NH's View TAX (purchases, calculating, taxi)

[seamusnh]

I want a property tax decrease. One neighbor is butt ugly and she sits her fat ass down in her lawn chair in the driveway all day nagging her kids while they play. Another neighbor runs a landscaping business out of his house and has ugly trucks and landscaping equipment in his driveway. The guy across the street is overweight and walks around in the summer with his belly hanging over the bathing suit...

[nhkev]

Originally Posted by buck naked

There is really no such thing per the state dept of revenue as a view tax.


when the tax bill comes it says "view tax $100,000." are you saying this is illegal?


also most of the time when they look at the houses that have sold they historically are more than the tax assessments

that has not been my experience - I've considered myself lucky if I can get a price that is close to the assessed value - assessed values are at 100% in most towns.

in Derry, my property was assessed at $363K - but I could not sell it for $325K and eventually sold it for $304K.

my current home is assessed at more than fair market value also - the rate is higher than it was 2004, but I have no doubt that I would be lucky to get what I paid for it in 2004.

the state also mandates to the towns that they have to be close to 100% evalution. the state determines this by comparing what homes have sold for and what they were assessed at if they get too far out of whack the state makes them do a revaluation this hopefully prevents some towns paying more or less than their fair share to the state. I said "historically" assessments were lower due to assessments being based off sales of the previous year and real estate typically going up. obviously the last 2 years we have seen about a 25% reduction in house values so it would stand to reason most owners assessments are above 100% now and as far as no such thing as a view tax I was told that by the former head of the assessors office for the state, and I combed through all the rsa's and I couldn't find one. only that taxes be based off market value only and levied proportionatly. if some towns use a view as a means to help determine market value in justifying why one house is worth more than another I don't personally find a problem with it as long as they are accurate in their final market value and everyone else in the town is paying taxes off their true market value.

[buck naked]

if some towns use a view as a means to help determine market value in justifying why one house is worth more than another I don't personally find a problem with it as long as they are accurate in their final market value and everyone else in the town is paying taxes off their true market value.

that is the problem in a nutshell - the view tax is placing a value that is way too high on the properties forcing long time residents out of their homes.

cases that go to court almost always get the taxes dropped, but the cases are all in appeal. In the meantime, the tax assessed MUST be paid or the owner faces tax liens.

[CrazyDave]

all taxes are legalized robbery, this is just more so..shame that there is no common sense or horno among our politicians

[BF66389]

I dunno, I think we'd be pretty messed up without taxes at all. A centralized organization to provide for the common defense and well-being of the Nation is important and it requires funding (see Constitution). The issue is with when those taxes are applied in an illogical manner (view tax for example in many cases like this) or when expenditures are made in an inefficient way.

Calling for no centralized government or taxes would create a problem...calling for an efficient centralized government and reasonable taxes is a step in the right direction.

[rmcewan]

Originally Posted by CrazyDave

all taxes are legalized robbery, this is just more so..shame that there is no common sense or horno among our politicians

I assume you meant honor. But horny would also apply to many politicians! i.e. that Bill Clinton is a total horno.

[nhkev]

Originally Posted by buck naked

if some towns use a view as a means to help determine market value in justifying why one house is worth more than another I don't personally find a problem with it as long as they are accurate in their final market value and everyone else in the town is paying taxes off their true market value.

that is the problem in a nutshell - the view tax is placing a value that is way too high on the properties forcing long time residents out of their homes.

cases that go to court almost always get the taxes dropped, but the cases are all in appeal. In the meantime, the tax assessed MUST be paid or the owner faces tax liens.

that's about what happened in my neighborhood . we had a meeting with the selectment and town assessor saying that the view tax is illegal, the assessors remark was "other towns have been doing it for years" I had brought the tax laws with me and challenged him to find anything giving them the right to tax views. because what they were doing was taking a properties market value and adding on a tax. I bought my property for 48k and they taxed it still undeveloped the following year at $150k we hired a lawyer as a subdivision the town not only reversed it's position but cut us all refund checks. NOW to open up another can of worms . what about if a property has view "potential" realtors list all the time saying views with clearing so do you value someone's property differently because they could have views or only for ones that do, technically a lot with view potential "may" sell for more than one that doesn't have potential.

[dognh]

Originally Posted by nhkev

NOW to open up another can of worms . what about if a property has view "potential" realtors list all the time saying views with clearing so do you value someone's property differently because they could have views or only for ones that do, technically a lot with view potential "may" sell for more than one that doesn't have potential.

This is all crap and just another excuse for the government to confiscate personal property (income).

Lots of realtors list properties with "view potential" Of ten times that means a lot of cutting and site work to realize a "view" that may or not be spectacular. It's marketing. Unfortunately, if pols start using this as a basis for taxation, we are all screwed - because anything can be defined as a view - You could have a completely wooded lot, to some that's a great view of nature, is that the same as being situated on a White Mountain ridge?

The only solution is to fight back like you've done against illegal taxation and to oppose vigorously ANY new taxes.

[seamusnh]

I live across from a golf course. Is that a positive or a negative? I don't golf. I hear the landscaping equipment early in the morning. I hear golfers yelling. It looks nice, but to me a forest would be better. I could normally have had a well but had to have town water instead due to the golf course (fertilizer; pesticide), so I pay about $1000/year extra.
Is the golf course view a positive or a negative? For some it would be a positive, for others a negative. About as subjective as you can get...

[buck naked]

considering the manual, a golf course would not be considered a view - it's the horizon line that counts and if the view includes a river or water.

How do you value a view? It's all subjective. a view of a "name mountain," such as Mount Washington or others in the famed Presidential Range, is usually worth more than a view of a less-famous peak. Also, 90 degrees of view is better than 45, and a river and hills are usually worth more than hills alone.


there is a "view manual" the assessors use showing a range of vistas rated middling to spectacular. There was a "300" rated property, whose view had a barn up close and a mountain in the distance. that little bit of the horizon was enough view to triple the land's value -- a difference of $96,000 or more for an average property in a place such as Plainfield.

a "500" view has a lot more horizon and distance. It would add $192,000 to the same property.

a "600" view, which is a panorama of mountains and receding hills, means an increase of $240,000 just because of the view.

The formula sucks pond water.