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I'm going to take a hit one way or another. At least if I build, my family gets 100% exactly what they want and I think in the end, the numbers seem to indicate building it will be a lot cheaper than buying it, plus I make the house worth a whole lot more when it comes time to sell.
I just can't believe the taxes in Nassau County.
In Scottsdale, a 4000 square foot house is like $3,000 in taxes.
Just don’t overbuild....adding a couple of rooms makes sense. Adding Thermador appliances as part of a $100K kitchen upgrade doesn’t.
Just don’t overbuild....adding a couple of rooms makes sense. Adding Thermador appliances as part of a $100K kitchen upgrade doesn’t.
Agreed. Most of the build cost is going towards adding the space we need. We're not doing any upgrades to the existing house. But I am overbuilding in terms of space because we'll use it and I never want to have to build again.
I'm going to take a hit one way or another. At least if I build, my family gets 100% exactly what they want .
This is definitely the upside to working on your existing house especially if you like it and its location.
However, a 1700 square foot addition is huge, don't know how old your kids are but mine are finishing up junior year in high school and as the saying goes "I blinked". I'm already thinking about downsizing as are many of my friends with kids of similar ages. Have a friend with a 6th grader and 7th grader and they are moving in-state and she told her husband nothing bigger than a 3 BR house (current house is 5BR).
This is definitely the upside to working on your existing house especially if you like it and its location.
However, a 1700 square foot addition is huge, don't know how old your kids are but mine are finishing up junior year in high school and as the saying goes "I blinked". I'm already thinking about downsizing as are many of my friends with kids of similar ages. Have a friend with a 6th grader and 7th grader and they are moving in-state and she told her husband nothing bigger than a 3 BR house (current house is 5BR).
Ha! Yeah, well I've got a while, as long as a blink I guess. My kids are 9 and 2. My wife and I are also considering renting in Scottsdale for a year to test the waters - in addition to building this extension. Maybe next year. Might want to spend some of my blink in an area that's more suitable for us. I stay in NY because my family is here. Most of my friends are gone, North Carolina, Florida, etc. I'll downsize in my late 40s. I dislike big houses, I dislike the high ceilings in mine, I dislike the lack of energy efficiency in my house, and so on. So I look forward to a cheap, efficient, small home!
I live in East Meadow. Taxes right now are $6,000 for a 2,100 sq ft home. It's a strange layout unfortunately, one massive bedroom upstairs with a master bath, it's like 980 sq ft. I have one bedroom downstairs. Now that I have two kids, something needs to change.
So I hired an architect and designed an addition that is approximately 1,700 sq ft to give my kids a proper living area as they grow up, a nice bedroom, their own bathroom to share, etc. I do not wish to touch the existing structure to create a livable home because it will disrupt our living situation to an extent we are unable to deal with right now and the way the house was designed it will cost us a fortune to restructure it, not including the cost of us living somewhere else for 3-4 months during construction. Therefore, the addition is WAY over the 50% that I've been reading will cause your house to be taxes as new construction.
My question: Is this true? Is it legal to increase my taxes from $6,000 to $35,000? The new construction in this area that is 3800+ sq ft with a 2 car garage are paying $18,000 (some are many years older and have grieved their taxes) but the real new construction at 3800+ sq ft with a 2 car garage are literally paying $30,000-$38,000 in taxes.
If I built the addition without understanding this, I would be forced to sell my home the day the taxes are reassessed. I can't believe this is true, that it's fair.
Anyone have direct experience with this happening?
If your taxes are that low, you would be nuts to start screwing around with the house. Kids grow up fast. In X number of years they will be away at college and you will have a huge house with obscene taxes in East Meadow. Bigger isn't always better.
Someone else mentioned what I am going to suggest: look at homes for sale and see if there are any which meet your needs (size, taxes, schools, etc.). If you find something that ticks off all the boxes, go that route.
If you're still compelled with adding on, despite what you feel about going up, taxwise, it will be less than increasing the footprint of your house by building out.
If your taxes are that low, you would be nuts to start screwing around with the house. Kids grow up fast. In X number of years they will be away at college and you will have a huge house with obscene taxes in East Meadow. Bigger isn't always better.
Someone else mentioned what I am going to suggest: look at homes for sale and see if there are any which meet your needs (size, taxes, schools, etc.). If you find something that ticks off all the boxes, go that route.
If you're still compelled with adding on, despite what you feel about going up, taxwise, it will be less than increasing the footprint of your house by building out.
I agree, that it is nuts. But my kids are young, 9 and 2. My 2 year old isn't going away for another 16 years and even then he might not want to go away to college.
Did you read the thread? In thinking about this, I think it's ultimately cheaper to take the tax increase and make the home exactly as we need it. A home, the way we need it to fit our unique lifestyle would cost $800k-$1MM in this market. If I build on my house, it will cost me a total of $620k (including what I purchased the house for). I just have to deal with increased taxes - and grieve them as I have been doing.
By the way, what did you mean by this "If you're still compelled with adding on, despite what you feel about going up, taxwise, it will be less than increasing the footprint of your house by building out."?
If your taxes are that low, you would be nuts to start screwing around with the house. Kids grow up fast. In X number of years they will be away at college and you will have a huge house with obscene taxes in East Meadow. Bigger isn't always better.
Someone else mentioned what I am going to suggest: look at homes for sale and see if there are any which meet your needs (size, taxes, schools, etc.). If you find something that ticks off all the boxes, go that route.
If you're still compelled with adding on, despite what you feel about going up, taxwise, it will be less than increasing the footprint of your house by building out.
I agree. The NC assessor will be excited to reassess you the moment you crack open a box of drywall screws. LI just isn't the place to make changes that could stir the pot and spike those taxes. Over all, I think LI housing is a poor investment and after you improve the new taxes will be a killjoy.
My plan would be to reassign the available space in the house and put up walls to create bedrooms. For one thing, nobody needs a master bedroom over 900 sq. ft.
I agree, that it is nuts. But my kids are young, 9 and 2. My 2 year old isn't going away for another 16 years and even then he might not want to go away to college.
Did you read the thread? In thinking about this, I think it's ultimately cheaper to take the tax increase and make the home exactly as we need it. A home, the way we need it to fit our unique lifestyle would cost $800k-$1MM in this market. If I build on my house, it will cost me a total of $620k (including what I purchased the house for). I just have to deal with increased taxes - and grieve them as I have been doing.
By the way, what did you mean by this "If you're still compelled with adding on, despite what you feel about going up, taxwise, it will be less than increasing the footprint of your house by building out."?
Can you restate?
1) I built my extension when my youngest was 9 and she is away at college. I wrote from my perspective. I also had a small house, which, with the addition, is now over 2,000 sq ft but under 2500 sq ft. We also have a separate, detached 1800 sq ft carriage house for our hobbies. I understand that we all have our special priorities.
2) The unique lifestyle home in the $800K-1M range: that is its current asking price. Things can change (many of us remember 2007/2008) so be cautious -- especially with the new tax laws. I would wait to see how this is going to impact us on LI. (Again, just my perspective.) Locally, my neighbor paid over $700K for her home. Poured close to $300K into it to make it what she wanted for her lifestyle. When it came time to sell, she fetched just under $600K.
3) Building up is what you expressed you did not want to do -- i.e. building on top of the existing home.
Building out is adding an extension, increasing the home's footprint -- i.e. what you are considering.
Taxes increase more when you increase your home's footprint as opposed to building above the existing home. I get that you have a 2nd floor. If you were to extend out but build above it (say hypothetical 500 sq ft at ground level and 500 sq ft above it) the taxes for that space would be less than a 1,000 sq ft single level extension.
I agree. The NC assessor will be excited to reassess you the moment you crack open a box of drywall screws. LI just isn't the place to make changes that could stir the pot and spike those taxes. Over all, I think LI housing is a poor investment and after you improve the new taxes will be a killjoy.
My plan would be to reassign the available space in the house and put up walls to create bedrooms. For one thing, nobody needs a master bedroom over 900 sq. ft.
As it is, the $6K taxes would probably be a bigger selling point than the 900 sq ft bedroom
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