property taxes after building an addition to an existing house
Kristina Tilson
last year
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Mark Bischak, Architect
last yearFlo Mangan
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Building a new house - value after building?
Comments (28)In our small town in Arkansas, builders are building spec houses that are selling well. However, the houses are more modest than in the past, though still nice, and price points are lower. In our second home ski-resort town in Colorado, its a bit different. True, that this is a unique market being a resort and has a mix of second-home owners and full time residents. The high-end spec. homes were in the 4-7.5M range in the boom. High end spec. duplexes in the 2-5 million range and high end condos in the 1.5-2.5 million range were being built in the boom. This inventory is slowly getting absorbed, but with some faily significant price reductions, especially for the condos). Now the few spec residences are at a more modest scale and lower price points. Only a very few of the higher end(now about 1.4-2.4M) spec. homes/duplexes are in the building and/or permitting phases in prime locations. No condos are buing built, but one developer is building a new apartment complex (instead of condos as originally planned) for long-term rentals and a fabuoulous senior center is winding its way through the permitting process. So at least there is some building activitiy. One builder however appears to be having some success with $220,000 to about $350,000 single family homes in a nearby "bedroom" community about 20 miles out. He bought the entire subdivision from the bank after it had been foreclosed and is now building more affordable housing. In the middle of the boom, the city approved several subdivisions in prime (very prime) mountain areas very near the base of the ski-mountain. One of those subdivisions of 62 lots announced that it was 100% "pre-sold" in the fall of 2007, with waiting lists. Prices ranged from about 450,000 for a .15 acre lot to around 1,200,000 for a creekside lot just under an acre. After all the infrastructure was in place, in May of 2010, 51 lots remained unsold and prices were slashed in half. At that time, a local builder was quoted in the paper as saying that this meant that a 3000 sq ft. home on one of the smaller lots could probably be built for just over 1M. Since that time, 4 lots sold to one local long-time investor, for an additional approx 10% off the already prices. This summer another 30% discount off the reduced prices (making it 65% of original asking) was announced. Five lots quickly went under contract, but four (all creekside duplex lots, I think) have already dropped out. A hedge fund bought another smaller, well located subdivision on the golf course from the bank about 6 months ago and cut the prices in half. No sales yet. I think this tells us (1) land prices haven't bottomed out and (2) until they do (and more remaining inventory is absorbed) there probably won't be any significant spec activity....See MorePlease explain property taxes after buying...
Comments (15)Two factors make up my tax bill: 1) the assessed value, 2) the year's tax rate for each taxing body (county, town, schools, library, whatever). If residential is the only base, the rate will be higher than if commercial properties carry some of the load. In my county they assess annually. This is a superior way to finance government because it reflects current values. We have lived in Cook Co. which assesses a third of the county each year because it is so large. Our assessments are made on a township level, based on a valuation of all similar properties within a neighborhood(size, exterior construction material, etc. and land value). When a house sells, that price goes into the mix, lifting median assessments for the whole neighborhood. (I am not thrilled by the teardowns happening around me -- small ranches on large lots being replaced by BIG homes mean higher assessment on my house.) The only disadvantge I see to you as a buyer would be if you wanted to protest your assessment. How could you justify a complaint if you've just paid more than the assessed valuation? I always protested our assessment in Cook Co. because there were properties nearly identical to mine that were under-assessed; they had to reduce mine....See MoreIs Building new Home always cheaper than purchasing an existing home?
Comments (11)I suspect that this question really can't be answered in any meaningful way without very specific information. In general, buying an existing home is cheaper than building a home, however, renovating is much more expensive than building. So the question becomes at what point are the costs of remodeling greater than the savings from buying existing, and the answer is simply not that concrete. For starters, some homes lend themselves to additions much better than other homes. Siding vs. brick, crawlspace vs. slab, etc. Additionally, there is the location problem. While it might be cheaper to build a house on an available lot, the total cost of ownership for a more suitably placed home might be lower. Parks, schools, groceries, etc. within walking distance will often make a house more suitable and lower commuter costs sufficiently to make up for the marginal costs of remodeling. Not to mention general quality of life issues when the location of a home enhances the way you live. Finally, depending on location, lot development can be a pretty important consideration. I have personally paused my home design as I labor over an extraordinary piece of property. It is absolutely everything I want, however, it is going to cost me seven figures just to develop the property into something I can build a house on, so those costs can be significant if no satisfactory lots are available. ---------------- As others have said, assuming there is a satisfactory larger home available, it will always be cheaper to find a way to acquire that rather than remodeling, however, if nothing works, you might not have many options. At some point a tear down starts making a lot of sense. I suspect your friends are actually naive about the costs of remodeling and are overvaluing the infrastructure available. However, we should allow that, that might not be the case....See MoreBuilding tips for LOOOOOOOOOWWWW Property Taxes
Comments (21)I am not sure how frequent reassessment is, but for me this is not germane to the topic because they will come. I have no idea what I can expect to save, but I am on a trajectory to find that out soon. It is certainly not a common goal. Sometimes when you wonder into territory that most people don't, you are trailblazing and other times you are just lost. In this case, I suspect you are very probably lost. The reason this is not a common goal is that the math just doesn't work out for most people. Simply spending less money is a great idea, and so is keeping maintenance and upkeep in mind. However, in the end, if your drive towards ad valorem savings accelerates maintenance, or leads to non-standard material you will probably spend more than the savings themselves are worth. The actual value of a dollar of annual tax savings is something between $9 and $11. So $500 of annual tax savings which is probably about $70,000 of home devaluation in middle Tennessee is worth between $4,500 and $5,500 of cash outlay during the build. Also since the value is only $4,500 to $5,500 almost any accelerated maintenance because of this plan wipes out the savings. ---- My personal advice is build smart, modest, and standard, then the net savings will be better than any tax savings. I am of the opinion that the words, "I have a great idea that you haven't seen before" never go with the words, "and it will save a ton of money." Just my 2 cents......See MoreShadyWillowFarm
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