Who here owns 5 or more acres?

[punk-a-doodle]

Thank you all, this is such valuable information and discussion for those of us still looking to buy. Is there any real way to avoid what you are having to struggle with Speckled? I'm going to have to reread through it when I'm not groggy on sinus meds, but it sounds depressing as heck! Very sorry for your troubles.

I have been warned that we can expect to just walk away from anything we buy if we move, as we are likely to just lose money on a sale in the current climate. With that in mind, I don't know if it is better to buy land and build a house, or to buy land with a house.

 

[bgelber]

20 acres
bought
cash

 

[Happy Chooks]

We pay 1% of that assessed value for property taxes. Here in CA we have Proposition 13. The value of the home for taxes is set at purchase - the value can only be increased by 2% per year. So unless there are a bunch of "fees" passed, it doesn't go up much. (the firefighters, school districts, etc. are always trying to pass ad on's to the property taxes)

punk-a-doodle...........

It depends on the market where you are buying. When we built our house, values were too high for us to be able to purchase a house on land. So we bought the land and built on it. It cost us 175,000 including the cost of the land, but my DH and his father did most of the construction. We didn't have a contractor build it - we built it with the exception of the foundation, roofing, drywall (because nobody likes drywall), and insulation (which we ended up redoing because the company didn't install it right). Everything else we did ourselves. It was appraised at 350,000 when it was finished, so we had instant equity. But our property taxes were set at the cost it was to build the house plus the value of the land.

Right now (at least here in CA) the values are so low, that you couldn't build a house for what you can buy one for. It does come in handy for buying land though, because nobody is building, you can get it dirt cheap.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Right now (at least here in CA) the values are so low, that you couldn't build a house for what you can buy one for. It does come in handy for buying land though, because nobody is building, you can get it dirt cheap.

X2. In some repo sales, you get the house thrown in. Literally. We have houses, shed, on 6 acres, let's just say, sell in our area for as little as $40K. Truth is, that 6 acres @4K an acre is 24K, But...... you get a well and septic system, plus, the power is already pulled. That makes the house free. Don't like it? Bull doze it. You wouldn't be out a thing.

This is a highly unusual period we are living through. The crash pushed prices on some of these repo properties so far, far down it is absurd. Way below of the dirt, utilities, concrete, framing materials, etc. This period won't last forever. It just cannot. Houses cannot continue to sell so far below their re-build costs.

 

[speckledhen]

Thank you all, this is such valuable information and discussion for those of us still looking to buy. Is there any real way to avoid what you are having to struggle with Speckled? I'm going to have to reread through it when I'm not groggy on sinus meds, but it sounds depressing as heck! Very sorry for your troubles.
I have been warned that we can expect to just walk away from anything we buy if we move, as we are likely to just lose money on a sale in the current climate. With that in mind, I don't know if it is better to buy land and build a house, or to buy land with a house.

I don't see how. You'd need a crystal ball. We've been here 10 years. Bought the two lots 9 years ago as an investment-who could have seen land, beautiful land like ours go down in value back then? Now, we've paid taxes for years and will be hard pressed to sell it for the purchase price. And I don't want to sell both lots if I can help it-the smaller one, the 1.38 acre one is right up against our perimeter fence. It insures our privacy. The taxes on that one alone are $168, up from just about $38 last year. Either way you look at it, we aren't going to be winners.

There were other assessments on the house and lots and they came out the same until this year. There are so many sold and on the market lots same size as ours but in paved road mountain subdivisions that are going for less than $9K. Common sense tells you those currently on the market will less for list price or lower so you could use those in considering the worth of property. So, how the county could ever say fair market value for one of my lots is $22,300 is just crazy-stupid.

As a former realtor, of course I asked for what comps they used to come up with that figure. You know what they did? They sent a list of properties with houses on them, not bare land, some sold as early as three years ago. Can you say different market?? Some were waterfront lots. All were in paved, underground utility developments. Anyone with half a brain cell would say they are not comparable. The county says they can use old data, foreclosure data, any data, and back the house off of land to get a value. If you take land with a house on it, back off the value of the structure, you don't get bare land. You get improved land with septic, well, driveway, graded, etc. But, no, they say it's perfectly legal for the state to do.

I easily found plenty of comps right on the county assessors website, true comps, all within the past year, very close to my location, most selling for way under what they are trying to say mine is worth. It rots. Fight the government? How? If we don't pay the taxes, they just take the land and sell it on the courthouse steps for the tax lien.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Cyn, I feel your pain. There is not much good news in this crashed market. We're still being assessed as if the crash never happened on our parcels. The piece with our home on it was purchased at 35% of it assessed value. Did they re-assess? No way. I appealed. Went to the meeting armed with solid info, a professional appraisal I paid $300 for and comps. After 30 days, I got reduction of piddly 5% off. There's no further appeal.

If local township and county governments truly lowered the values of everyone's real estate to true market value, their operational budget funds would be cut by 60%. I say, let that happen. The government? Ain't gonna happen. So even if you take advantage of this market in one respect, another aspect of the crash will bite you.

 

[chickened]

I would love a property tax of $200.00 to $300.00 a year, mine are $2500.00 a year on a property valued at $300,000.00 which is about $100,000.00 over the RMV.

The county can only raise property values 3% a year but they also raise the assessed value which is what they base the rate on to make up the shortfall. You can appeal the value of your home but the process is so difficult that most people just pay it.

there is property right now selling on shortsales for half of what the county has them valued at. This is a buyers market for sure.

 

[ivan3]

speckledhen wrote: As a former realtor, of course I asked for what comps they used to come up with that figure. You know what they did? They sent a list of properties with houses on them, not bare land, some sold as early as three years ago. Can you say different market?? Some were waterfront lots. All were in paved, underground utility developments. Anyone with half a brain cell would say they are not comparable. The county says they can use old data, foreclosure data, any data, and back the house off of land to get a value. If you take land with a house on it, back off the value of the structure, you don't get bare land. You get improved land with septic, well, driveway, graded, etc. But, no, they say it's perfectly legal for the state to do.

Ask them to demonstrate precisely how this is done, in person, at the office.

What is the increase (percentage) between tax total (under dispute) this year and taxes paid on same parcels last year (just the percentage)?

 

[speckledhen]

They each went up about 500% over last year's tax bills.

My husband did get a detailed, though completely unsatisfactory, explanation from the main county appraiser. They took lots with homes on them, valued the structure, then removed that value and came up with a value for the land the home sat on.

There was absolutely NO reason to do that, none whatsoever, with unimproved land sales all over the place. The reason they did that? She flat-out lied and said there were no comps so they had to do it that way. We easily, easily found plenty of unimproved land lot sales all around us on the county website that were sold within the last year. We filed our appeal, complete with documentation, and a letter of explanation two weeks before the deadline.

Next thing we knew, the county assessor was asking for tax money on timber they thought was missing off those two lots. We squared that away and then received a letter in regard to our appeal, saying they determined no change in value on the lots and there would be written notice of a meeting of the Board of Equalization, so they kicked it up the chain of command.

We realize that these tax bills sound low to some in other parts of the country, but remember, our taxes were less than $300 when we moved here and now, if the appeal does no good, we are looking at about $900. Our income is from a military pension. My DH is a disabled veteran whose health insurance was raised this year as well. Eventually, something will have to give. I just hope my land isn't one of those some developer buys for a $500 tax lien on the courthouse steps to build a rental cabin. Anyone want a beautiful piece of mountain property with gorgeous view that is chicken-friendly??? LOL.

My younger son lost his townhouse in a short sale. He paid $145K for it. It sold for $43K. And he still owes about $29K from a home equity line that creditors are clamoring for, even as he is over in South Korea teaching school. We are the ones picking up his mail. I know it happens, but our credit is A-1, always has been. It will devastate us if we lose that.

 

[mamawolf544]

we own 12.5 acres
we financed it, for 20 years. we have 7 years left but will pay it off this year.

we also have 2 houses on it seperate, but they are ours outright.

And you are right property taxes are out of sight. I am turning in my paperwork tomorrow for disability that cuts my taxes in half. I have been totally disabled for more than 10 years and just found this out last month.

Still fighting on the AG taxes.