| Author |
Message |
    
Gerardryan
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 1:23 am: |     |
The Township will be conducting a workshop on reading and understanding the property record card.
The workshop will be on Wednesday Feb 7 at 6:30 PM in Town Hall. It will be broadcast live on Channel 35 and will be rebroadcast frequently thereafter (shecule to be supplied).
I know the notice is short on this but the information will be repeated often so it should be accessible.
Jerry Ryan |
Pstob1126
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 8:13 am: | |
Mr. Ryan...
Thanks very much for responding to our concerns. I'm certain that this will be an extremely valuable forum.
Paul |
Jennie
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 9:10 am: | |
Will there be any opportunity at this workshop for an explanation of the methodology used by Certified to come up with assessment values? Although the numbers that I can figure out on my tax card appear to be in the ballpark (any mistakes wouldn't add up to much I'm guessing), I suspect there were some errors in methodology, specifically in how they assigned values to land, both site and acreage amounts. I know the overall principles of valuing properties were touched on at a prior meeting, but more specifics (ie, how comparables were chosen and adjusted, are there standard "adjustments" or does an appraiser come up with his own, how neighborhood lines are drawn) might help us figure out why the numbers Certified came up with are or are not appropriate. Maybe a short tutorial on appraisal techniques? |
Nakaille
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 10:43 am: | |
Thank you to the poster who made the suggestion for a workshop and thank you to the TC for getting it together fairly quickly once the excellent suggestion was made. Hope it turns out to be really useful and not another opportunity to harass Mr. Galante without letting him present the info we need. Let's try to be civilized adults.
BTW: I got my property card this week and discovered I was right in feeling the assessment was too high. They counted our attic as a bedroom although there is no heat there. So please don't assume that all assessments in the Hilton/Jefferson area were too low. I don't know what other errors there may be but hope to figure that out after tonight's workshop. I don't think it will make a big difference in my tax liability but I'll pursue it anyway. The other basics about rooms seemed on target. Technically a 2nd floor room without a closet shouldn't get counted as a bedroom, but I think of it as a bedroom - (use it as an office) so I won't contest that.
As some of you may have observed, I've posted a lot of details over the past month about my home, neighborhood, and even income/employment. I think transparency in these things is the only way we get a flavor of what folks are experiencing. I think work policies that prohibit or discourage employees from discussing salaries, for example, only serve management's ability to divide and conquer and underpay some people. As grownups, I think we can discuss these things openly and understand each other's situations better. I know some folks abhor talking real dollars, even among close friends. (Freud had some comments about our inhibitions that way.) But why shouldn't I tell you if I found a great deal on a computer at shop X or what my taxes are? To me, this is fairly neutral information if we start with the premise that money is not a moral issue in the sense that "good people" are not "rewarded" by material success. There are morally upright people on both ends of the economic spectrum.
Our economy does not favor people who are smarter or wiser or whatever. Luck turns out to be a big part of the picture, from what I can tell. The luck of the family you were born into, the luck of how your talents match the current market demands (which vary from country to country - think about physicians in Eastern Europe or China - not much money or even prestige there.)
Some rambling thoughts, hope some of you found them interesting. Have a good day.
Bacata |
Njjoseph
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 11:54 am: | |
Bacata -- are you really being charged for a BEDROOM on the second floor?
Although my property card lists bedrooms, the assessment is based on square footage. |
Mem
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 12:45 pm: | |
Bacata,
They counted my attic as living space, but removed it after they saw that it had a pull down door and no heat. It will impact your assessment significantly. Good luck. |
Mag
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 1:10 pm: | |
Mem
What do you mean by " ... [they] removed it after they saw that it had a pull down door and no heat." Was your attic space entirely deleted from the "residential cost approach" section of your card or was it just assigned a lesser $ amount with different multipliers? |
Njjoseph
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 1:44 pm: | |
My attic isn't taken into account. I believe that attics, in general, are not counted unless they have been converted to living spaces. Everyone needs an attic space, just as everyone needs a bathroom, which is why the first bathroom doesn't count. |
Overtaxdalready
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 1:48 pm: | |
NJ..can you clarify what you mean by "the first bathroom doesn't count"? |
Njjoseph
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 2:05 pm: | |
According to my property card, the first bathroom is subtracted out. For example, I have 2 bathrooms that have 3 fixtures. The line for this (under Plumbing) is:
3 Fixture Bath 2- 1 x 855.000 + 0 x1.15 x1.00= 983
If I were being "charged" for both, the total would be double; you can see the "2- 1" as well. |
Overtaxdalready
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 2:07 pm: | |
Ok..thanks. |
Tomr
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 2:19 pm: | |
Overtaxed,
Njjoseph has it right. I have one 3 fixture, and one 2 fixture bath. The 3 fixture shows on property card as "1-1" with a final calculation of 0.
With regard to Njjoseph's comments on his attic not being in his assessment, I would like to hear from other homeownwers as to whether they were assessed for their attics. My unfinished, uninsulated, and unheated attic has added more than $4,400 to my assessment. Should it have been included? Will we find out tonight? |
Njjoseph
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 2:21 pm: | |
I can't even stand in my attic, as it's really a crawlspace. That may account for it. However, I'm curious to hear how others' attics have been assessed. |
Mag
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 2:32 pm: | |
Njjoseph
Well ... now I am really exasperated. My attic space is unfinished, but nevertheless appears in the "residential cost approach" section as:
Attic
EXP. ATTIC (UNF) 672x1.400+210x1.16x1.00=1335
So ... is this an error?
Also, regarding bathrooms ... I have (1) 3-fixture bath with the same rates and multipliers as yours, which totals 0. However, I have (2) 2-fixture baths listed which total 1438. And one of these is located in my unfinished basement, dated to only who knows when, with only partial walls, a concrete floor, and plumbing pipes gracing the ceiling. And btw, no one in my house uses this antiquated bathroom except my husband.
What am I supposed to make of this? |
Mag
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 2:39 pm: | |
Just to add something to the attic question ... it just occurred to me that the "EXP" designation for my attic probably means "expanded". Nevertheless, it is still unfinished and unheated and is not livable area, unless using it for minimal storage qualifies it to be considered as such. |
Yvette
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 2:40 pm: | |
I believe I heard Galante mention that having just a toilet and no sink or shower/tub is considered a bathroom.
But, we'll find out tonight. |
Njjoseph
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 2:47 pm: | |
Maq, my charges for bathrooms are the same as yours. If you're not using the bathroom in the basement, maybe you can decommission it?
As far as the attic goes, can it be converted to a livable space? If so, that's probably why you have the line item for it.
Keep in mind that they're only charging you $1.40/sq. ft., when the first floor is probably $15.84 and second floor is $11.25. I'm sure that if it were finished, it would be closer to $3.00.
I'm not a tax assessment person, but trying to make heads and tails out of my own situation and understand how this all works. Please take my words in the spirit of helping you to understand your situation; I am not speaking from any sort of official position. |
John
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 3:02 pm: | |
Mag - I'm sure this isn't what you meant but· Maybe your husband just likes to use a bathroom where he's sure no one will interrupt him. Especially, if you have little ones. Sorry I just couldn't resist. OK, you can all jump on me now, I'll try not to do it again. |
Ffof
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 3:08 pm: | |
Attic info - Not that this will be helpful. I'm being charged for my dormers ($30 per sq foot! but they total only 18 sq ft). I'm being charged for 874 sq ft of Unfinished space at $1.40 and ALSO 874 sq ft of Finished space at $1.40. This 874 sq ft IS finished as 2 bedrooms but has no radiators (or ducts). Now, there is another attic space (much less sq. footage and no windows - just storage) that is not finished in any way and seemingly not charged at all. Go figure.
This may help: I believe the definition of finished is walls done OR ceiling done OR both. This was the case with my basement where there is panelling but just open rafters on the ceiling. |
Mag
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 7, 2001 - 3:37 pm: | |
Njjoseph ... I appreciate your willingness to post on this subject. I thank everyone for their input. And yes, it is extremely helpful.
But so far as unfinished spaces go, whether they be attics or basements, it would seem unlikely that one could be charged in the present, for space that could theoretically be finished and used as livable area at some time in the future. I thought that going through the permit process was the avenue to raise an assessment for this type of renovation, when it is actually done.
And John ... I'm sure that is exactly the reason why my husband uses that basement bathroom, privacy being more important than aesthetics. |
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