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Nature always takes back what is taken from it...
My bride has been asking why they don't take down the barn across the road for 30 years now....
Past summer a new tin roof went on and a few dozen boards were replaced.. It had to be structurally sound for that to be done.
You don't want to put a new roof and paint job on that dilapidated barn, or you increase the market value of the overall property, which increases the tax value. A dilapidated barn can lower the overall market value of the property because it is essentially a liability that requires resources to dispose of. A potential buyer would have a future cash outlay to remove an unsafe structure that has no use value.
One thing keeping a dilapidated building won't do is lower your property taxes.
I used to show up at township tax equalization meetings asserting that my farm's evaluation was too high.
They showed me their assessed value of every farm building. I then stated that an old ,small, cracked silo and a leaning small shed had no value and were in such poor shape they could not be used.
The reply to me was.........." if they are still standing they must be of some value to you or you would have torn them down "
They refused to take away the $1,000 valuation they had placed on each.
What I would be arguing is that the silo, or dilapidated barn lowers the market value of the farmstead rather than any specific value assigned to the silo or barn. That part would probably be on the tax rolls as ag use value anyway. Here, there is an administrative appeal process. If you are not satisfied with the results, you can request another, formal hearing, which is held in an adjacent county, When I went through the process, a retired judge conducted the hearing. The assessor had to write up a position paper for the county and appear at the hearing and testify. It requires a lot of time on the part of the assessor. One thing is to know the appraised value relative to the market value assigned by the county before moving forward.
I've never seen property taxes go "down" before. I'm not buying it. someone stretegically sabatogeing their own land to save a few hundred a year in taxes?
Actually I had a conversation with an older KS farmer this week and his rationale for leaving his sagging barn as it is (that his wife is nagging him about) was exactly this. A good looking barn would be assessed at a higher valuation by the county. He eventually hopes someone will pay him to salvage the wood.
Around here there are groups of individuals that buy old barns for a nominal sum and then dismantle them for the parts. The wood/parts are either processed into furniture or sold. If it were practical I'd build a stone barn on our property.
I wonder why more barns are not salvaged as a source of both timbers and weathered boards. Maybe someone should start a regional salvage business that could dismantle and store the complete frames.
What I would be arguing is that the silo, or dilapidated barn lowers the market value of the farmstead rather than any specific value assigned to the silo or barn. That part would probably be on the tax rolls as ag use value anyway. Here, there is an administrative appeal process. If you are not satisfied with the results, you can request another, formal hearing, which is held in an adjacent county, When I went through the process, a retired judge conducted the hearing. The assessor had to write up a position paper for the county and appear at the hearing and testify. It requires a lot of time on the part of the assessor. One thing is to know the appraised value relative to the market value assigned by the county before moving forward.
Being 70 years old ( retired now....sold farm to son ) . I can assure you that in my 44 years of farm ownership I know all about how the tax system works.
I have appealed and went from the township to the county level with no relief granted.
Where I live, they are very reluctant to " rock the boat" and go against the county assessor.
A neighbor of mine had a briefcase full of homework he had done to prove his case at the county level. He did not prevail. In fact, the following year his assestment went up.
He stated.........." I guess they wanted to teach me a lesson "
I don't doubt there is some degree of retribution and hostility from some assessors. In a professional position, they shouldn't be doing that. They need to be called out on it. Mine were reduced at the administrative level, but I did not think it was enough, so I appealed it further and went to a hearing. I lost at the next level; however, after that, my values did not go up for 3 years and then there was a year of another reduction and then it didn't change the year after that. So now my view is a little different. I know there are some errors in my current appraisal that overstate, but I don't believe the assessment is really overvalued, in general, as is. Even with the overstatement errors, it may be slightly undervalued on the tax rolls. So leaving it alone is fine for now. The appeal, though, got to have documentation that supports your case.
I don't doubt there is some degree of retribution and hostility from some assessors. In a professional position, they shouldn't be doing that. They need to be called out on it. Mine were reduced at the administrative level, but I did not think it was enough, so I appealed it further and went to a hearing. I lost at the next level; however, after that, my values did not go up for 3 years and then there was a year of another reduction and then it didn't change the year after that. So now my view is a little different. I know there are some errors in my current appraisal that overstate, but I don't believe the assessment is really overvalued, in general, as is. Even with the overstatement errors, it may be slightly undervalued on the tax rolls. So leaving it alone is fine for now. The appeal, though, got to have documentation that supports your case.
I brought a soil mapping book that shows soil types and pointed out they were assessing my tillable acres at the same rate as a farmer a mile away who has better soil.
I also challenged a recent dairy farm sale near me as being comparable because the owner left expensive dairy equipment go with the barn that I did not have in my barn.
The reason assessors, and county officials, are so wary of adjusting valuations is they are scared of opening a can of worms causing a domino effect.........IMHO
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