I'm just grokking the brilliance of this "band system".
Our tax is supposed to base on "fair market value". Assessment was well over $200K. The house had been on the market for many months, price dropped a couple times, before we grabbed it at $150K. As there had been ample time for other buyers to offer more, arguably 150 WAS the fair value, and should be the assessment.
This is complicated by two factors. One is the general price-slump in those years. This will work-out as the town applies economic corrections town-wide. But also the owner was in bad shape, so the house got run-down. This is a large part of why even his bank's own appraiser said "take 150 and be happy".
OK, so the town appraiser agreed the place had run-down since the last look-over and knocked the appraisal down for that. General economic factor corrected the market downturn.
BUT under the Band System the amount we got knocked-down for decrepitude probably would NOT have changed our Band. In a marginal case, maybe-- £165K to £155K moves from G to F, £340/year less. More likely £200K to £150K which is both band G, no change.
Further your system is not current market value but a number set in 1991. I would have to show that a mistake has been allowed to stand for 26 years. And apparently the condition of the shanty has no bearing in your system.
So a LOT less work for the tax assessors. They only have to entertain the few marginal cases, and the New Build cases. Brilliant!
> add extensions without being reassessed
That might not work here, especially in Maine.
Example: Lincolnville Lobster Pound (slow server). 100 years ago this was a 1,000 square foot house. Bit by bit the porches were enclosed, upstairs dormers added, a commercial kitchen built-on, floor and roof put over the outdoor picnic tables, gift shop, etc, so now it runs nearly 10,000 sq.ft. It is also a very visible spot on the main coastal road. As the 2nd largest economic engine of the town, all this add-on carried much of the town's new infrastructure costs. It is assessed at $910K, pays $14K tax-- clearly keeping up with current value, even over-assessed now.
Attached graph shows a typical house "value" plotted by a robotic data server. It reflects the boom/bust around 2008. The later rises are over-extrapolated: housing sales have been very slow and the graph spikes suggest single sales are bumping the algorithm. I am sure the place could not sell at $300K. A much larger nicer house on the same road is listed at $270K and I bet it sits a long time (maybe reduced in price) before a buyer appears. OTOH we just saw a house which was valued near $200K a few years ago and we do not think it is worth the $35K now asked.
Our tax is supposed to base on "fair market value". Assessment was well over $200K. The house had been on the market for many months, price dropped a couple times, before we grabbed it at $150K. As there had been ample time for other buyers to offer more, arguably 150 WAS the fair value, and should be the assessment.
This is complicated by two factors. One is the general price-slump in those years. This will work-out as the town applies economic corrections town-wide. But also the owner was in bad shape, so the house got run-down. This is a large part of why even his bank's own appraiser said "take 150 and be happy".
OK, so the town appraiser agreed the place had run-down since the last look-over and knocked the appraisal down for that. General economic factor corrected the market downturn.
BUT under the Band System the amount we got knocked-down for decrepitude probably would NOT have changed our Band. In a marginal case, maybe-- £165K to £155K moves from G to F, £340/year less. More likely £200K to £150K which is both band G, no change.
Further your system is not current market value but a number set in 1991. I would have to show that a mistake has been allowed to stand for 26 years. And apparently the condition of the shanty has no bearing in your system.
So a LOT less work for the tax assessors. They only have to entertain the few marginal cases, and the New Build cases. Brilliant!
> add extensions without being reassessed
That might not work here, especially in Maine.
Example: Lincolnville Lobster Pound (slow server). 100 years ago this was a 1,000 square foot house. Bit by bit the porches were enclosed, upstairs dormers added, a commercial kitchen built-on, floor and roof put over the outdoor picnic tables, gift shop, etc, so now it runs nearly 10,000 sq.ft. It is also a very visible spot on the main coastal road. As the 2nd largest economic engine of the town, all this add-on carried much of the town's new infrastructure costs. It is assessed at $910K, pays $14K tax-- clearly keeping up with current value, even over-assessed now.
Attached graph shows a typical house "value" plotted by a robotic data server. It reflects the boom/bust around 2008. The later rises are over-extrapolated: housing sales have been very slow and the graph spikes suggest single sales are bumping the algorithm. I am sure the place could not sell at $300K. A much larger nicer house on the same road is listed at $270K and I bet it sits a long time (maybe reduced in price) before a buyer appears. OTOH we just saw a house which was valued near $200K a few years ago and we do not think it is worth the $35K now asked.
