Since our home mortgage deduction was grandfathered in, if we move away and rent it out, will we still retain that deduction during the rental and if we move back?
Since property taxes became non-deductible this year, we have been really hit hard financially. Are we allowed to get the senior exemption on all bonds and measures for Palo Alto? Do we have to apply every year? How do we do this? Does Measure Z have an exemption for seniors and disabled persons? Are we exempt when one of us is over 65 or do both of us have to be over 65?
Will we be able to remain exempt if we rent out the house to someone else? Or do we get to claim the exemption only if we can afford to stay here?
Are there any software programs or inexpensive ways to better assess just how badly we are going to be hit this year? It's been very complicated trying to assess the changes exactly and plan for what we have to do.
The tax law changes have hit people across the income spectrum very differently.
If you are another Palo Alto family who has been hit negatively, please share what it has meant to you, and what you are doing to compensate for it. If you are adding an ADU, how are you able to afford the costs, and has it worked out? Can anyone share their experiences with AirBnB (not for our house, but for a spare room or ADU). We would not turn an ADU into an AirBnB unit, only rent it out as much as we had to in order to stay and then maybe rent it to a student the rest of the year. That is a frightening prospect, too, just because it's a major construction project, too. Are there any good ready-to-go ADU's?
For us, this has been a year of fear and stress much worse than even the usual financial stress. The public narratives around homeownership in this area never seems to be even remotely related to the reality for me and my neighbors. I don't see how we can afford a real accountant -- what is everyone else who has been negatively hit doing?
NOTE: Please if you are one of those who has benefited, please refrain from negative comments about others who did not or their circumstances. I am especially asking the denialists and the developer-centric who want to make it look like all homeowners in Palo Alto are living the high life in their 900sq ft rundown shacks to be considerate. Please let this be a forum where those who are already struggling to live in this area (not just Palo Alto) and have been suddenly hit with a huge bite out of our living incomes can figure out what to do.
