Electrical problem might have ended badly

[RobJ]

That type of pressure connector has not been very reliable on stranded wire.

You said it!

 

[riptides]

To top it off, if you take house plans to the county building department here, they cannot tell you what your property taxes will be until after the house is completed and assessed at market value. YIKES!!! Makes it hard to plan expenses.

That is crazy. How about them looking at assessments in the general area you plan on building. Heck some real estate home searches, or county public records should give them a ballpark figure for you. The one thing you want to do is make sure they get it right for your plans.

You can always upgrade stuff later....

-Mike Z.

 

[MossRoad]

That is crazy. How about them looking at assessments in the general area you plan on building. Heck some real estate home searches, or county public records should give them a ballpark figure for you. The one thing you want to do is make sure they get it right for your plans.

You can always upgrade stuff later....

-Mike Z.

Yeah, that's kind of the rub.... two identical houses from the exterior and both pay the same taxes in the same neighborhood even though one has had granite counter tops, a whirlpool tub, tile floors and a home theater added after the tax appraisal. Come re-sell time, it sells for double the price or more but paid the lower taxes. Anyhow, I don't want to change the subject of the original poster, so lets say the other house had its electrical system upgraded, too.

 

[RobJ]

Yeah, that's kind of the rub.... two identical houses from the exterior and both pay the same taxes in the same neighborhood even though one has had granite counter tops, a whirlpool tub, tile floors and a home theater added after the tax appraisal. Come re-sell time, it sells for double the price or more but paid the lower taxes. Anyhow, I don't want to change the subject of the original poster, so lets say the other house had its electrical system upgraded, too.

Just the way it is around here to. The appraiser never goes inside. They use square footage, exterior building materials, grade of the property, etc. Nothing on the inside.

 

[SnowRidge]

Just the way it is around here to. The appraiser never goes inside. They use square footage, exterior building materials, grade of the property, etc. Nothing on the inside.

Please tell me you are not complaining because the government doesn't demand to come inside your house and inspect it.

 

[MossRoad]

Please tell me you are not complaining because the government doesn't demand to come inside your house and inspect it.

Yeah, kinda sounds that way, doesn't it? It is just one aspect of how unfair and arbitrary the property taxes are assessed. We had a couple of neighborhoods UNDERVALUED by one particular assessor. They all got a most upleasant surprise when that was corrected.

You have to know, in South Bend, IN 40% of all homes are currently vacant. The landlords abandoned them when the taxes increased. 40% sounds crazy, but I assure you, it is accurate. And those abandoned houses soon get vandalized for the copper, aluminum, etc... then the city runs out of tax money, so up it goes again, etc.... horrible situation.

 

[SnowRidge]

The taxes on my Florida property went up 25% in one year.

And it wasn't catch up. They have gone up every year since I bought it. In 11 years, they have increased 571%.

 

[LBrown59]

Just the way it is around here to. The appraiser never goes inside. They use square footage, exterior building materials, grade of the property, etc. Nothing on the inside.

I'm glad they don't- they do enough damage from the outside.

 

[LBrown59]

Please tell me you are not complaining because the government doesn't demand to come inside your house and inspect it.

I would hope he isn't .
They screw up what they do have access to big time - They sure can't be trusted with anything more.

 

[MossRoad]

Well, we've hijacked this thread long enough with tax talk (my apologies ) ... anyone got any more electrical comments?