Ever had your home assessed?

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

Friday I got a postcard from the city telling me that they want to inspect the inside of my home as part of their property assessment. They would be by to do the assessment.

Monday, I got home to a note at the door that they had been there to do the assessment. No one was home, so the note was left. The note also said if they could not do the internal assessment, that it would be listed as 'best condition'. I believe this to mean that it would possibly be taxed at a higher value.

So:
If I have to let these people into the house, what do they look for?

I have done work without permit, I don't want to get fined for the work. I had the furnace replaced, but that was with permit. I don't know if they are looking to see if I have added gold fixtures or the walls are still standing or what this inspection really is for.

[BWolf Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BWolf]

I had a lawyer tell me that no one is under any legal obligation to let them in. They do have the right to measure the outside foundation of the house and do whatever visual inspection they want. But they have no legal right to enter your home. You let them in at your discretion.

I'd guess, if you let them in, they'd list your home as "best condition" anyway. So, just ignore the note.

As a side note, when the local assessor sent out a letter telling people that "licensed inspectors" would be around to inspect every home, and they should be given access to the house, I called the local paper, which ran an article on the letter. The letter implied that the inspectors had a legal right to enter your home. I said that wasn't true. When the reporter asked the town assessor why she didn't tell people in the two page letter they had the right to refuse entry to the inspectors, she replied that no one would let the inspectors in if she had informed them of their legal rights to refuse entry.

The reporter really made the assessor look like a fool. Of course, it was easy.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Friday I got a postcard from the city telling me that they want to inspect the inside of my home as part of their property assessment. They would be by to do the assessment.

Monday, I got home to a note at the door that they had been there to do the assessment. No one was home, so the note was left. The note also said if they could not do the internal assessment, that it would be listed as 'best condition'. I believe this to mean that it would possibly be taxed at a higher value.

So:
If I have to let these people into the house, what do they look for?

I have done work without permit, I don't want to get fined for the work. I had the furnace replaced, but that was with permit. I don't know if they are looking to see if I have added gold fixtures or the walls are still standing or what this inspection really is for.

If it's anything that needs a C of O, you will have to deal with that when you sell the house regardless. Around here, the tax inspectors don't generally communicate with the building inspectors, so an assessment inspection wouldn't trigger a permit violation. Not sure about where you live. If you've done anything that would be illegal under the building code (around here a lot of people finish basements without the proper ingress/egress required by the state fire/building code), that may be a different story. Also, anything that would add to the overall fair market value of the house, such as added finished square footage in addition to improved "condition" would likely increase the assessment.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Fourth Amendment Rights Regarding Home Inspections — HB-Rights.org

Assessor Authority to enter properties

Must I allow an assessor to enter my home? And if so, what do they look for?

[susieq Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close susieq]

I've received those notices in the past. No one is going to come into my house without my permission ~ let alone an "inspector" (if that's really what he is). It is no matter if he is or not ~ bottom line ~ he's not coming in.

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

The work I had done is to put in a water heater. Most locations require a permit. The likelihood of this being an issue is small, unless inspector is really being an a$$.

I added a wall between my office and the wine room. That one shouldn't be a problem.

I think I may call them, see what they expect to find and then just say no, they are not allowed in.

[longtimer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close longtimer]

If its for an assessment, they are just looking for reasons to raise the value of your home and increase the amount you pay in property taxes. There is no way for them to know what you have done to your own home over the past years. Unless you are the original owner, you could always say it's always been that way.
I've gone through two assessments in the past ten years. The first was for our main home, when the county reassessed property values. During that time, property values had skyrocketed and the tax moochers simply wanted an excuse to raise the assessed value of homes for higher property taxes. The second time was when we purchased our vacation home this summer. The home was automatically reassessed when the sale was recorded at the court house. In both cases, the reassessment was based on a visual inspection of the outside of the property and real estate listings. No one ever came inside.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Wine room? Is that the room next to the day spa?

There goes the assessment through the roof.

FWIW, one of the links above is from MN. One says if you do not let them in, they have the right to assume the house's condition should be rated at the max, and you lose appeal rights until you let them in.

It's your choice.

I don't find that unreasonable.

- - - - - -
I have appealed (there's another word . . . a back-east word . . . for that). Once here and once in our place before here.

As for assessment in general, many formulas are unreasonable, not reality-based, but they are the system being used. A few years back I discovered that we were paying substantially higher property taxes than all of the lakefront houses in our neighborhood with significantly higher market values. The good news is that the assessor found an error for all four of the houses on our side of the road, and I got all four of them lowered. (Yeah, a party was held for my good work. )

However, our local formula reduces assessed value 10% for every ten years of age of the house. At that time our house was in it's first decade, so was assessed at 100% of market. The lakefront houses were all at least 30 years old, so were appraised at 60 or 70%.

[1950bing Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 1950bing]

People who worry have something to hide.
Everyone is welcome to come to my houses.

[susieq Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close susieq]

People who worry have something to hide.
Everyone is welcome to come to my houses.

I'm sorry ... .. I thought we had freedoms and rights here. The right to feel secure in our own home and the freedom to choose who we care to invite into them come to mind. If you choose to invite any and all into yours, that's your right, I'd like the same freedom of choice, thank you.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

I'm sorry ... .. I thought we had freedoms and rights here. The right to feel secure in our own home and the freedom to choose who we care to invite into them come to mind. If you choose to invite any and all into yours, that's your right, I'd like the same freedom of choice, thank you.

You have the right to refuse the inspection, or not. Bing chooses not to. And without getting too political, rights and freedoms are not absolute, nor necessarily distributed equally.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

There's no abridgement of freedoms here. You can let em in or not let em in.

They will make their judgement based on the evidence the homeowner presents.

If they make a mistake of assumption because you don't let em in, you can appeal by letting them in (which you would have to do if they made mistakes guessing what's inside, to show them what's really inside . . . the day spa, the wine room, the bowling alley, the pool, the home theater, the jai lai court, the stables, etc.).

If they don't make a mistake of assumption, everything's OK.

How does the homeowner lose in that scenario?

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

There's no abridgement of freedoms here. You can let em in or not let em in.

They will make their judgement based on the evidence the homeowner presents.

If they make a mistake of assumption because you don't let em in, you can appeal by letting them in (which you would have to do if they made mistakes guessing what's inside, to show them what's really inside . . . the day spa, the wine room, the bowling alley, the pool, the home theater, the jai lai court, the stables, etc.).

If they don't make a mistake of assumption, everything's OK.

How does the homeowner lose in that scenario?

JLB is illustrating my point, at least the OT part

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

How to Protest or Appeal Real Estate Property Taxes | eHow.com

Odds & ends:

Yeah, rights & liberties are not equally distributed, and depend on prevailing local issues.

Property taxes are not perfect, but we are given the right to protest them.

Our Assessor does a good job, but I have had little success getting them to even list the personal property that we own correctly. Because of boat dock, I take care of some stuff for other family members, and if I can remember it all, it includes 10 boat slips of varying sizes divided among five people, 1 boat, 1 outboard motor, 2 PWCs, 4 trailers, 3 motor vehicles, & ???.

Each Spring we get a form to list what we own and to make changes. I have sent that in every year with the correct stuff for each person and have never gotten bills (here now) that are all correct. I correct them again each Spring.

Keep copies of everything.

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

So back to my original question, what are they looking for when the go throught a house? Do they have records of how the house was built to know what was original? Do they look for what has changed since the last inspection i.e.: carpet, windows, appliances, lighting, etc? Do they look at wearing of the home, leaking windows, areas needing paint or repairs, or what do they expect to see when they go through?

I had the new furnace and AC put in, and upgraded electrical in the garage for my table saw. Will he look at that as improvements and worth additional taxes?

I am thinking that I should point out what a poor job was done by the builder as well as the city inspector that signed off on this house. I should show him how the double pane window has leaked, lost its insulation value and now has a dirty film between the panes.

Had I know 6-1/2 years ago the real condition of the house, and the economic conditions that would have dropped the value of the house, I would have done things differently. Love that 20/20 backwards view.