....property taxes too high?

FlyingScot · 09-28-2018, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffk

The valuation is supposed to approximate actual market value as determined by uniform (across the state) methods.

This is an very interesting point with respect to this home. Typically, the market value of the property would reflect the value of the land plus the building cost plugged into some reasonable formula. But what happens when the owner spends so much on the building, that no one else can afford to buy it? This seems to be the case here. Should the town suffer because he built a property that is not marketable? Or should the tax assessment reflect the value of the land plus the building cost plugged into some reasonable formula?

Descant · 09-28-2018, 08:50 PM

Building cost is often not related to market value. Spend $40K to install a swimming pool and you may not have increased the market value at all. Spend $40K on a new kitchen and you may have increased market value by $60K.

fatlazyless · 09-28-2018, 09:23 PM

Bob is from southern Maine ..... he grew up there ..... he raced cars there .... and, he's left this mansion known as Longview behind to go back to Maine. His family and friends are all in Maine.

At age-91 with more than 300-million dollars in the bank, selling this Longview property for the reduced price of 9-million dollars will probably not make any difference to him. He probably just wants to sell it because with his race track in Loudon sold, he's gone back to Maine, and he has no use for the big house on Winnipesaukee. http://theautoblonde.com/bob-bahre-car-collection/ ……. Bob likes Maine!

Maybe he would actually prefer to donate the 19-waterfront acre mansion to the southern Maine Scouts http://pinetreebsa.org via a 100-year, one dollar/year lease to be used for a Maine young scouts, organized weekend get-a-way, go-to spot used by many different young people from Maine for the next hundred years and beyond.

Maybe, all things considered, he would feel better about donating the property as opposed to selling it? Is this a doable way out?

Shrimpbrain · 09-29-2018, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

Bob is from southern Maine ..... he grew up there ..... he raced cars there .... and, he's left this mansion known as Longview behind to go back to Maine. His family and friends are all in Maine.

At age-91 with more than 300-million dollars in the bank, selling this Longview property for the reduced price of 9-million dollars will probably not make any difference to him. He probably just wants to sell it because with the race track in Loudon sold, he's gone back to Maine, and he has no use for the big house on the lake. He likes Maine.

Maybe he would actually prefer to donate it to the southern Maine Boy Scouts http://pinetreebsa.org via a 100-year, one dollar/year lease to be used for a Boy Scout weekend get-a-way, go-to spot used by many different young people from Maine.

Maybe, all things considered, he would feel better about donating the property as opposed to selling it? Is this a doable way out?

We have to be correct in our wording. The Boy Scouts I believe are not called Boy Scouts now. They are just called SCOUTS ever since they allowed girls into the BOYS SCOUT. And NOPE I will not donate a Dime to this SCAM now. It's terrible how the millennials can't except this Country . Just another great cause going down the drain due to politics...

Rusty · 09-29-2018, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shrimpbrain

We have to be correct in our wording. The Boy Scouts I believe are not called Boy Scouts now. They are just called SCOUTS ever since they allowed girls into the BOYS SCOUT. And NOPE I will not donate a Dime to this SCAM now. It's terrible how the millennials can't except this Country . Just another great cause going down the drain due to politics...

"can't except"..or..can't accept?

IMO "millennials" love this country just as much as other generations have.

FlyingScot · 09-29-2018, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Descant

Building cost is often not related to market value. Spend $40K to install a swimming pool and you may not have increased the market value at all. Spend $40K on a new kitchen and you may have increased market value by $60K.

Yes, that's exactly my point. If the owner has "over-improved" the property to the point where it is not marketable, or additional improvements are not longer increasing market value, isn't that his fault? Shouldn't he still pay taxes on the improvements?

Descant · 09-29-2018, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyingScot

Yes, that's exactly my point. If the owner has "over-improved" the property to the point where it is not marketable, or additional improvements are not longer increasing market value, isn't that his fault? Shouldn't he still pay taxes on the improvements?

"Improvements" are only improvements if somebody wants to buy them. (Willing buyer, willing seller) No market, no value, no tax. If I put on an addition, and nobody wants to buy my indoor movie theater, it still has added value in the square footage because it can be used for other purposes.

FlyingScot · 09-29-2018, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Descant

"Improvements" are only improvements if somebody wants to buy them. (Willing buyer, willing seller) No market, no value, no tax. If I put on an addition, and nobody wants to buy my indoor movie theater, it still has added value in the square footage because it can be used for other purposes.

Normally that would be true. But let's say you have a house that is already so expensive that it can only be sold at a fraction of its cost. The market value is capped way below replacement value because virtually nobody but you can afford to buy it.

Now let's say you put on a new wing to house a movie theatre. In this case, you have not increased the market value of the home (its already at its cap), but you would still expect an increase in taxes.

More reading here. Note that in the case I describe there is a sharp split between the sales comparison approach and the cost approach, both of which are valid. https://www.iaao.org/Media/Pubs/Property_Owner.pdf

09-28-2018, 09:23 PM	#3
fatlazyless Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 8,769 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 300 Thanked 1,019 Times in 741 Posts	Bob likes Maine! Bob is from southern Maine ..... he grew up there ..... he raced cars there .... and, he's left this mansion known as Longview behind to go back to Maine. His family and friends are all in Maine. At age-91 with more than 300-million dollars in the bank, selling this Longview property for the reduced price of 9-million dollars will probably not make any difference to him. He probably just wants to sell it because with his race track in Loudon sold, he's gone back to Maine, and he has no use for the big house on Winnipesaukee. http://theautoblonde.com/bob-bahre-car-collection/ ……. Bob likes Maine! Maybe he would actually prefer to donate the 19-waterfront acre mansion to the southern Maine Scouts http://pinetreebsa.org via a 100-year, one dollar/year lease to be used for a Maine young scouts, organized weekend get-a-way, go-to spot used by many different young people from Maine for the next hundred years and beyond. Maybe, all things considered, he would feel better about donating the property as opposed to selling it? Is this a doable way out? __________________ ... down and out, liv'n that Walmart side of the lake! Last edited by fatlazyless; 09-29-2018 at 12:23 PM.

09-28-2018, 08:50 PM	#2
Descant Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Merrimack and Welch Island Posts: 4,384 Thanks: 1,357 Thanked 1,629 Times in 1,061 Posts	Building cost is often not related to market value. Spend $40K to install a swimming pool and you may not have increased the market value at all. Spend $40K on a new kitchen and you may have increased market value by $60K.