Trying to understand Westchester property taxes -- Please Help!
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To oversimplify but stick to the OP's point, if you renovate your house the municipality can reassess. So if house B had 100k in renovations, expect to pay 10k more in taxes.
....and this is where it can get dodgey. if you stuff that requires a permit, which is pretty much anything involving moving walls, plumbing or electrical, they can come after you. However, if you're doing "repairs" - which might include a new kitchen with new floor, new cabinets, repainting entire interior, new siding or a great many other things - it much harder to make the case for reassessment.
To oversimplify but stick to the OP's point, if you renovate your house the municipality can reassess. So if house B had 100k in renovations, expect to pay 10k more in taxes.
I always think this is a crazy system as you would think it would discourage people from renovating their houses. IMO property tax should be based on the square footage of the house and square footage of the lot, which surely would be a fairer system.
I'm considering buying a house which needs an absolute ton of work but concerned about the hoick in property tax afterwards.
It's the same system where I live here (I assume this is common practice across the US?). My last realtor told me you have to lie through your teeth when they ask how much your renovations cost (apparently they don't ask for proof). Seems like a crazy system to me.
What about property tax based on purchase price and an annual inflation escalator?
Yes it's tricky and I guess there is never going to be any absolute way of establishing fair property tax.
I do remember back in the UK, I had just started work when Margaret Thatcher introduced the Poll tax. She wanted to scrap property tax and introduced a system so that all adults were taxed an equal rate set by their local council. Absolutely crazy. What this essentially meant was that an adult living alone in a 6 bed mansion could be paying the same tax as someone living in a studio apartment. It did not take into account income levels either but it very much favoured the rich. The tax was so unpopular that there were riots in the streets and there was widespread non-payment in protest. In fact non-payment was so widespread that authorities couldn't even prosecute. The tax was soon scrapped and returned to a council tax or property tax based on the size and location of the property.
Lessons learned...
....and this is where it can get dodgey. if you stuff that requires a permit, which is pretty much anything involving moving walls, plumbing or electrical, they can come after you. However, if you're doing "repairs" - which might include a new kitchen with new floor, new cabinets, repainting entire interior, new siding or a great many other things - it much harder to make the case for reassessment.
Bingo.
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