Island Living Questions

[Happy Gourmand]

Less than 75' from my property is a lot with a house on it. The town has assessed the LAND at $100,000. The lake is not easily seen from this lot. My lot, less that 75' away has a "view" of the lake, somewhat obstructed, but a view nonetheless. My little lot, land only, about the same size as the aformentioned lot is assessed by the Town of Meredith for $200,000.
View tax? You tell me.

[MAXUM]

Originally Posted by Happy Gourmand

Less than 75' from my property is a lot with a house on it. The town has assessed the LAND at $100,000. The lake is not easily seen from this lot. My lot, less that 75' away has a "view" of the lake, somewhat obstructed, but a view nonetheless. My little lot, land only, about the same size as the aformentioned lot is assessed by the Town of Meredith for $200,000.
View tax? You tell me.

100K seems a bit steep, are the rest of the land improvements between the two lots in question in kind or do you have newer or better improvements? How about the characteristics of the lots, there are so many factors that can go into determining value even two lots side by side can vary widely in value even if they are the same size and mere feet apart. End of the day if you think you're getting the raw end of the deal the town does have to justify their numbers to you just as you do to them if you think they are in error. Doesn't hurt to ask them how they came to the valuation and on what comparable properties they are basing it on.

[TiltonBB]

Originally Posted by Happy Gourmand

Less than 75' from my property is a lot with a house on it. The town has assessed the LAND at $100,000. The lake is not easily seen from this lot. My lot, less that 75' away has a "view" of the lake, somewhat obstructed, but a view nonetheless. My little lot, land only, about the same size as the aformentioned lot is assessed by the Town of Meredith for $200,000.
View tax? You tell me.

I had a similar problem regarding my land in Gilford. I went to town hall and looked at the lot plans for other house lots on my street that were similar in size to check the value that the town had placed on them. It was roughly the same as mine. However, my land was much steeper and although there was 100 feet on the water on my land there is only 50 feet at the street. The other lots had 100 feet on the water and 100 feet at the street.

I was able to come up with 4 comps to illustrate my point. I applied for an abatement and pointed out that with a required 25 foot sideline setback, a large portion of my land was virtually unbuildable. I also pointed out that the other lots were closer to level than mine. They agreed and my assessed land value was dropped by about $100,000.

If you take the time to do the homework and present a reasonable argument (without arguing) the system works.