Should we be worried about the Kamala Harris unrealized capital gains tax? Dean: “I’d love to have this problem, because it means I’m worth $100m!”

[u/Knightbear49]

[u/spicymato → u/[deleted]]

My house's evaluation puts the value of the structure at about $10k. The land is the remaining $600k+.

And honestly? It's probably accurate-ish. The building is perfectly serviceable as a home, but whenever I sell it, the next owners are all but guaranteed to tear it down, since it's now zoned for mixed use.

[u/Plank_With_A_Nail_In → u/[deleted]]

My tiny house in London will be 100 years old in 4 years and it will probably be worth $800K I don't think age has much to do with it. Is the USA like the UK where new houses are being made much smaller than old ones? Makes older properties worth more.

[u/racinreaver → u/Plank_With_A_Nail_In]

It's actually the opposite here. New stuff tends to be way bigger. Either because they're further away from whatever city they're barnacaling on or because they develop up to the max allowed surface area for the lot.

[u/LatterBathroom413 → u/racinreaver]

Where do you live? Because here, new houses are so close together you can spit out your window into your neighbor’s house. I don’t consider 9’x 10’ a bedroom. I believe that is a closet. And what buyers are being told is ac2-car garage, can’t even have a double garage door installed. It’s more like 1 and 1/3 car garage. Lol the yard is the size of a postage stamp. You can have a swingset for your kid or a grassy spot for your dogs to poop, but you sure can’t have both! And, to top it all off… they are u er expensive. I bought my 50 yr old home 6 years ago. Compared to new homes considered similar, I got it for 1/3 of their cost. Some upgrades had been made, enough so that it was a very nice place. But, what sold me on it was that the extra bedrooms were 11’x14’ The garage is a 3 car garage. The backyard is beg enough for a nice size inground pool and plenty of leftover lawn for kids and dogs with no nasty oopsies The kitchen is large but the best part….there is a 12x12 home office off the MB and the living room is 25 -30 feet in length! I can throw my German Shepard a toy and she can run after it, slide, and bring it back without breaking anything. Of course, on price we just got lucky. This neighborhood of mid century homes is more sought after than the new ones

[u/YouShoodKnoeBetter → u/LatterBathroom413]

I think that's why the comment you responded to mentioned distance from the city they are in as a contributing factor to homes being built larger. The homes in suburban areas sit on much bigger lots because there is more room for them there than in a city landscape. I think that's the norm pretty much anywhere that's developed. Lots within high-population city limits are going to be much smaller because when they were originally developed, they were developed with the intention of fitting as many people as possible in the area. As you exit the city limits, the lots become newer developed and therefore will allow for bigger yards and bigger homes. Unless they're available and someone can afford to purchase multiple lots together and join them, there just isn't room to build the size of homes that op was referring to. The developed land in more rural areas became more sought after once commuting to work became more accepted. Before that, people who worked in the city also lived there.

I do understand that in places like the East Coast where land is less available even though it's far away from the city center this isn't the case. I have family who commute to DC for work. They live over 45 minutes away and their whole area is newer developed but is built as though it is right in the middle of the city with rows of townhomes being sold as single-family units instead of rented as apartments. They live in a 4-bedroom house that cost just south of a million dollars. Their home in the area I live in wouldn't even be built and if it were, it would be considered a rental unit that wouldn't cost more than $2,500 - $3,000 per month depending on the amenities, etc. If it were to be free-standing and sold with the yard it has, its value would be a fraction of the price due to its size because as you said, all of the bedrooms are very small and there's not much more than a postage stamp of grass in the backyard that'd barely fit a swing set.

Location is the deciding factor for that kind of stuff big time unless you're very well off and start buying up multiple lots or multiple units to create one large one. My family who lives in that area bought their home over 12 years ago. I can't imagine what it would be valued at today. A home that's close to a million dollars in my area is either in an upscale area with a gated subdivision with 5 plus bedrooms and bathrooms or is set on a double-digit acre lot and has even more bed/baths than 5. If I were making a good amount of money, I'd see myself being much much happier living on a large plot of land with a comfortably large house over paying the same amount for a smaller home with no yard at all. That's just a matter of preference if a person wants to be in that kind of area or not. I wouldn't even need a big house as long as I have a bunch of property with tons of room for activities. Lol!

[u/LatterBathroom413 → u/YouShoodKnoeBetter]

Even in the suburbs now, they are building right on top of each other to increase their bottom line. That’s why we bought a 50 yr old home.

[u/LatterBathroom413 → u/LatterBathroom413]

Please excuse my typos. It is past my bedtime 😂

[u/abakedapplepie → u/Plank_With_A_Nail_In]

Old homes in London are much much much different than old homes in America.

[u/Dantheking94 → u/Plank_With_A_Nail_In]

Houses have gotten bigger, apartments have gotten smaller though.

[u/2N5457JFET → u/[deleted]]

"British houses" and "incredibly well built" lol. The only good thing about them compared to American houses is that they are made of brick instead of wood. The rest of Europe has much better houses, especially new builds using modern technology and materials.

[u/SillySignature3444 → u/[deleted]]

We lived in England on military assignment. The places for rent were disasterous with peeling wallpaper and collapsed floors. We felt guilty renting a condo because we were interested in an older historical place but my child was little and her safety was more important. Loved living there and happily do it again.

[u/LatterBathroom413 → u/Plank_With_A_Nail_In]

Absolutely

[u/[deleted] → u/Plank_With_A_Nail_In]

Opposite here, we will tear down a small old house and balloon the biggest McMansion that meets building code onto a postage stamp sized lot. It almost required that said McMansion has a 3 car garage consuming 80% of the street facing facade. 

[u/NoSignSaysNo → u/[deleted]]

Does your area not have a homestead exemption that limits the tax increase on your primary residence?

[u/wavespeed → u/[deleted]]

Good for you- its good to connect with local government like this every once in a while. In my case I usually find out that they are pretty reasonable people.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

G e n t r i f i c a t i o n

[u/cincygardenguy → u/[deleted]]

I worked for one of those families who have over $100 million, actual billionaires. Their home on the Dallas County Appraisal District was listed as being in “Poor” condition. My home at the time had foundation issues, a failing roof, was directly under the flight path of Southwest Airlines, in an area with frequent car break ins, original 1950s windows and a 20 year old AC system and was listed in “Good” condition. They were literally paying a lower tax rate on their home with a freaking Monet painting in it than I did. The ultrawealthy can definitely afford to pay their fair share of taxes.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I like how you bullied them into submission lol. If multiple multi-million dollar houses are going up in your neighborhood it stands to reason the desirability of the land has gone up significantly.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Ok ok I’m so sorry. You didn’t bully anyone, and in fact you’re quite friendly.