💯 ag-exempt is the only real option in states with high property taxes. Usually that means a minimum amount of land, but hey - that’s a bonus.
The lawsuits against local municipalities for ridiculous property/millege rates is going to be brutal. Some overtly illegal stuff has been going on since the Covid housing bubble peaked.
From what I see there is no ag exempt in Texas. Let's say you have 10 acres and you get an ag exemption. It would be for in upwards of nine acres and then one acre would be for your homestead or something to that extent.
The problem with that is one acre with a nice house on it. And some landscaping could easily be a million plus.
I won’t pretend to know all of the rules or variables involved. I do know that I’ve seen multi-million estates with less than $10k/yr in property taxes. It’s egregious, to be sure, but it’s a far, far lower percentage (<0.5% in most cases I’ve seen).
Much of this is not so much the state as it is the local counties and, in some cases, cities. This is where commissioners (who are incompetent to begin with and know nothing of the laws) are pushing for these ridiculous rates - which are cumulative and way, way outside of the legal formulas for computing taxable percentages.
It’s like this pretty much all over the US for anywhere worth living. To escape it, you need to venture outside of the US. But, then you’re just trading one set of problems for another.
I’ve done both. I have a bad taste in my mouth with both. The constant is government.
Keep the faith, brother. Answers will reveal themselves.
I keep secretly pondering the idea of finding a few like-minded - and importantly, of similar values - bitcoiners and buying as much property as we can and building a settlement of our own. It would have to be outside the US. The logistics and risks involved are so great that it’s tiring just thinking it through.
I love the idea.
Unfortunately, governments fuck everything up everywhere.
And people wonder why they stay poor.
