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I have property in Worcester and getting ready to build a house. Over the weekend I mentioned that to a friend and he said that a friend of his in Schenevus told him if you leave 10% of the construction project not completed the town can not charge tax. If so can this be done in Worcester and how do you get CO so you can occupy the home?
A friend of a friend of a friend of a friend....this sounds like a fabulous rumor or a great game of telephone. Even if you own land that has nothing on it including trees, there's property and school tax. So someone is dreaming! Once ANY structure goes on it - completed or not - you'll be getting reassessed. My parents did for a chicken coop!
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(set 19 days ago)
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This is a common practice in Italy. As long as a certain percentage is not complete they are taxed at a much lower rate.
Besides if not complete the town may not issue a certificate of occupancy so you can't live in it legally.
This is a common practice in Italy. As long as a certain percentage is not complete they are taxed at a much lower rate.
Besides if not complete the town may not issue a certificate of occupancy so you can't live in it legally.
This is true to some extent here as well as it is still considered "unimproved" land until there is a COO, similar to how builders are taxed on it until they sell it. You can maybe milk it a bit (like trying to wait an extra month until after the school taxes are estimated or something) but at some point your construction permit will expire. So no, you can't just forget the spare bathroom toilet and expect it to remain in a construction state, or live in it during any of this time either.
I'm sure there are people that can rattle off all of the laws regarding this, but there may also be laws permitting the city/county to take possession of such a building if it were to sit too long without a valid construction permit or COO. Could be wrong on the last part...but that would be my guess.
Almost anywhere you have to have building permits and they DO NOT stay in effect for eternity--there is an end date. If the permit runs-out of time then you will have to reapply for NEW building permits again and pay the fees that go with the new permit. The Township, County, or whoever governs your area will not allow you to do this forever; they'll think YOU are scamming in some way!!
You can not move into (legally) your home which is still under-construction, until building inspectors inspect that house and approve it as a fully finished residence that is complete and meets all building codes. After that they will issue you a Certificate of Occupancy which allows you to move-in legally. SORRY, property taxes and death are Facts of Life which we usually can't escape; let me know if you find a way to avoid the SECOND Fact of Life--I'll pay my property taxes!!
If your house looks really crappy on the outside, it will generally be assessed at a lower value, hence all the 'tyvek' houses around upstate NY. However, I did hear recently that there was an effort underway to allow houses to be assessed based on a completed exterior (whether the house exterior was finished or not).
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Certificate of Occupancy & Building Permits.
