Posted: 11/22/2010 7:23:43 PM EDT
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Not the ordinary question on property taxes, but someone here may know. I have a old house on some property I own, currently occupied but hopefully not for long. When it becomes vacant, there will never be anyone living in it again.
Now the question. Currently property taxes are paid against the home, but if I abandon it how do I get it off the tax roles? It is about 40 years old, but getting run down, cost to repair could run in the $40 grand range. I don't want to sink that amount of cash in it, at my age and circumstances it would be a waste of money. But I don't want to tear it down, could be of use as a barn or storage, but never a residence. With the cash crunch in the counties, I expect them to not want to remove it from the tax base. I know some would think I would sell it, but it is in a place on my property, 160 acres, where I don't want others to live. The property has been in my family for 96 years, I don't see my son ever partiing with it when I die. The money I would put in it would be better spent on a home in a place where my son could sell it later, when I pass, to recover the loot  .
Any ideas? ...fullclip |
| Hmmm....only thing I can think of with what you are wanting to do is to convert the house to an added structure so to speak. Most assessors will see detached garages, barns, storage sheds, etc. as just a sort of storage structure, not as a livable residence. In order to convert it to a storage structure and have it assessed as such, usually you'd have to remove the things that would make it a place where someone could live comfortably, such as a/c, plumbing, things like that. That's pretty much all I know, and of course when you're finished you'd have to request them to reassess your property. |
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You are better off tearing it down. Unless the structure is condemned it will still be taxed at a comparative value along with the quarter acre set aside for homesteads.
You would actually have to build a barn or other farm building in its place in order to get your Ag exemption for that space. You can always knock it down to the slab and still have the plumbing. Quoted:
Not the ordinary question on property taxes, but someone here may know. I have a old house on some property I own, currently occupied but hopefully not for long. When it becomes vacant, there will never be anyone living in it again. Now the question. Currently property taxes are paid against the home, but if I abandon it how do I get it off the tax roles? It is about 40 years old, but getting run down, cost to repair could run in the $40 grand range. I don't want to sink that amount of cash in it, at my age and circumstances it would be a waste of money. But I don't want to tear it down, could be of use as a barn or storage, but never a residence. With the cash crunch in the counties, I expect them to not want to remove it from the tax base. I know some would think I would sell it, but it is in a place on my property, 160 acres, where I don't want others to live. The property has been in my family for 96 years, I don't see my son ever partiing with it when I die. The money I would put in it would be better spent on a home in a place where my son could sell it later, when I pass, to recover the loot .
Any ideas? ...fullclip |
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As long as there is an improvement, there will not be an ag assessment on the land under the building, but you can have the assessments on everything else around it. The trick is getting the improvement considered as storage space and ancillary to the property instead of having it considered as a residence. I think a trip up to the property tax office and a 5 minute meeting with the chief appraiser or their representative will get you on the right track. If I were guessing, I would think that removal of the critical components (mechanicals and kitchen/bath equip) would get you where you wanted to be. Then be sure to use the property like you tell them you will (store stuff that people would not want to live with). My last comment.... document the improvements so you can go back and show them what you have done, because I guarantee you that some Yahoo is going to put it back on the rolls and you will have to get them to remove it at least a time or two before all parties are satisfied.
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Been through this before in Texas. They gave us two options, the one we chose was to physically remove any heating/AC equipment. Have the utilities disconnected and remove the electric meter and the wires coming to the house. Took pictures and a copy of the electric company disconnected letter, along with a self reporting form used by the appraisal district and submitted this as a request to modify the value. You should be able to get the appraisal dropped from the default rate used for a dwelling to default used for a barn or site built storage building. This did not happen until the next tax year, but it dropped the improvements value from $47,000 to $2,300 (basically a buck per square foot). We had to sign a deal saying if we rented, leased, or used the building again as a dwelling, we would then owe back taxes and penalties for the entire time the value was reduced. They did tell us we could have power in the building again, but it would need to be run from a meter that was not dedicated to the house.
THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT WOULD NOT PROVIDE THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE PROCESS IN WRITING. It was a 'this is the way it works, take it or leave it' thing. The other choice was to pay for a licensed appraisal and submit a request based upon that. Lady at the appraisal district advised us against that. |