Shelby v Oldham taxes (Louisville, Prospect: transplants, sales, real estate)

[GoBlue8]

After many years away my wife and I are considering moving back to the Eastern Louisville area for retirement. It will be a seasonal home of good size on property, we'll be spending winters in Florida. Most everything we see in initial searches for some property (5+ acres) is in Oldham or Shelby counties.
I have done some research and looked at data on this site as well as discussions with our family who all live in Jefferson County. Everyone in our family has an opinion...... Still premature for us to get a realtor. Cost of living is all the same, home and property values are about the same, excluding some homes in subdivisions which are of no interest unless they are on 2+ acre executive size lots.

That ground work being said....
Are there any significant financial benefits to living in one county over the other for taxes?
What about some of the higher end individual city differences?
Any hot spots to stay away from?

[ServoMiff]

Originally Posted by GoBlue8

After many years away my wife and I are considering moving back to the Eastern Louisville area for retirement. It will be a seasonal home of good size on property, we'll be spending winters in Florida. Most everything we see in initial searches for some property (5+ acres) is in Oldham or Shelby counties.
I have done some research and looked at data on this site as well as discussions with our family who all live in Jefferson County. Everyone in our family has an opinion...... Still premature for us to get a realtor. Cost of living is all the same, home and property values are about the same, excluding some homes in subdivisions which are of no interest unless they are on 2+ acre executive size lots.

That ground work being said....
Are there any significant financial benefits to living in one county over the other for taxes?
What about some of the higher end individual city differences?
Any hot spots to stay away from?

Oldham is the 3rd highest (tied, based on what I saw) effective property tax rate in the state, behind Campbell and Kenton (near Cincy). Shelby is about 11 basis points below Oldham. Oldham also has an additional sales tax on alcohol of 6%. Oldham is the absolute hottest county market in the state, in my opinion.

I'm surprised that home and property values are similar for the 2+ acres you're looking for, but I suppose it's possible if you're seeing the properties in the extreme north and eastern sections of Oldham. The section that's closest to Jefferson is in super high demand which might have some negative impacts on those farther away if county taxes have to increase to support the demand and infrastructure needs. Shelby is also growing, but much less to the degree that Oldham has.

If it were me, I would invest in Shelby, because I think the property value growth potential is higher there longer term for the size of land you're looking for.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by ServoMiff

Oldham is the 3rd highest (tied, based on what I saw) effective property tax rate in the state, behind Campbell and Kenton (near Cincy). Shelby is about 11 basis points below Oldham. Oldham also has an additional sales tax on alcohol of 6%. Oldham is the absolute hottest county market in the state, in my opinion.

I'm surprised that home and property values are similar for the 2+ acres you're looking for, but I suppose it's possible if you're seeing the properties in the extreme north and eastern sections of Oldham. The section that's closest to Jefferson is in super high demand which might have some negative impacts on those farther away if county taxes have to increase to support the demand and infrastructure needs. Shelby is also growing, but much less to the degree that Oldham has.

If it were me, I would invest in Shelby, because I think the property value growth potential is higher there longer term for the size of land you're looking for.

Man, Servo is really on point lately. I am becoming a very experienced real estate investor here, and I couldn't agree more. In Oldham, the higher taxes are a de facto tax for the best school system in the state. Oldham is so dedicated to their schools they are now using increased taxes to hire police officers at a cost to taxpayers of nearly a half million! If your kids are grown and you raise no grandkids, Shelby all the way. More upside too. Western Shelby has already started to boom. Just check out the growth at the I-64 interchanges. Even Simpsonville is getting a nice 4 story hotel now, and several more restaurants in the works! If you want it to remain rural for a while, you may want to stay 4-5 miles away from the freeway interchanges.

That said, Oldham County is BY FAR the best suburban county in the state and has more transplants, is more upscale, better in most every way. It's the difference between Prospect and Lake Forest. LF isn't bad, but Prospect is more refined. Oldham is an extension of that. LF is now considered an "old area."

[GoBlue8]

Originally Posted by ServoMiff

Oldham is the 3rd highest (tied, based on what I saw) effective property tax rate in the state, behind Campbell and Kenton (near Cincy). Shelby is about 11 basis points below Oldham. Oldham also has an additional sales tax on alcohol of 6%. Oldham is the absolute hottest county market in the state, in my opinion.

I'm surprised that home and property values are similar for the 2+ acres you're looking for, but I suppose it's possible if you're seeing the properties in the extreme north and eastern sections of Oldham. The section that's closest to Jefferson is in super high demand which might have some negative impacts on those farther away if county taxes have to increase to support the demand and infrastructure needs. Shelby is also growing, but much less to the degree that Oldham has.

If it were me, I would invest in Shelby, because I think the property value growth potential is higher there longer term for the size of land you're looking for.

Good information that I am thankful for. You know your stuff, and what I need as I pursue our oasis. In general you are correct, Oldham is more money... period. Builders that I am look at work in either county. My kids are grown and schools don't mean much to me at this point and this will be a final landing spot. My last 3 moves in 5 years have been Boston, Dallas and now Memphis....... we are renting here with everything we own in storage. Cost of living comparisons put Louisville and surrounding areas in a great position for us.

We are leaning towards Shelby but there are some nice properties in Prospect. Is there any weather or flooding influence being close to the River?

[GoBlue8]

Originally Posted by Peter1948

Man, Servo is really on point lately. I am becoming a very experienced real estate investor here, and I couldn't agree more. In Oldham, the higher taxes are a de facto tax for the best school system in the state. Oldham is so dedicated to their schools they are now using increased taxes to hire police officers at a cost to taxpayers of nearly a half million! If your kids are grown and you raise no grandkids, Shelby all the way. More upside too. Western Shelby has already started to boom. Just check out the growth at the I-64 interchanges. Even Simpsonville is getting a nice 4 story hotel now, and several more restaurants in the works! If you want it to remain rural for a while, you may want to stay 4-5 miles away from the freeway interchanges.

That said, Oldham County is BY FAR the best suburban county in the state and has more transplants, is more upscale, better in most every way. It's the difference between Prospect and Lake Forest. LF isn't bad, but Prospect is more refined. Oldham is an extension of that. LF is now considered an "old area."

From my reply to Servo.... schools don't mean much, since this is our final landing spot. Either county is better than Boston or Dallas where my 4000sf home was taxed at $13k per year. Totally agree to the upside in Shelby county and ditto on proximity to 64. I just don't want to hear that drone of traffic in the background.

Very familiar with Lake Forest, my in-laws and brother in law have lived there for 25 and 15 years respectively. Nice builds, but we have had enough of neighborly love and want to be back on property. In fact one of the builders we are considering built both of their homes which were featured in the homearamas' back many years ago. He builds great stuff.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by GoBlue8

Good information that I am thankful for. You know your stuff, and what I need as I pursue our oasis. In general you are correct, Oldham is more money... period. Builders that I am look at work in either county. My kids are grown and schools don't mean much to me at this point and this will be a final landing spot. My last 3 moves in 5 years have been Boston, Dallas and now Memphis....... we are renting here with everything we own in storage. Cost of living comparisons put Louisville and surrounding areas in a great position for us.

We are leaning towards Shelby but there are some nice properties in Prospect. Is there any weather or flooding influence being close to the River?

No, Prospect sits high and dry unless within few hundred feet of Harrods Creek or of course right on the river, maybe within 100 ft

[marino760]

You may find this useful. You can compare taxes throughout the state county by county.

Kentucky Property Taxes By County - 2018

[ServoMiff]

Originally Posted by GoBlue8

Good information that I am thankful for. You know your stuff, and what I need as I pursue our oasis. In general you are correct, Oldham is more money... period. Builders that I am look at work in either county. My kids are grown and schools don't mean much to me at this point and this will be a final landing spot. My last 3 moves in 5 years have been Boston, Dallas and now Memphis....... we are renting here with everything we own in storage. Cost of living comparisons put Louisville and surrounding areas in a great position for us.

We are leaning towards Shelby but there are some nice properties in Prospect. Is there any weather or flooding influence being close to the River?

Oh lord yes. I grew up in Prospect, on US 42 right by the Oldham/Jefferson line.

Louisville's biggest concern in the next 30-40 years is the Ohio River in my opinion. Where the property is in relation to the river will make or break you. I've seen the Ohio River flood to a degree basically every year, and then every decade you get a flood that is particularly devastating, and I saw an article recently (looked for it but couldn't find it) that talked about how flooding is forecast to increase for the city in the next 30-40+ years.

I'm not going to say that every plot of land is in danger of flooding on the river right now, but I would recommend that you do a significant amount of due diligence with flood maps to see if properties you're considering anything near the river are in danger or not.

Personally, with the amount of land you're talking about and the future value to pass on to your children, I wouldn't risk the property in Prospect unless it was far enough away from the river that you were way out of the danger zone and would concentrate on Shelby County.

[ServoMiff]

Originally Posted by Peter1948

No, Prospect sits high and dry unless within few hundred feet of Harrods Creek or of course right on the river, maybe within 100 ft

There are parts of Prospect that are right on the river, both off of River Road (all of the streets behind the shopping center and by the LG&E building) and down Rose Island Road. Prospect has annexed a LOT, so it is much bigger than it was when I moved there in 1981.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by ServoMiff

There are parts of Prospect that are right on the river, both off of River Road (all of the streets behind the shopping center and by the LG&E building) and down Rose Island Road. Prospect has annexed a LOT, so it is much bigger than it was when I moved there in 1981.

Yeah but the majority of Prospect sits high and above the flood plain. I agree I wouldn't live down on Rose Island Rd....it has the feeling of low level swampland. That said, LOTS of multimillion dollar estates down there. A couple impressive subdivisions come to mind.

Honestly, this is why there are flood maps! If you aren't in the 100 year flood plane, NOTHING to worry about. Do you think the flood insurers would show otherwise? No way.