Property Tax Sticker Shock

[SearchMaster]

UPDATE - the appeal on our secondary lot came back. They lowered the assessed value from $143.7K to $53.8K, and the tax due from $1694 to $589. While $53.8K is still 3-4x the actual value of the lot, this is a much more reasonable assessment. Now we have to decide if we accept this re-assessment, appeal (again, which I suspect will be unsuccessful), or try to combine the lot with our primary residence.

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Original post:

Apparently my county government decided it was time to fleece the "rich" through large tax increases on lakefront properties, while keeping the millage rate the same to avoid widespread revolt.

They raised the assessed value of my residence by almost $100,000, which amounted to a tax increase of $1130. While my wife is incensed, I'm not as bothered by this because the current assessed value is still less than actual value, and our taxes are still much less than the national average.

The lulz arrive on a secondary lot we have next to our primary lot. We purchased this lot from my wife's grandmother's estate for $9K about 15 years ago. It is technically a lake lot, but is in a shallow water cove and cannot receive a dock permit as a result. It is less than a half acre, and we've been told it is essentially unbuildable because its slope precludes a proper septic system. That's not important to us, we bought it simply as a buffer between us and our closest neighbor.

Last year's assessment on this (essentially worthless) lot of land was $26K, which is a tax bill of ~$350 IIRC. This year's assessment was....$143,700 for a tax bill of $1,694.51. I smell an appeal (we had to appeal a jump to >$50K a few years ago to get it back down in the $20K's).

Anybody want to buy a piece of lakefront property? I'll sell it to you for HALF its assessed value - what a bargain!

 

[highland145]

Where at?

 

[boomerang]

Good luck with the appeal. They make it extremely difficult here in Michigan and even if you're successful, it's only in effect for one year and then it reverts back. Our last resort is to appeal to the big boys in Lansing - the state capitol.

Call their bluff. Apply for a building permit on the parcel. When you get denied, you can use it as fodder for your argument.

 

[Markbnj]

Property taxes drive me nuts. I understand the need to kick up to the local lord, but around here they essentially bake a 4% increase into the budget every single year. The only thing that doesn't have a yearly increase baked into it is my salary.

 

[highland145]

Good luck with the appeal. They make it extremely difficult here in Michigan and even if you're successful, it's only in effect for one year and then it reverts back. Our last resort is to appeal to the big boys in Lansing - the state capitol.

Call their bluff. Apply for a building permit on the parcel. When you get denied, you can use it as fodder for your argument.

Or just don't pay the tax if you're positive you (or anyone else) can't build and never will be able to.

Yeah, that's still risky.

 

[jaha2000]

Good luck with the appeal. They make it extremely difficult here in Michigan and even if you're successful, it's only in effect for one year and then it reverts back. Our last resort is to appeal to the big boys in Lansing - the state capitol.

Call their bluff. Apply for a building permit on the parcel. When you get denied, you can use it as fodder for your argument.

This varies by township..
I appealed mine in MI a couple of years ago. Asked why it was raised by so much, told them they were stupid, and they dropped it back without much fuss. Only had to do it once, has not moved since.

Lake property is a whole different baby. Around here, an un-buildable lot is code for buildable with enough money.

 

[highland145]

Lake property is a whole different baby. Around here, an un-buildable lot is code for buildable with enough money.

Yeah, that's the flaw in my plan.

 

[OCGuy]

One thing CA law is good about.

 

[Aharami]

i hate property taxes, especially in NJ

 

[twinrider1]

Property tax assessments should have a claiming rule. If they say it's worth X dollars, you should be able to sell it to the county for that amount.

 

[waffleironhead]

I doubt it's unbuildable, could just throw a holding tank in.

Definitly appeal the increase.

 

[boomerang]

This varies by township..
I appealed mine in MI a couple of years ago. Asked why it was raised by so much, told them they were stupid, and they dropped it back without much fuss. Only had to do it once, has not moved since.

Lake property is a whole different baby. Around here, an un-buildable lot is code for buildable with enough money.

Sounds like you had a much better experience than I did. I was told to do my homework. I walked in with an actual appraisal of the property as well as comps that had recently sold in the area. It was a three person board. One of the women started telling me that they would not accept the appraisal and that the comps didn't really mean anything, yada, yada, yada and that's when boomerang started getting hot. The one guy on the board diffused the situation by telling me that I had good information for them, that they would review it and that I would get an answer, etc.

They did lower it but next year - wammo!

I did not know the guy on the board but as years went by, he became my youngest stepson's FIL. When I brought up appearing in front of him, he did not remember me but did relate that they took him off the board before year three. I'm guessing he was giving away too much money.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Can you get the lot combined on your existing plat at your local county office?

If your existing home lot doesn't have the lake frontage, adding it might be a mistake, but if you already have frontage on there, combining may save in the long run because the markup for frontage won't be added twice.

County/City authorities use property taxes as a money-grab. If they don't mess with assessments, they mess with the tax rate to balance their budgets....at least we have roads and firetrucks to show for it.

I've got 80' of lake frontage along with a few houses. I recently had them amend the plat to switch with house had the frontage associated with it as the lot is irregular. It can be done for a few fees and some surveying work.

 

[rh71]

^ yeah we could use some of that CA proposition 13 goodness over here. My property + school taxes is 10X the OP's. $1600/yr? We almost pay that a month. If we had a 1% law, it would save us $10k a year. We also vote on the school budget every year. They wanted to raise it by $3mil. for next year, and 1500 out of 2000 voters said yes. Another 2%+ tax increase coming like every other year.

 

[waggy]

Ours went up about $300.

if i lived .5 a mile west i would out of Dekalb county and into a cheaper (tax wise) area to live.

my taxes would be $500 less.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Apparently my county government decided it was time to fleece the "rich" through large tax increases on lakefront properties, while keeping the millage rate the same to avoid widespread revolt.

They raised the assessed value of my residence by almost $100,000, which amounted to a tax increase of $1130. While my wife is incensed, I'm not as bothered by this because the current assessed value is still less than actual value, and our taxes are still much less than the national average.

The lulz arrive on a secondary lot we have next to our primary lot. We purchased this lot from my wife's grandmother's estate for $9K about 15 years ago. It is technically a lake lot, but is in a shallow water cove and cannot receive a dock permit as a result. It is less than a half acre, and we've been told it is essentially unbuildable because its slope precludes a proper septic system. That's not important to us, we bought it simply as a buffer between us and our closest neighbor.

Last year's assessment on this (essentially worthless) lot of land was $26K, which is a tax bill of ~$350 IIRC. This year's assessment was....$143,700 for a tax bill of $1,694.51. I smell an appeal (we had to appeal a jump to >$50K a few years ago to get it back down in the $20K's).

Anybody want to buy a piece of lakefront property? I'll sell it to you for HALF its assessed value - what a bargain!

Ouch.

Possible tip for the side lot - if its an unbuildable lot and/or if you are just going to maintain it as buffer, see if your state offers a tax benefit or exemption for land that is designated for "existing" or "current" use. In NH placing land in current use status (essentially preservation status) can alleviate most or all of the tax burden on that land. Could save you some bucks in your case, especially given your intended use. You might want to check to see if it is possible to get your land out of current use though, just in case you change your mind.

This is not legal advice of course. Do what you will with the property.

http://www.nhspace.org/cu.shtml

 

[Insomniator]

Property taxes are a complete joke. Its just another way for the government to steal from you every year... + some extra % they feel like taking to remind you whos in charge.

 

[boomerang]

Property taxes drive me nuts. I understand the need to kick up to the local lord, but around here they essentially bake a 4% increase into the budget every single year. The only thing that doesn't have a yearly increase baked into it is my salary.

It will eventually reach a breaking point if that is any consolation. We did here in Michigan when Proposal A passed in...1994 iirc. Flawed legislation as is the norm but people were being forced out of their homes. It was worst for retirees on fixed incomes.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Definitely appeal. Around here, it's pretty easy to get them lowered.

I find the concept of property taxes weird. A use tax seems much more logical. Raise the local sales tax or institute a local income tax.

 

[waggy]

It will eventually reach a breaking point if that is any consolation. We did here in Michigan when Proposal A passed in...1994 iirc. Flawed legislation as is the norm but people were being forced out of their homes. It was worst for retirees on fixed incomes.

That should NEVER happen. a person who has lived in there home for decades and has paid it off should never be forced to move because they can't afford the property tax.

i hate paying property tax. I pay the same amount for someone living in town. Yet i do not have water, sewage, nice streets and IF my house catches on fire they won't get here in time to put it out. it takes roughly 20 minutes to get here from the 2 fire stations.

oh and the school? they are so short of money it's insane. though that is more the last super's fault. he purchased a fucking windmill 4 years ago and they can't afford to hook it up to the school.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I say charge for public schooling. Why should I foot the bill for your kids schooling when I don't have any kids of my own. If you decide to spit out 4 kids then don't be pissed about paying for your choices.

 

[cabri]

Or just don't pay the tax if you're positive you (or anyone else) can't build and never will be able to.

Yeah, that's still risky.

If you intended on it being as a buffer and not building on it; donate to the county with a deed restriction that the land must remain undeveloped.

Tax donation write-off for the assessed value.

Maybe donate in 4 yearly chunks to get full value of the write-offs

 

[Sho'Nuff]

If you intended on it being as a buffer and not building on it; donate to the county with a deed restriction that the land must remain undeveloped.

Tax donation write-off for the assessed value.

Maybe donate in 4 yearly chunks to get full value of the write-offs

This is an alternative to what I suggested. My suggestion has the benefit of retaining ownership of the land.

 

[Insomniator]

I say charge for public schooling. Why should I foot the bill for your kids schooling when I don't have any kids of my own. If you decide to spit out 4 kids then don't be pissed about paying for your choices.

Because we live in a society blah blah blah.

I'll give you one kid on the house, after that pay for them yourself.

 

[boomerang]

That should NEVER happen. a person who has lived in there home for decades and has paid it off should never be forced to move because they can't afford the property tax.

A story and I'll try to make it brief. We used to vacation in Hawaii every other year. We went a dozen times. The first eight or nine trips, we could have bought a very nice ranch style home in the north part of Kauai for about $175K to $185K. We could have rented it sooo easy too. But we never bought. Every time we went back, the prices remained stable so we figured it would always be there.

Suddenly, the prices started ratcheting up. And up and up and up. People were coming over from California where they were used to extremely high RE prices and they were driving the market up. A condo where we stayed on one trip that had sold for $380K, just two years later went for $799K and on our last trip identical ones in the same development had sold for $1.1 million. The result was that native Hawaiians that had owned property for generations were being forced to sell because they could no longer afford the taxes. But then, where do they go? It's an island after all.

Anyway, a friend we made there said that they were proposing legislation to give the native Hawaiians a big break on their taxes. We have not gone back so I don't know how that all worked out.

i hate paying property tax. I pay the same amount for someone living in town. Yet i do not have water, sewage, nice streets and IF my house catches on fire they won't get here in time to put it out. it takes roughly 20 minutes to get here from the 2 fire stations.

Bet you get to pay higher insurance premiums too. I know I do because there are no fire hydrants in this rural township where I live.

oh and the school? they are so short of money it's insane. though that is more the last super's fault. he purchased a fucking windmill 4 years ago and they can't afford to hook it up to the school.

That's hilarious from my viewpoint but I can fully understand that you look at it differently.