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Is the house actually within the municipal boundaries of a different city than you thought...or is it simply that the mailing address is different? I suspect it's the latter.
Oftentimes, when you're in a rural area or simply a Township, the mailing address will be a nearby city. That mailing address doesn't change the underlying taxing jurisdiction you are in. Neither does it change the local school district boundaries. Those are the most important factors affecting housing values, beyond the house itself.
There was a similar situation in my area. A new subdivision of million-dollar houses was built in a local Township. It was in a very good school district--and had lower Township taxes--but many of the purchasers were upset to find out that it had a mailing address of a neighboring city which was not quite so affluent. It bruised a few egos but it didn't have much of an impact on their property values. Some even got post office boxes so they could use the address of the "better" city nearby. Many just use the Township name as their address--the mail still gets delivered.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeJaquish
Exactly the proper question.
Here in NC, we are accustomed to living in one municipal jurisdiction while having mail delivered from a postal station from a neighboring town.
The possibility is built into some of our real estate forms.
Yep. You need to find out what the actual situation is. Quite likely it is this. Because the post office is a horrible organization, they have done this in dozens of places in my area as they can't seem to wrap their mind around growth.
we were sent an email stating that the postal service and developers had made a mistake and our house address was now not in the city we had signed for but a neighboring city.
"Location, location, location" includes the mailing address, not just the physical location. In some places, that can equate to thousands of dollars in market value, not to mention desirability. I agree that the developer probably can't be responsible for errors made by the post office (I imagine there is language in the contract about this) but your post indicates that the email said it was an error by both. If that is true, my personal thought is that a real estate attorney should be able to get you out of the contract. Of course, you will need to have the contract reviewed by the attorney who will evaluate the wording within the context of your state laws, but it sounds like they were negligent based on your statement.
Some realtors are just better than others, even the NAR admits hairdressers have more formal training than most realtors lol
Yeah but which would you rather have....a Realtor cut your hair, or a hairdresser guide you through everything involved in purchasing or selling a home, new construction, vacant land, investment property, etc.?
Yep. You need to find out what the actual situation is. Quite likely it is this. Because the post office is a horrible organization, they have done this in dozens of places in my area as they can't seem to wrap their mind around growth.
You actas if the USPO caused the problem. Don't you think they do the best they can with local growth taking place while their budget is limited? Maybe developers need to kick in some money to help alleviate this problem as well.
Well, some of this goes back 20 or more years and covers the high point of postal service revenue.
I realize many issues of the postal service now are the results of conflicting congressional mandates, but the ridiculousness of extrapolating rural carriers out to every new address since the 90s and the weird patchwork of their addressing is 100% on them.
And having worked at a developer of both commercial and residential properties that have this exact issue and dealing with the post office to get mailboxes put in, I can promise that no amount of extra money from the builder will change this situation. But in the end, the OP likely is still in the city they thought they would be, just with a different address.
There was a similar situation in my area. A new subdivision of million-dollar houses was built in a local Township. It was in a very good school district--and had lower Township taxes--but many of the purchasers were upset to find out that it had a mailing address of a neighboring city which was not quite so affluent. It bruised a few egos but it didn't have much of an impact on their property values. Some even got post office boxes so they could use the address of the "better" city nearby. Many just use the Township name as their address--the mail still gets delivered.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bbronston
"Location, location, location" includes the mailing address, not just the physical location. In some places, that can equate to thousands of dollars in market value, not to mention desirability. I agree that the developer probably can't be responsible for errors made by the post office (I imagine there is language in the contract about this) but your post indicates that the email said it was an error by both. If that is true, my personal thought is that a real estate attorney should be able to get you out of the contract. Of course, you will need to have the contract reviewed by the attorney who will evaluate the wording within the context of your state laws, but it sounds like they were negligent based on your statement.
Yep. This might seem silly to some, but the mailing address IS important to a lot of people, even if it has no impact on which school the kids will go to, etc. When I lived in Ann Arbor (1993 to 2002), there was a LOT of new home building going on, and I remember one place specifically advertising "Ann Arbor address, __ township taxes." (Sorry, can't remember the actual township!! Saline maybe?) Ann Arbor is a prestigious address, while the neighboring towns are less so (or at least they were when I was there).
Not sure if the actual mailing address is important to the OP or if he just wants to make sure he's in the town he thought he was in as far as schools, taxes, etc. go. Hopefully we will get an update!
In spite of the decrease in actual snail mail, the PO address is important especially if someone cares enough to address it. Some areas, some price ranges it doesn't make a difference to residents perhaps. But any place I've lived it does.
Near where I live there is a dispute that comes to ahead every 5 years or so....the next city over wants to annex another area. That other area is affluent and does not want to be roped into the post office address of the city with perhaps more crime than not, higher taxes, higher utilities,and while there are many good neighborhoods there are also many bad ones.
Another area I lived in there were many gorgeous large homes on large lots in a large community not far from us. Then there were medium size homes on smaller lots. Then there was a vast property that was a prison. With a different post name. A public road ran through it and one could take that road as a short cut, although it was closed when there was a prison break. Older folks then recalled the prison property when it was farmland before the state bought it.
Eventually, it met with another change. Prison out, developers in. No sales. No one wanted that post office address. Right beside lovely homes, near mansions and horse property. But...that name. Finally developers came up with the idea of inexpensive homes to make them so attractive buyers couldn't resist. Still slow but eventually a trickle. More came as the decades passed and new people in town didn't know what the property had been or were told but didn't have the same emotional distaste that locals had. It took decades to take off.
A well known local, honest builder once told me if he could move his present development 100 yards (yes 300 feet) he could get 25% more for the same house as it would be in a different (better) town, ZIP code.
I live right on the border in a new construction area and if I bought in my city/neighborhood only to find out that I was really buying in neighboring city, it would have made the deal completely untenable. My neighborhood has excellent schools and high property values but if you moved my house to the other block, the schools are poor and the value of the home would be lessened by at least 25% for the exact same house, possibly more than that. (I'll know for sure when they start the new construction that will be going in on that other block!)
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