Rural life is changing

[cowboydoc]

Lonestar,
You seem to miss the fact here that what is happening is not in the interest of growth or anything positive. If people would come in and leave things the way they were then fine. The 200 acres that I own I'm currently in court over. A few years ago I bought this ground and payed $600 an acre for it. It's hills and mostly just pasture. Well the last few years they put in a subdivision on the back of one part of this land. This last year the county raised my assessed value from $480 an acre to $10,000 an acre!!! Their feeling was that lots were selling for a 1/4 acre for $20,000 in the subdivision so this land must be worth at least that undeveloped. To say the least my property went from a value of about $100k to $2,000,000. Their response was that the new taxes wouldn't go into effect until 2004 so I had plenty of time to sell the ground! This kind of insanity is what I'm talking about. The county wants more money for roads, etc. etc. so they just keep raising values or changing the rules to fit them.

Bird I know that there isn't anything you can do about it but it would just be nice if when people moved in to an area they had respect for the people that were already there. I know that you can't stop progress but it would be nice to at least keep the ways of life the same.

 

[GlueGuy]

Richard,

It's that kind of nonsense that started Prop 13 out here. If you pay $600 for an acre, then that's what it's worth. They can't re-assess until it's sold again.

We also have a thing called Williamson Act. It's been around for a long time out here. The intent is to preserve rural and farm land through tax incentives. The idea is that they reduce your tax liability (something like 50%, but I don't know the exact number), in exchange for you not developing the property.

Now the tax is not removed, but deferred in perpetuity. Perpetuity ends when you decide you want to develop. You then must cough up the deferred tax. Since our property has been in Williamson Act for 26 years, the deferred tax is getting pretty impressive now.

The GlueGuy

 

[cowboydoc]

Glue Guy,
I wish we had that here. These guys are just insane running the county here. The problem is most of the voting populution is for it because then they can sell their house for more or borrow more against it. The valuation around here though is like the stock market it has to be headed for a crash. Property values have gone up 35% here in just the last three years. It's just not right. I told the county assessor at the last meeting if he thought it was worth that I'd sell it to him for half of that or anyone else on the board. Of course there were no takers. There is no way I can sell that land for that kind of money. We have four developers who we got affadavits from as well and all of them said it was also insane. I'm pretty sure we're going to win this but it's going to cost me a bunch in lawyer fees.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Cowboydoc,

Man, I wish I had your problems! I never seem to be smart enough to buy property that appreciates like that. Isn't this appreciation the good side of all those folks moving in? I understand it means higher taxes and fighting the appraisal board for a sane assessment, but the payoff down the road can be huge. I also understand that you may not care about any of that, and just want to live there the rest of your life with low taxes and no Starbucks or Home Depot next door. And yes, it would be nice if the folks moving in did have some innate respect for the locals. Unfortunately though, many times the folks moving in have a condescending attitude toward either the less affluent or local ways.

Lonestar

 

[cowboydoc]

Lonestar,
You miss the point. IT"S NOT WORTH THAT! If I could sell it for 2 million I would sell it today, quit my practice and move home. Like I said I talked to four developers and none of them would give me over a $1000 an acre for it. That wouldn't net me much as I've put about $40,000 into the property improving it!!! We've talked to and gotten depositions from 10 different real estate agents and the most that they would even list it for would be $2500 an acre. I really wish I could get that money out of it. If I could I wouldn't be so dang mad.

 

[bpence]

Oh, he speaks the truth all right. One of these days I suppose it will be time to pack everything up and move someplace where there's a more rural environment than we're seeing around home right now. And to tell the truth, I'll probably try and get every possible penny for my place, any way I possibly can.

Bob Pence

 

[MarkV]

Doc,

I guess it is the same everywhere these days. This last weekend I was in Illinois for a family gathering on the old famliy farm. My Mother was raised there and a cousin of mine now owns the place. If I remember right, he has about 250 acres, comes from a farming background and wants to farm, but you can't make a living on that much land with corn and beans. My Grandfather bought the farm in 1832 and died on his Oliver tractor there. My cousin leases out his land to another farmer and is worried about how long he can hold on to it, as the taxes go up. You have to wonder where our Grandkids will get their food. It sure will not be from the small family farmer.

MarkV

 

[GlueGuy]

<font color=blue>The problem is most of the voting populution is for it because then they can sell their house for more</font color=blue>

Prop 13 doesn't prevent that; check out bay area property prices. We've probably got the most outragious property prices in the country. I know I couldn't afford to buy my own place these days.

The GlueGuy

 

[gordon]

Richard, all I can say is I hope you WIN!!! The way the counties and state is looking at alot of properties and businesses is complete %$%$###. If you know what I mean. I could agree if your property was already subdivided into lots and improvements had been done so those lots were accessable. Meaning roads and electric. But if not then they are dead wrong and don't really have a leg to stand on.

Is anyone else having the same problem as you? It should have happened across the board. The tax increase that is.

When I worked in MD at a marina they had the great idea to redue the whole tax scheme in their favor. It didn't matter if a slip was rented or not they assessed it as rented and at a more than crazy rate. Same with motel rooms. Their point was they weren't making enough just off of the property. The taxes on that marina went from $7000. a year to over $32000. per year. If that isn't crazy I don't know what is. So all the marina owners got together and fought it. It helped but still skyrocketed. Crazy. It really hurt business for quite some time because alot of that cost was passed onto the slip renters. What did they do---move their boats to other locations.

The best thing that I've seen is farmland was rezoned and subdivided into large lots at the beach. That farmer made a killing on the property. So the farmer next door wanted to do the same thing and the zoning board wouldn't let him. Didn't know the right people or grease the right palms. His couldn't get rezoned so what did he do. Waited until almost all of the very lush custom homes were built and instead of corn---He started raising PIGS, boy was that a sight and a smell as well. Told the zoning board you wanted me to have a farm well I do now. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Now to DE taxes aren't bad at all here so far. Knock on wood. But development is moving in quickly in some areas. The beaches are getting the worst of it now and hopfully it will stay that way but I know it's only time. People from the western shore and from Jesrsey, PA area are moving in quickly buying small parcels of land because of the low cost compared to where they are from. It's the same all over in that respect.

It's what they do once they get here is what bothers me at times. Some are great people just happy to be alive and have a place in the country and others are just butt heads. No better word for it, they need to leave the city attitude in the city. Times a changin not always for the better, but we can hope!

Gordon

 

[gordon]

Yup it happens all the time, let the farm go for taxes or sell for decent money. HUmmm which choice would you make?

Gordon