Will adding a 1/2 bath (using existing space) make property taxes go up much? (White Plains: house)

[ThatCareerGuy]

Just curious. I do not plan to add any additional square footage to my single family home. There is a closet in my dining room that could be expanded about a foot in length so it could be turned into a powder room. My home has two baths (second level bedroom floor and basement), but no bathrooms on the main floor where the living room/dining room/kitchen are.

I can see why previous owners may not have added an additional bath if it meant that taxes would go up, but am curious. I am in White Plains.

[ThatCareerGuy]

Just read this on a similar post here from 2011, so perhaps this answers my question.

"I'm not 100% sure about this, but when I bought my house in White Plains the realtor also had a business challenging assessments and he told me that White Plains can only increase your assessment when you open a permit with the building department. The logic being that the improvement associated with the permit increases the value of the home, and when they change the assesment to reflect the increase in value, they can also make up for any break that you were getting from the home being under assessed in the first place."

Have any of you personally added 1/2 baths to your homes? How did it affect your taxes?

[dr.strangelove]

Originally Posted by ThatCareerGuy

Just read this on a similar post here from 2011, so perhaps this answers my question.

"I'm not 100% sure about this, but when I bought my house in White Plains the realtor also had a business challenging assessments and he told me that White Plains can only increase your assessment when you open a permit with the building department. The logic being that the improvement associated with the permit increases the value of the home, and when they change the assesment to reflect the increase in value, they can also make up for any break that you were getting from the home being under assessed in the first place."

Have any of you personally added 1/2 baths to your homes? How did it affect your taxes?

So the increase in taxes is not based up on work you do, but upon the value of you home. When did you buy it? If it was recently, a half bath will not add significantly to the price you paid for the house. I would ask your realtor what a half bath adds in value. Then look at your tax level and what the assessment value is. If your purchase price is much higher, the taxes will go up because of the value of the home. If its close, you should not see a big increase.