's Bloghttp://mikelevan.com/blog/mikelevan.com/RPS Blog2007-04-09T08:03:36ZFixing Michigan's Pop-up Tax Problemhttp://mikelevan.com/blog_post.asp?post=17392007-04-09T08:04:00Z2007-04-09T13:04:00-05:002007-04-09T08:04:00Z<div style="font-family:arial, geneva, lucida, sans-serif;">How should we fix the Pop-up Tax?
By Michael J. LeVan
G.P.B.R. – Government Affairs Chairman
M.A.R. – Public Policy Committee
There is no doubt that the lackluster Michigan economy has had a negative effect on home values in Michigan. But what about the Pop-up Tax, how has that impacted house prices?
Homes, like cars, are now purchased based upon monthly payment, not total price. When a buyer meets with a mortgage lender, they determine what the buyer can spend per month on housing expenses (that is principal, interest, taxes and insurance.) The total loan amount, and hence the purchase price that they can pay, is merely a by-product of the interest rate and the monthly payment that they can afford. Since real estate taxes are a component of that monthly payment, any increase in taxes reduces the amount available to pay interest and principle. This reduction in the amount available for the mortgage payment means ..<span style="font-size:90%;margin-left:5px;color:#0000FF;vertical-align:baseline;"><font size="-3" color="gray">(</font><a style="text-decoration:none;" href="http://mikelevan.com/blog_post.asp?post=1739">read more</a><font size="-3" color="gray">)</font></span><img src ="http://mikelevan.com/blog/aggbug/1739.aspx" width = "1" height = "1" /></div>http://mikelevan.com/blog_post.asp?post=1739#comment0http://mikelevan.com/blog/commentRss/1739.aspxhttp://mikelevan.com/blog/services/trackbacks/1739.aspx