and new subdivisions in rural areas = increased demands for land, and increased total tax revenues thru higher overall property valuations. I went thru this last year in front of the appraisal board and in front of the ag advisory board multiple times. Development always means loss of ag land and loss of ag exemptions and that, (to the CAD and school districts) is a good thing. That land will be forever lost for ag purposes.
Follow the $$$$$.

 

[Brute 23]

Not to a county taxing entity (Commissioners/school boards) or to the Central Appraisal District. New homes and new subdivisions in rural areas = increased demands for land, and increased total tax revenues thru higher overall property valuations. I went thru this last year in front of the appraisal board and in front of the ag advisory board multiple times. Development always means loss of ag land and loss of ag exemptions and that, (to the CAD and school districts) is a good thing. That land will be forever lost for ag purposes.
Follow the $$$$$.

No doubt. I'm of the opinion when you loose the ag you loose a certain quality of life that goes with it.

We are dealing with some taxing entities waging war on us because of some land we own preventing a development. They are strong arming any one with lots, old houses, etc on the nice side of town trying to make it miserable to own in hopes of getting new development.

Obviously they are not messing with the low income side of town because they cant help their situation.

 

[moses388]

What about Conservation Easements?

 

[greybeard]

No doubt. I'm of the opinion when you loose the ag you loose a certain quality of life that goes with it.

We are dealing with some taxing entities waging war on us because of some land we own preventing a development. They are strong arming any one with lots, old houses, etc or the nice side of town trying to make it miserable to own in hopes of getting new development.

Obviously they are not messing with the low income side of town because they cant help their situation.

Brute, by law, in Texas, the monthly Appraisal Board meetings are open to the public and they have to allow the public to speak in those meetings. I attended every one last year, spoke at length each time and never let up. Have your ducks in a row. Don't let up and don't let them give you the "It's all part of the grand plan for the future growth and development" bullsheet.
Don't allow anyone connected in any way to the county's Central Appraisal District (including the county's Ag Advisory Booard)to tell you "we have to consider how much tax revenue is at stake".
That is a non starter.
Both the Texas State Attorney General and the Texas Comptroller have ruled that the CAD's primary nob is to simply appraise property, give said properties a fair market valuation and to handle ag/timber/homestead and age tax exemptions WITHOUT ANY input, reflection or consideration of the county's financial need to provide services.
Your county Chief Appraiser will confirm that.


An acre of raw or pasture land might be appraised market value $7000/acre around here. You can't get ten 1/10 ac lots out of an acre but you can get 8. (streets and utility easements take up room)
$300,000 is the average valuation of a new home in a subdivision here.
8 homes X $300,000=$2.4 million. An increase of $2.1 million valuation almost overnight. Even taking into consideration a homestead property tax exemption, it's still a HUGE windfall for the tax coffers because the development overall also gets taxed at a commercial rate.

Who's the losers?
Ag. That land will never raise another calf or produce another bushel of grain or cotton. EVER!
The home owner. Yes, he has a new home, but also has a big monthly mortgage payment for the next 20 years...and a hefty property tax bill due each Jan..

The only real winner is the tax assessor/collector and the taxing entities.

 

[Lucky]

I thought it would never happen in my area but it's happening. I can't see how it's good for anyone. Land values are going through the roof and taxes are going up. 9 out of 10 that are buying the land up don't do anything with it but somehow manage to get the ag exemption. This hurts the county and local businesses.

 

[Brute 23]

They started cracking down here a lot on the ag exemptions. People had places barely fenced, no livestock in years, but were getting ag exempt. They are also asking people to show their cattle leases. That part is good for the leasing game.

The really large land owners have started doing conservation easements. I'm not sure the details on it but basically they make their least productive land a conservation easment. LoL Lots of boggy land along the coast being converted to conservation easments which is ok with me. Better than it becoming a neighborhood.

 

[greybeard]

They are also asking people to show their cattle leases. That part is good for the leasing game.

I'll have to try to find it, but one of the comments from State Comptroller addresses 1d1 leases. The county CAD can ask for the lease but has to also inform the property owner at the time the ask, that they don't have to divulge how much they are getting. A person's finances are still their own business.