Central NY - Syracuse area Property Taxes

[Jordan Holt]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Jordan and I had a question about property taxes...first a little background. My wife and I are looking to enter the real estate investment field through an FHA loan. We have ~$6k in cash with some family offering a little help if needed. We were both raised in the central NY region and have lived here all our adult lives. Ideally we're looking for a multifamily property (where we'd live for a year) or find a great deal on a single family we could sell / refinance with a nice chunk of equity in 3-5 years.

My main question has to do with property taxes. I have read many blogs and books...including this site....where property taxes are normally estimated around 1-2% of property value per year. I believe this estimate is assumed in the 50% rule as well. We have been looking at properties for a few weeks now and have noticed that our property tax rates seem to be much higher than these estimates. For instance, for almost all areas within 15-20 miles of Syracuse:

Areas with no Village Tax:

Town & County -1.27% + ~$560

School - 2.93%

Total - 4.19% + ~$560 per unit

Areas with Village Tax:

Town & County - 0.78% + $390 per unit

School - 2.57%

Village - 1.22 %

Total - 4.57% + $390 per unit

As you can see the effective tax rate in the area is closer to the high 4, low 5 % range. So first...when people estimate their taxes at 1% are they including all the taxes I included above? Second, if taxes in this area are in fact 3-4 times higher than what is normal, should my wife and I seriously consider moving if we wish to develop a thriving portfolio over the long term? (Currently there is not too much keeping us here...family is the main thing....my wife stays at homes with the kids and I am currently overqualified in a clerk position for an investment bank earning low 30's). Purchase prices tend to be a bit lower in this area, however, in my spreadsheet it seems - cash flow wise - the higher tax rates more than offset the lower mortgage payments. Any insight into this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.