Property tax/assessor question

[Donqluione]

Why would someone protest being taxed too low?

It actually DID happen in 2008 in Polk County with numerous homeowners, according to a conversation I had at the time with an assessor who was working on a commercial property that was trying to get theirs lowered.

Reason being, prospective home buyers look at the assessed value. The appeals that were filed asking for valuations to be increased were denied....

 

[mapnerd]

Okay, I'm starting to figure out that you have no idea what you're talking about and probably don't own a home.

Sure, believe what you want to believe I guess. I don't really care. And I've owned a home for about 15 years.

I got a home equity loan recently and the credit union I went with used the value on the assessor's site for the loan to value calculation. Maybe that's not the norm, I don't know. But an acquaintance of mine had the same experience. It's a small sample size, so take it for what it's worth. I would bet that all lenders will require a private appraisal on a new mortgage though.

And here is some more info on equalization. If the county assessors let the value get way too high or way too low the Dept of Revenue comes in and gives them an equalization order. That's usually not ideal.

What is Equalization? | Iowa Department of Revenue

The Iowa Dept. of Revenue is responsible for “equalizing” assessments every two years. Read our explanation for how this works here & contact us with questions.

tax.iowa.gov

 

[BigBake]

I listened in on a hearing online once a few years back when Grimes was trying to acquire some land south of town to re-do an intersection that badly needed to add some turn lanes and go to a 4 lane stretch due to the ammount of growth and traffic in that area. Problem was the people that owned the farm land did not find that value they city wanted to assess it at in order to acquire it fair value. The city had to hire some lawyers as the land owners were willing to go to court over it and the representation for the city basically told the council to pay what they were asking as by the time they drug it out in court they'd have delayed the project and likely racked up enough legal fees it could wind up costing them more than just paying it now to get the project going. Then the next issue was the people with the farm land were contesting how the property assessments would affect them because pretty much everyone but them are getting any benefit from the project so the nearby businesses and people in town should see the assessment increases needed to cover the cost not them as they only move machinery to and from the fields a few times a year and they've had to pay more than their fair share over the years since at one time it was just a gravel road and now it's turned into a 4 lane street with signals and turn lanes that have no benefit to them.

It is really interesting how stuff like this works when it comes to land grabs by local government or developers trying to price out the people who have been there a long time in order to force them to sell. I notice in the NW and West suburbs of the Des Moines Metro how you might find some old farm house and buildings still tucked away in an area now surrounded by new houses or buildings. The owners probably have been offered to sell it over the years and just held their ground as at one time there probably was never a neighbor close by and they never thought there would be a day where they were basically going to be part of the city limits. I know someone that originally built a home on a small acrage in the NW part of Grimes then the city wound up building a new sports complex practically in his backyard. Kept telling me he hated it and not what he thought would ever happen when he built the place. Well he and he wife wound up divorcing eventually and his ex-wife wound up selling it off after the divorce settlement so that kind of solved his issue I guess.

So did Grimes end up paying for lawyers or just pony up and pay fair value? All that and Grimes will just build another giant commercial warehouse along the 141 corridor.

 

[BCClone]

Well, it's in my profile so... yeah. Thanks for the useful info.

Show them the S&M room first. Ask them if they want a go, they will probably never come back.

 

[MuskieCy]

Well true, most people wouldn't do that. The only reason would be if they wanted a home equity loan and the bank needs to figure out loan to value ratio.

Wow,.....I know someone who would place a value of assets at one amount for insurance purposes and then reduce that asset value by 500%-3000% for property tax purposes. Did it for decades, never got caught.

 

[mynameisjonas]

We're finishing up and addition/remodel and they came by today asking about it and hinted that they wanted to come in but we just said it isn't finished yet. Wondering if I have to let them in when they come back. This is in Iowa outside of city limits.

Don’t answer the phone when they call and hide in your house the next time they knock on the door.

I always like to not let them know if I’m remodeling, then they’d have no reason to look.

 

[mynameisjonas]

Well true, most people wouldn't do that. The only reason would be if they wanted a home equity loan and the bank needs to figure out loan to value ratio.

Ummmm no.

 

[mynameisjonas]

This is 100% wrong. I guess we might just have to agree to disagree. Yeah, the market may change much faster than the tax value, but what choice is there?

No we can just all agree that you are wrong.

 

[mynameisjonas]

Sure, believe what you want to believe I guess. I don't really care. And I've owned a home for about 15 years.

I got a home equity loan recently and the credit union I went with used the value on the assessor's site for the loan to value calculation. Maybe that's not the norm, I don't know. But an acquaintance of mine had the same experience. It's a small sample size, so take it for what it's worth. I would bet that all lenders will require a private appraisal on a new mortgage though.

And here is some more info on equalization. If the county assessors let the value get way too high or way too low the Dept of Revenue comes in and gives them an equalization order. That's usually not ideal.

What is Equalization? | Iowa Department of Revenue

The Iowa Dept. of Revenue is responsible for “equalizing” assessments every two years. Read our explanation for how this works here & contact us with questions.

tax.iowa.gov

The assessed value in Iowa is usually low. So if you have the equity using the assessed value, it’s not that risky for banks. Also, most banks that accept assessed values for 2nd mortgages also order a market analysis that you may or may not have even know that they ordered.

no secondary market 1st mortgage would ever even consider using the assessed value.

 

[DeereClone]

I am zoned ag so I don’t have to get permits or anything and therefore can’t speak from experience, but I would assume your best bet is to just “play nice” with the assessor and give them the info and access they need to do their job.

For Ag buildings they will use aerial imagery to look for new buildings, then call you to get details like the dimensions. I suppose I don’t have to legally give details but once again figure it’s easier just to tell them.

 

[Pat]

It actually DID happen in 2008 in Polk County with numerous homeowners, according to a conversation I had at the time with an assessor who was working on a commercial property that was trying to get theirs lowered.

Reason being, prospective home buyers look at the assessed value. The appeals that were filed asking for valuations to be increased were denied....

Any prospective buyer that considers assessed value probably deserves to pay a premium in property taxes.

 

[1100011CS]

Sure, believe what you want to believe I guess. I don't really care. And I've owned a home for about 15 years.

I got a home equity loan recently and the credit union I went with used the value on the assessor's site for the loan to value calculation. Maybe that's not the norm, I don't know. But an acquaintance of mine had the same experience. It's a small sample size, so take it for what it's worth. I would bet that all lenders will require a private appraisal on a new mortgage though.

And here is some more info on equalization. If the county assessors let the value get way too high or way too low the Dept of Revenue comes in and gives them an equalization order. That's usually not ideal.

What is Equalization? | Iowa Department of Revenue

The Iowa Dept. of Revenue is responsible for “equalizing” assessments every two years. Read our explanation for how this works here & contact us with questions.

tax.iowa.gov

Okay, I admit I didn't notice you said home *equity* loan so maybe that's the difference. I've never taken out one of those. But, yes, for a mortgage, the bank will always insist on an appraisal.