Lower-end Overassessed?

From the Record:

Municipal tax offices slow to respond to a tepid real estate recovery, especially in modest neighborhoods

Homeowners at the lower end of North Jersey’s housing market — still suffering disproportionately from the real-estate slump — are now taking another hit in the form of inflated property tax bills that may be costing them hundreds of dollars extra per year.

An analysis by The Record shows that municipal tax offices across the region have been slow to respond to a prevailing trend of the recent tepid recovery — property values in most towns rising more slowly in modest neighborhoods — saddling those homeowners with an increasingly larger share of the property tax burden.

Specifically, property assessments used to calculate taxes have not been updated in many municipalities to accurately reflect the weaker markets for lower-priced homes, resulting in those owners being overassessed and, by extension, overtaxed. At the same time, higher-end homes that have increased in value faster are now underassessed and undertaxed.

The much-reviled property tax system in New Jersey, where homeowners pay more than their counterparts across the nation, is based on a requirement that all property owners be assessed at roughly the same percentage of market value, so that the tax burden is fairly distributed.

The Record’s analysis — focusing on residential sales data for 2015 — shows the disparities are hurting the lower end of the housing market, experts and officials said.

“Homeowners there are paying more then they should,” said Rick DelGuercio, president of a real-estate appraisal company based in Glen Rock. “Not only are the lower-end properties not benefiting from the market recovery, but based on the formula for determining property taxes town by town, they are now shouldering more of the property-tax burden. They’re suffering from both ends.”

Art Carlson, the assessor in Hackensack, Saddle Brook, Ridgefield Park and Edgewater, which had some of the region’s largest disparities in 2015, said: “Facts are facts. The higher-end property owners aren’t paying the same percentage as the lower end. The burden is on the lesser homes and people with lesser incomes.”

Disparities vary widely from town to town, with some places seeing only minimal differences well within the norms allowed under law. But in the worst cases, owners of lower-end homes would have saved upward of $1,000 if assessments were updated to reflect conditions last year.

Local municipalities with the biggest gaps in Bergen County in 2015 included Bergenfield, Cresskill, Edgewater, Garfield, Hackensack and Ridgefield Park. Some of the widest in Passaic were in Hawthorne, Paterson and Pompton Lakes.

The inequities were largest in the northeastern part of the state, also afflicting Hudson, Essex and Union counties. Bayonne, East Orange, Jersey City and Newark were among the most severely affected municipalities.

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86 Responses to Lower-end Overassessed?

  1. funnelcloud says:

    First who’s up at this time

  2. grim says:

    From Bloomberg:

    There Are 5.6 Million Cheap Apartments in America. Not for Long

    The Hidden Villa Apartments, a 61-unit complex in Beaverton, Ore., is the kind of property investors love and affordable-housing activists ignore.

    Built in 1968, it was acquired recently by an out-of-town developer who plans to tear up the old carpeting and roll in some stainless steel appliances. The idea is to attract the wealthier workers flocking to knowledge industry jobs in the Portland, Ore., metropolitan area and charge higher rents.

    Sixty-one cheap apartments gone, 5.6 million to go.

    That’s the number of inexpensive market-rate units in the U.S., according to a new tally from CoStar Group, a real estate data and analytics company. And that’s about the number of units of publicly subsidized affordable housing, too.1

    Activists and policymakers have invested time and money keeping subsidized units available at below-market rates, while ‘naturally occurring’ affordable housing, as the wonks sometimes call properties like Hidden Villa, get much less attention. Yet there are fewer obstacles to developers seeking to take unsubsidized apartments upmarket—and out of reach for poor renters.

    “It has really been a blind spot in affordable housing policy at the local, state, and federal levels,” said Stockton Williams, executive director of the Terwilliger Center for Housing at the Urban Land Institute. “The economics don’t work for the private sector to build this kind of housing, so we’ll have less of it over time unless what’s already built is acquired and preserved.”

    One reason for the neglect is that naturally occurring units are harder to track. Ownership is concentrated among regional and local players, who don’t have contracts with government agencies that make subsidized units easy to aggregate at the national and local levels.

    While unsubsidized by the government, these units remain affordable to working-class tenants because of when and where and how they were built. Typically, that means older units with low-end finishes. The locations vary, though cheap apartment buildings in central, transit-oriented locations tend to attract investors who specialize in fixing up older units and raising rents.

    “When we started out, our model was, let’s buy from the slumlords and create habitable housing,” said Max Sharkansky, managing partner at Trion Properties, a decade-old Los Angeles-based property manager that bought Hidden Villa. The company targets deals where it can raise rents by 25 percent, often more.

    “If someone can’t afford it, they can move into something older or more vanilla and pay the lower rent,” Sharkansky said. In the submarkets that his company targets, those kinds of apartments often no longer exist. “Usually the only option is to move out of the neighborhood.”

  3. funnelcloud says:

    Question of the day. Trying to get this straight
    Regarding the newly opened email scandal, Just trying to get a grip on this.
    Clinton receives subpoena to release emails to congress, Destroys evidence,
    FBI investigates, finds evidence of wrong doing, but case closed by Comey (July /Aug)? because Boss Lynch ((Head of DOJ, Clinton friend has private encounter on airport tarmac with Billy)(will she retain job in clinton admin or possibly a supreme court appointment?)) will not issue a warrant to review material. Comey labeled failure by Republicans, Democrats praise him. Clinton aid Huma lies under oath, Emails of a possible top secret nature found on her sex offender husband’s computer , Lynch, cock-blocking for Hillary again refuses to issue warrant, Comey goes back to congress a failure again This time praised by Republicans, now loathed by Democrats. If Hillary Loses, Obama can Pardon her, If she wins, She can Pardon herself and her husband, This is one big Washingtonian circle jerk and (Bill & Hillary or should I say Bonnie and Clyde) have their Testicles And Tentacles into everything, Funny thing though, Half the people “of” this country (Well maybe not all of them are US citizen’s) are seriously thinking of this putting this Wacka doo in office and giving her the nuclear codes? Because in their opinion, the alternative Bastard , Donald Trump called girls fat and got caught talking about banging some hotti 20 years ago. WOW Any Comments

  4. D-FENS says:

    @iowahawkblog
    FBI finds 650k Hillary State Dept emails on PC of notorious dickpic pervert. Headlines: “Comey Embroiled in Controversy”

  5. Comrade Nom Deplorable, just waiting on the Zombie Apocalypse. says:

    Funnel,

    Slacker

  6. funnelcloud says:

    Comrade
    So you knew number 1 was for you, Never expected your reaction the other day to be so visceral,

  7. grim says:

    Huma gets thrown under the bus?

  8. 3b says:

    Fab from last night. So you are telling me there were millions of people coming to the USA in the late 1940’s? And whether you like it or not. Immigrants coming today to this country whether legal or illegal have it easier in many respects than those that came 50 or 100 years ago. As far as pissing up and down a wall I have no idea what you are talking about. But you are painfully sanctimonious.

  9. 3b says:

    Flee from last night. Yes I have a problem if hb 1 visas are being used simply to drive down wages for qualified Americans.

  10. grim says:

    How is my position on H1B anti-immigrant?

  11. funnelcloud says:

    News Flash
    Hillary duff Tweeted out a formal apology this morning because for a Halloween costume party, she dressed as a pilgrim carrying a Thanksgiving basket and her boyfriend was dressed as a (dare I say it ) INDIAN. Apparently some of our overly sensitive native american friends have taken serious offense to this breach of political correctness.

  12. Flee? says:

    Joyce

    “The deck is stacked in favor of people that already have money …”

    Yes, it is. It is stacked in favor of those that already have money and/or connections to powerful people. Why don’t we aim to reverse this the main (whole?) part of the problem? More progressive taxation will only exacerbate the problem.

    What is the solution you have in mind?

  13. My guess is Huma has some/all of the 33,000 “personal” emails that were deleted intentionally, and the only “personal” part is money.

    Huma gets thrown under the bus?

  14. Steamturd, obsessed with Cankles way more than Wieners. says:

    Man those Clintons really like to send emails.

  15. Ottoman says:

    Don’t know what this is about but comrade is easily as thin skinned as Trump and definitely dumber than Wiener.

    funnelcloud says:
    October 31, 2016 at 9:06 am
    Comrade
    So you knew number 1 was for you, Never expected your reaction the other day to be so visceral,

  16. chicagofinance says:

    Once you decide that FlabMax is merely a troll, everything else falls into place…..it is quite zen…..

    3b says:
    October 31, 2016 at 9:16 am
    Fab from last night. So you are telling me there were millions of people coming to the USA in the late 1940’s? And whether you like it or not. Immigrants coming today to this country whether legal or illegal have it easier in many respects than those that came 50 or 100 years ago. As far as pissing up and down a wall I have no idea what you are talking about. But you are painfully sanctimonious.

  17. Ottoman says:

    Guillotine

    Flee? says:
    October 31, 2016 at 9:30 am
    Joyce

    “The deck is stacked in favor of people that already have money …”

    Yes, it is. It is stacked in favor of those that already have money and/or connections to powerful people. Why don’t we aim to reverse this the main (whole?) part of the problem? More progressive taxation will only exacerbate the problem.

    What is the solution you have in mind?

  18. chicagofinance says:

    FlabMax’s only derives pleasure through neo-nazi fascism disguised as a higher moral authority……he has his own Clinton Inc. where he derides the entire country, meanwhile he selectively takes advantage of the same system that he calls unjust…….I wonder what his 1040 says about how much of his riches he donate to charity …..question….are there any 501-c-3 nazi organizations….also would he disown his own kike blood?

  19. Juice Box says:

    re: “Huma gets thrown under the bus?”

    Weiner’s lawyer was quoted today saying they are cooperating but there is no proffer agreement yet. This I believe requires the US Attorney Preet Bharara’s signoff. There is now supposedly a warrant to search as well, so some judge signed off on it.

    Who gets to run the Justice Dept after the new administration comes in? They will have their work cut out for them.

  20. Fast Eddie says:

    She’s still going to get elected.

  21. Comrade Nom Deplorable, just waiting on the Zombie Apocalypse. says:

    Funnel,

    Yeah, I thought about it later and saw I came across as harsh. Old age and lack of sleep

  22. 3b says:

    Chgo should have said millions of illegal immigrants coming in the late 194o’s. Fab is

  23. Comrade Nom Deplorable, just waiting on the Zombie Apocalypse. says:

    Otto,

    Don’t get your cunt in a twist

  24. Juice Box says:

    re: “She’s still going to get elected.”

    I still think it is too close to call.

  25. grim says:

    If what the FBI did was wrong, making a statement before investigation was completed or charges filed (or not).

    Why were the Trump accusers permitted to come forward with allegations, given the proximity to the election?

    Shouldn’t the same criticism apply?

  26. Fast Eddie says:

    Juice,

    I’m convinced she is Satan. There is nothing to stop her and when she gets elected, she is going to use the power of the office to make life miserable for everyone that was against her.

  27. D-FENS says:

    President Kaine

    Fast Eddie says:
    October 31, 2016 at 9:47 am
    She’s still going to get elected.

  28. joyce says:

    I’d make a distinction between private individuals and government.

    grim says:
    October 31, 2016 at 10:14 am
    If what the FBI did was wrong, making a statement before investigation was completed or charges filed (or not).

    Why were the Trump accusers permitted to come forward with allegations, given the proximity to the election?

    Shouldn’t the same criticism apply?

  29. D-FENS says:

    Comey’s choice was Damned if you do…Damned if you don’t.

  30. The shoe is always fine on the other foot:

    1992: A fresh Iran-Contra arrest

    President George H.W. Bush likely thought the Iran-Contra affair — in which the Reagan administration used the money from illegal arms sales to Iran to fund right-wing guerrillas in Nicaragua — was a thing of the past before former secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger was indicted on charges related to the scandal just four days before the election. Bush lost the election but pardoned Weinberger before he left office.

    If what the FBI did was wrong, making a statement before investigation was completed or charges filed (or not).

    Why were the Trump accusers permitted to come forward with allegations, given the proximity to the election?

    Shouldn’t the same criticism apply?

  31. Juice Box says:

    Grim – indictments and or updates on investigations have been divulged to the public close to Election Day before. It’s simply not unprecedented. Just get more popcorn and enjoy the tantrum the left is throwing.

    Let’s recap. We have subpoenas and 5 people claiming the 5th and now warrants for search.

    Hillary been before a grand jury before, as first lady when she declared she didn’t know how those whitewater billing records ended up in the white house residence back in 1996.

    It would be interesting to see a sitting president testifying before a grand jury proving that justice is indeed blind and no one is above the rule of law.

  32. Maybe Trump was prescient.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rBr_WLQsFc

    (How about those Bartiromo twins?)

  33. D-FENS says:

    Are you guys still taking bets on the presidential election?

  34. Fast Eddie says:

    Hillary can gut a kitten on live TV and still get elected.

  35. Juice Box says:

    Lol – day before the Flint Debate with Berine.

    From:donna@brazileassociates.com
    To: john.podesta@gmail.com, jpalmieri@hillaryclinton.com
    Date: 2016-03-05 21:16
    Subject: One of the questions directed to HRC tomorrow is from a woman with a rash

    Her family has lead poison and she will ask what, if anything, will Hillary do as president to help the ppl of Flint.

  36. I just figured it out. Comey has access to the “real” polls or what’s coming out on Wikileaks. Trump wins.
    Comey is like the guy who raises his hand in class simultaneously yelling out the correct answer that someone else just said. He hope this keeps him his job, or at least keeps him from getting charged. Loretta Lynch will be lucky not to be charged.

    BTW, does anyone buy this “Russians! Putin! Russians! Putin! Russians!” crap?
    I don’t.

  37. I wonder how soon MSNBC and CNN, et al will be “trumping” up Comey’s $6 million salary at Lockheed Martin now that he is persona non grata in the Democrat-Media complex.

  38. grim says:

    Anyone have the over/under on the next Wikileaks dump? Friday Surprise? Monday?


  39. “She says she didn’t know they were there,” a source familiar with the investigation said. This is a sensitive topic for Abedin and the Clinton campaign, because on previous occasions, Huma – under oath – disclosed that all the emails in her possession had been accounted for and handed over to the FBI.

    That leaves just one logical conclusion. Weiner is a Russian hacker.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-31/huma-abedin-i-have-no-idea-how-emails-got-weiners-computer

  40. This is how I know even Fox News is in the Tank with Hillary. This is what was just on (I had the sound turned down):

    FBI REFUSED TO INVESTIGATE TRUMP DESPITE CONNECTIONS TO RUSSIA

  41. I think the Illuminati have determined that they would rather have a Trump presidency than a Trump Channel cable news outlet.

  42. It probably would have been today, but they don’t want to push the FBI/email thing out of the news today or possibly tomorrow, so I’ll say Wednesday.

    Anyone have the over/under on the next Wikileaks dump? Friday Surprise? Monday?

  43. grim says:

    Of course she has to deny the existence of the emails, otherwise she’s admitting she perjured herself.

  44. Fast Eddie says:

    Anyone have the over/under on the next Wikileaks dump? Friday Surprise? Monday?

    What makes you guys think that the next dump is going to reveal any bombshells or anything earth shattering?

  45. grim says:

    Hillary still wins, everything gets brushed under the table, Clinton net worth in 4 years near $500m.

  46. Maybe some Khizr Khan talk vis-a-vis Trump baiting or explicitly and intentionally showing no support for the police at the Dem convention to align with BLM? I can tell you what won’t be in any of the emails: Any discussion of policy to improve America for Americans.

    What makes you guys think that the next dump is going to reveal any bombshells or anything earth shattering?

  47. D-FENS says:

    @iowahawkblog
    New Shocker Poll: Straight To Voicemail holds commanding nationwide lead

  48. LOL. I don’t know why I always think “PC” when I hear “lap-top”, but I do. It was probably a MacBook and Humma Weiner synched her phone to it.

  49. D-FENS says:

    LGBTQ Woman Arrested, Denied Lawyer and Feminine Hygine Products Over Legal Firearms

    http://www.nj2as.org/lgbtq_woman_arrested_denied_lawyer_and_medical_treatment_over_legal_firearms

  50. funnelcloud says:

    Fast Eddie
    Have to disagree with your statement above

    Hillary can lie, cheat, steal , sell gov’t secrets, take bribes, break every one of the 10 commandments, burn the American flag, castrate her adversaries, torture American citizens in a public forum, abandon the soldier on the battle field and I agree she probably would still get elected, BUT killing a kitten on natioanal TV is going to far!!!! That would really upset her base constituency and probably cost her the election.

  51. chicagofinance says:

    I thought you were going to write “dance” instead of “PC”…..

    The Original NJ ExPat says:
    October 31, 2016 at 12:06 pm
    LOL. I don’t know why I always think “PC” when I hear “lap-top”, but I do. It was probably a MacBook and Humma Weiner synched her phone to it.

  52. Donna Brazile resigns from CNN now that it has come out that she fed multiple debate questions to Hillary.

  53. grim says:

    Holder weighing in now? What the hell does Holder know about prosecuting anyone?

  54. Juice Box says:

    Grim – or the opinion of waterboard them till they are dead former AG Antonio Gonzales. Convene a Grand Jury is what former AG Mukasey said should have happened and then go public and resign is Loretta Lync refused.

    http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fbi-directors-dishonorable-choice-1477863402

    Like I said whoever gets the nod for AG and Director of the FBI will have their work cut out for them.

  55. HEHEHE says:

    “What the hell does Holder know about prosecuting anyone?”

    I said the same thing. If there was ever a do nothing AG, Holder was the man. Penny on the dollar fines for the banks; nobody indicted.

  56. HEHEHE says:

    It’s perfectly plausible that Weiner was purposefully downloading emails from Huma’s computer as leverage in a divorce or in an anticipated future plea deal.

    Guy was home alone with the kid sexting women the past 12 mos. What was stopping him? He was probably bored to tears.

  57. nwnj3 says:

    My guess is that Comey was met with an ultimatum. Either disclose the new found discovery or deal with mutiny and the information being leaked anyway, including the cover up he perpetrated. He did a lot of damage to the FBI reputation, there’s no telling when it will recover due to the precedent.

  58. lost says:

    This election is pretty sickening. You have both sides defending their team to no end. No one stepping up to fix this mess. Just win by attacking the other side. Someone should step up and cancel this election. Both candidates are not acceptable.

    You have our tax money being wasted in this trial with Christie. Fat boy is all about saving money, but has cost the tax payer how much with his bad behavior. When will real honest leaders step up? Why do you have to become corrupt to lead in this country? You have corrupt private business leaders and the corrupt public leaders they put in power. I guess the blame for this all lies with the big money players, their endless money and lust for power has destroyed our govt that was created for the people. Instead it’s a govt for the few. Thank you for screwing up a good thing.

  59. nwnj3 says:

    Yep, campaign finance reform and term limits will “drain the swamp”. Only one candidate will even touch those and it’s not the lifetime politician.

  60. Juice Box says:

    We will probably get some embarrassing Anthony Weiner aliases out of this whole investigation. Well worth the money spent.

  61. nwnj3 says:

    With 650k email, my guess is that the laptop was Huma’s ace in the hole. She probably told Wiener “if I ever go missing I want you to turn this over to the press”. Would have been a wise move when doing business with the Clintons.

    When your husband moonlights as Carlos Danger? Probably would have been a worthwhile investment to pick up a $100 external drive and keep separate from his activities.

  62. HEHEHE says:

    I’d say 60% of the voting population do not have a candidate in this election. They may have decided one of the two major party candidates is the lesser of two evils but it’s a dramatic leap from that position to avidly supporting somebody.

  63. That sounds about right.
    Trump – 15% Hate Hillary plus 45% love Trump = 55% (winner)
    Hillary – 45% Hate Trump plus 0% love Hillary = 45%

    I’d say 60% of the voting population do not have a candidate in this election. They may have decided one of the two major party candidates is the lesser of two evils but it’s a dramatic leap from that position to avidly supporting somebody.

  64. I meant:

    That sounds about right.
    Trump – 15% Hate Hillary plus 40% love Trump = 55% (winner)
    Hillary – 45% Hate Trump plus 0% love Hillary = 45%

  65. Joyce says:

    The same way you get enough support for raising taxes, which is never popular, but inevitably it happens.

    Flee? says:
    October 31, 2016 at 9:30 am
    Joyce

    “The deck is stacked in favor of people that already have money …”

    Yes, it is. It is stacked in favor of those that already have money and/or connections to powerful people. Why don’t we aim to reverse this the main (whole?) part of the problem? More progressive taxation will only exacerbate the problem.

    What is the solution you have in mind?

  66. grim says:

    I bet that Tesla roof costs, on average, $75,000-$100,000 installed.

    Easy.

  67. joyce says:

    I’ve seen homes with similar solar shingles before, maybe 4 years ago. What’s the big deal?

  68. Does anyone do metal roofs in NJ? I never saw one until I moved to New England and you mostly see them further North, like in Vermont. I do know of a house a couple miles away that has a metal roof and almost completely covered with solar panels on top of that. Do metal roofs kind of auto-clear their own snow because the surface is so slick?

  69. Anon E. Moose, saying 'Come back, JJ' says:

    Grim [10:14];

    If what the FBI did was wrong, making a statement before investigation was completed or charges filed (or not).

    Why were the Trump accusers permitted to come forward with allegations, given the proximity to the election?

    Shouldn’t the same criticism apply?

    @iowahawkblog
    Nothing is funnier than the press reacting to an October Surprise that didn’t come from them.

    https://twitter.com/iowahawkblog/status/792721140946903041

  70. grim says:

    Metal roofs need ice stops, otherwise you’ll get killed when a slab of ice comes loose.

  71. Juice Box says:

    Here is some real garbage reporting, Hillary tweeted this garbage. She needs better tech advisors. For her low information voters it makes sence that they would use slate for this garbage.

    http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/cover_story/2016/10/was_a_server_registered_to_the_trump_organization_communicating_with_russia.html

  72. D-FENS says:

    A lot of people in my neighborhood replace their old slate roofs with metal roofs.

  73. Anon E. Moose says:

    Lost [13:40];

    This election is pretty sickening. You have both sides defending their team to no end. No one stepping up to fix this mess. Just win by attacking the other side. Someone should step up and cancel this election. Both candidates are not acceptable.

    You are some piece of …. work. Once you can’t defend Hillary with a straight face for a minute longer, “both sides are terrible”. I saw a great piece about a focus group of undecideds: of 12 people, none liked Hillary, but many would vote for her anyway. The conclusion was Hillary’s campaign has poisoned the well against Trump to make him appear as horrible as she is (a pliant media sure helps). And he was no Altar Boy to begin with.

  74. Steamturd thinking about the remains of Hillary's umbilical stump says:

    Metal roofs are real loud when it rains. I stayed in a tree house on my Honeymoon in Hawaii. That steel roof took a lot of getting used to.

    As for solar shingles. They were working on them when I was in college. Think 91. These Millenials eat up these Elan Musks and Steve Jobs types. Man is Tesla looking like the greatest short potential ever.

    I was looking at my electric bill tonight. It was $75 for October. Gonna be hard for solar to make sense up here. I think most of the people who put them in after the initial stupid government subsidies are on crack if they think they’ll ever get a return on their investment. What’s it cost to get a new roof when you have solar panels in the way?

  75. Steamturd thinking about the remains of Hillary's umbilical stump says:

    It’s still there!

    http://www.southpointbth.com/

  76. Flee? says:

    Juice 8:25,

    Trump claimed he saw muslims cheering after the twin towers went down, and you are supporting Trump. You shouldn’t be the one complaining about garbage…

  77. joyce says:

    Darn. I can’t find the article or clip… but the first time the Clinton campaign blamed russian hackers (DNC hack originally), when questioned for their source, the spokesman said it a news article quoting the Clinton campaign blaming russian hackers.

  78. fleabag-

    News report from 9/16/11:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3auKMHkZJnQ

    Story
    http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2015/12/exclusive_jersey_city_cop_residents_say_some_musli.html

    Juice 8:25,

    Trump claimed he saw muslims cheering after the twin towers went down, and you are supporting Trump. You shouldn’t be the one complaining about garbage…

  79. Ben says:

    Metal roofs are real loud when it rains. I stayed in a tree house on my Honeymoon in Hawaii. That steel roof took a lot of getting used to.

    As for solar shingles. They were working on them when I was in college. Think 91. These Millenials eat up these Elan Musks and Steve Jobs types. Man is Tesla looking like the greatest short potential ever.

    I was looking at my electric bill tonight. It was $75 for October. Gonna be hard for solar to make sense up here. I think most of the people who put them in after the initial stupid government subsidies are on crack if they think they’ll ever get a return on their investment. What’s it cost to get a new roof when you have solar panels in the way?

    Totally agree on the Tesla BS. Elon Musk is achieving godlike status in the minds of idiots. His latest suggestion on colonizing Mars is completely idiotic. I would challenge him to colonize the Sahara desert first before he considers trying to colonize a planet with poisonous soil, hyperfreezing temperatures, and no atmosphere. That being said, his deity like status may be one that ensures that the subsidies for his company keep rolling in. I think its only a matter of time before a real car company steam rolls his company.

    As far as solar goes, I never really was willing to bite the bullet because I don’t want to make a 30 year investment only to see technology 100 times more effective come out 15 years down the road. I did sign up with a company that installed panels on my home. It was no money out of my pocket and it’s entirely subsidy driven. The company owns the panels and is completely responsible for upkeep. It was a 20 year contract. I get to purchase electric at a little below 12 cents per kWhr with no delivery. The price increased is fixed at 2.9% per year. Looks like I’m saving approximately $30 to $40 a month but it’s only been on since August.

    It is worth noting though that if you need to do work on your roof for whatever reason, you give them a week’s notice and they take the panels off, store them in a warehouse and put the back up once your done.

    So far, it seems like a win/win for both me and the company. The loser in all this mess, the taxpayer.

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