11%

That’s how much the property taxes just increased in our old town of Bloomfield. Ouch. I think the taxes on our house were at $8,800/year when we moved two years ago. Presuming it didn’t go up at all in the past two years (which isn’t likely, but we’ll give the benefit of the doubt), means the taxes on that 70+ year old 3-bed, 2 1/2-bath, 1,800 sq ft house went from $8,800/yr to $9,680/yr, or from $733/month to $806/month. Ouch. That’s just sickening, considering the fact that the majority of the schools in Bloomfield are not that great and about 60% of property taxes goes towards education.

To put it in perspective, we currently pay less than $1,000 per year in property taxes. I think it was about $987? Which is about $82/month. Talk about a breath of fresh air – especially since we’re living in the part of SC that has some of the BEST schools in the state (although it should be noted that a measure was passed last year that had property taxes no longer going towards education – now the 1% increase in sales tax is to pay for education). And yes, I know my property taxes will go up the longer I live here – it’s inevitable and as the area grows I am not naive. However, it’ll take a LONG time for my property taxes to get up to the $8,800 level – heck, I may even have grandchildren in high school by the time that day comes along.

I just feel bad for our friends and former neighbors up in NoNJ. It was already tough enough for everyone to survive the cost of living up there. The 11% increase in property taxes certainly isn’t going to help.