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Ames Property Tax

jj-cyclones

jj-cyclones

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2007
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Ames
I am looking to buy a home in Ames. My sister and brother in-law just built a new house, but decided to build in Ankeny because the property Tax was lower. That just seems crazy to me that Ames would have a higher property tax than Ankeny...

I would like some help on finding what the the property tax is in each county in central Iowa. Any ideas? Maybe you know off hand the %?

And for any other new home owners, any suggestions for me would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
jj-cyclones said:
I am looking to buy a home in Ames. My sister and brother in-law just built a new house, but decided to build in Ankeny because the property Tax was lower. That just seems crazy to me that Ames would have a higher property tax than Ankeny...

I would like some help on finding what the the property tax is in each county in central Iowa. Any ideas? Maybe you know off hand the %?

And for any other new home owners, any suggestions for me would be appreciated.

Thanks.
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There is so much public/untaxed land in Ames and Story County because of ISU. Got to make up for that shortfall somewhere. What makes me laugh is that your sister choose Ankeny over Ames because it was cheaper, yet Ankeny has by far the most expensive property taxes in the metro.

Here are some numbers if you are able to dissect them... http://www.iowacounties.org/Services/Research/FiscalInfo/CFO/2011/Table1CountyPropertyTaxes.pdf
 
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We looked at both communities about a year ago and found that the taxes were very similar. She might be getting some kind of tax abatement if she built down there. The really rediculous thing is that the taxes in Ames and Ankeny are both lower than in Marshalltown and Waterloo.
 
Your first step should be checking with City/County Assessors. Also keep in mind that realtors will tell you there's no correlation between the assessed valuation and the market value...which, to me, is a flat-out lie.
 
besserheimerphat said:
We looked at both communities about a year ago and found that the taxes were very similar. She might be getting some kind of tax abatement if she built down there. The really rediculous thing is that the taxes in Ames and Ankeny are both lower than in Marshalltown and Waterloo.
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This could very well be.
 
ISpyCy said:
Your first step should be checking with City/County Assessors. Also keep in mind that realtors will tell you there's no correlation between the assessed valuation and the market value...which, to me, is a flat-out lie.
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Assessed value, by law, is supposed to be the market value of the property. The problem is your accessed value reflects the value of the house the previous year, as you pay property taxes on the value of the house the previous year, and I think assessments typically are reevaluated every two years. So your market value may be much higher or lower than your assessed value, but your accessed value is still reflecting the value of the house from a few years ago.
 
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chuckd4735 said:
Assessed value, by law, is supposed to be the market value of the property. The problem is your accessed value reflects the value of the house the previous year, as you pay property taxes on the value of the house the previous year, and I think assessments typically are reevaluated every two years. So your market value may be much higher than your assessed value, but your accessed value is still reflecting the value of the house from a few years ago.
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wait a second, housing prices go up?
 
Ames assesses their properties pretty high. We moved into a new home their a few years back and the next spring it was assessed $10,000 more than we paid. Now in Eastern Iowa, all the homes in our neighborhood were assessed around $10-$20,000 less than the sale price. So the rate doesn't matter as much as what you'll pay for a specific home in each city.
 
Why on earth would someone make a decision on where they live and raise their family based on property tax? I mean I get it, it's got to be a factor but property tax would be about 20th down on the list. How about schools, sense of community or even more importantly housing prices themselves? Seems crazy to me to live somewhere just because of the property tax...
 
You might want to look at smaller towns around Ames like Gilbert or Story City to see if it is less expensive
 
Wish my property tax would drop. Seems like my property tax here in Lawrence has gone up past 6 years. Nice to live in college town because value of houses stays the same if not goes up every year, but def comes with a price and high tax $$.
 
Why on earth would someone make a decision on where they live and raise their family based on property tax? I mean I get it, it's got to be a factor but property tax would be about 20th down on the list. How about schools, sense of community or even more importantly housing prices themselves? Seems crazy to me to live somewhere just because of the property tax...
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It wasn't just property tax, I know they could built for less than they could buy in Ames. And its not like they were comparing Compton, Ca to Beverly Hills for gods sakes!
 
And if you live in one of the smaller towns around Ames you put the housing savings, if any, and more into your gas tank.
 
It looks like Ames is way cheaper than Ankeny. I just looked up a friends house in Ankeny that is assessed at $165,600. Their 2011/2012 tax estimate in Ankeny is $3492. The Ames estimate for that same value is $2521.
 
Natejj said:
It looks like Ames is way cheaper than Ankeny. I just looked up a friends house in Ankeny that is assessed at $165,600. Their 2011/2012 tax estimate in Ankeny is $3492. The Ames estimate for that same value is $2521.
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You are right.

The actual house itself was cheaper to build in Ankeny than it was to buy a comparable house in Ames. And they don't pay property tax on a newly constructed house, for the first two years.

I guess Ames isn't all that HORRIBLE for property tax.
 
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