NH Lake front property Tax

[tna223]

I had a question for all the owners in nh on lake front properties.
I live in Florida and my mom lives in nh and she got a notice that her property tax of $8600 could double to $15,000 in a yr. Is this legal and normal in NH? She doesn't live on Winnipesaukee but another lake up in that area. Any advice or help would be great.

Thanks

[madrasahs]

Originally Posted by tna223

"...her property tax of $8600 could double to $15,000 in a yr. Is this legal and normal in NH?

Everybody at this forum is tired of my telling them that my taxes nearly tripled (from $5600/year). Lifetime friends are selling.

Just during this past week, Concord has revised at least one Winnipesaukee town to a "donor town". Taxes will increase even above what you've heard.

A NH Supreme Court decision -- "Claremont Decision" -- is its basis, conducted during a NH Supreme Court judge impeachment.

Some have called this decision "Legislation From the Bench", but property taxes are subject to adjustment every ten years.

[Skip]

Originally Posted by madrasahs

property taxes are subject to adjustment every ten years.

Incorrect....

A community can re-evaluate it's property inventory and adjust tax rates accordingly, even on an annual basis. Dover is an example of a number of communities that electronically adjust inventory on an annual basis while engaging in physical revaluations every five to ten years. The goal is to keep across the board values at 90% or better of fair market value.

Did the letter to your mother state that her property tax itself may double, or that the tax rate may double? There is a huge difference between the two terms and many people are confused by the difference.

It is hard to answer your question without knowing what community the property is located in.

If you could give us some further info, in particular the town and water the property is located on, maybe someone here could shed some more light on your mother's dilemma.

[dpg]

Sounds like the actual property tax bill will be doubling at least that's how the post reads - wow!!!

[KBoater]

Tell your mother to check waterfront property values in Florida. In my FL area, values have increased at about the same rate (or greater) as NH waterfront. The mac mansion effect is everywhere.

Back in NH

[JDeere]

Property value goes up and the taxes follow. That is the way it works. Nobody is complaining about what the can sell for are they?

[tna223]

Her taxes are increasing double to 15,000 a yr. It seems so crazy for a town/state to increase it that much. People have budgets to follow and so on.
Other homes on the lake are going up for sale to miss the new tax hike. I sure her property has gone up, but not double!! lol

Sounds like NH needs to start a sales tax to make it a little bit more free to live at.

Taxes on the winni for a 500,000 valued home? How much?


Thanks

[Skip]

As I posted earlier, it is impossible to intelligently discuss your mother's tax issues without knowing the town & lake she is situated on.

There is a number of factors that could have caused the jump.

The first (and most important)question to ask....is the newly assessed value of her property what she would consider fair market value and in-line with the level of assessment of the rest of the similar properties in her community?

If they have over valued her property, then she should immediately contact the town to file an abatement.

Or was her property severely under assessed for the last few years, and the town has now discovered the discrepancy?

Again, without location details it is very hard to offer any applicable advice.

[RLW]

These people are really getting kicked in the butt.
http://www4.fosters.com/june_2004/ju...s/ro_0603a.asp

[madrasahs]

Originally Posted by tna223

She doesn't live on Winnipesaukee but another lake up in that area. Any advice or help would be great. Thanks

Lake Wentworth came to mind. (Never gave a thought to Dover).

It's in the right area for such a jump -- and not far from New Durham, which is featured at a 54% increase in the Fosters article.

[Skip]

Careful reading of the Foster's article about New Durham (which has ample lakefront properties) reveals that the community has not been keeping it's inventories up to date and equally assessed.

Thus, when it tries to make up the difference in one year, vast swings take place. That is why more communities like Dover update on an annual basis to provide fairness.

Remember, it is not the assessed value of your home that causes taxes....it is the money spent by the community that causes taxes (and causes taxes to rise).

If the rest of the homes away from the lakes were paying taxes based on average assessed values of 80% of actual value while lakefront properties were only being assessed and levied on 25% of their actual values, then the lakefront properties were being subsidized by the inland home owners.

And therein lies the rub, the inability of many NH communities to levy the property tax burden across the entire property spectrum in an equitable manner. Unfortunately, the poorer the community is, the more unlikely that it is able to assess property values fairly.

It is unfortunate that the primary source of revenue raised to operate local community governments is often so often misunderstood by the folks that have to pay it.

Knowledge is power, and in this case knowledge is (your) money!

[Merrymeeting]

Well that article made my day...not!

[B R]

from the fosters article: The town’s listed property value has not been updated, or "revalued," since 1988.

who is running this town? not updated since 1988!!! that's just foolish.

[Waterbaby]

[COLOR=MediumTurquoise]In NH, the town residents have to vote to fund a revaluation. In the town I live in, that particular warrant article failed year after year after year until the State finally mandated that revaluations WOULD happen, and towns would have to fund it in some way or another. My house went from an assessed value of $110,000 to $238,000 and that was one major surprise to me -- supposedly that reflects the market value of the house and, being in real estate, I don't see that happening.

[Skip]

Waterbaby,

Being "in real estate" means you would understand the process of filing for an abatement if the assessed value of your house is higher than current market value as so claimed.

Hopefully you have filed for an abatement to have the value of your house adjusted accordingly.

[B R]

but they have missed out on significant town revenue by not revaluating for 16 years, especially if there is water property involved. those who've had water property have benefited in those years while the rest of the town pays more than their share. then again, maybe they don't care or need the money.

[ghoti]

Originally Posted by B R

but they have missed out on significant town revenue by not revaluating for 16 years, especially if there is water property involved. those who've had water property have benefited in those years while the rest of the town pays more than their share. then again, maybe they don't care or need the money.

True, there's probably been an inequity between who pays the taxes, but they've still received the revenue they've needed to run the town. Raising the overall total valuation shouldn't lead to raising more money, as the tax rate should go down proportionately.