HOMEBUYING ADVICE

Property is re-assessed each year.
(or at regular intervals)
Improvements will be noted and applied.

>>1064167
so you're stating someone comes by to assess homes secretly?
theres no law forcing me to get a new assessment every year right?
but even so, how will any outsider know what's on the inside of my home?

>>1064170

You don't have a choice, homes will be assessed , hell they even fly planes over neighborhoods to see who has pools and new features added,plus they pull permits filed when you do upgrades.

>>1064174
I need a permit to work on my own property?
wtf?

>>1064174
My point was they'll only assess the outside of the home, they'll never know what i upgrade on the inside

>>1064175
Lmao ....

You're not ready.

>>1064175

Dude lets say you decide to renovate bathroom or kitchen, or knock down a wall or add a deck, if city swings by or you decide to sell, the inspector will make you tear that shit down and build it to code

>>1064190
well damn

>>1064176
Yeah but a dumpster in your driveway will be a clear sign. And some neighbors are asshats and will report you. Especially if you're hauling a load of construction materials every weekend

>>1064176
If you refuse to allow an inspector to examine your property for assessment, they'll make their "best guess" which will be whatever their imagination can come up with. Live in a mobile home that's falling apart but don't let them in? They'll assume your toilets are made of solid gold and tax you based on that. You can appeal... but the appeal requires allowing them to come in and inspect.

In general, the more rural the area, the easier it is to get away with unnoticed improvements. Many rural governments provide few services so they don't need an extensive tax base. It would cost more to go out and investigate properties than they're likely to get from the higher tax. In cities it is just the opposite.

>>1064249
yeah i figured as much, well damn.

>>1064190
With a conventional loan or cash, the buyer can request nonpermitted additions / changes be fixed to code and permitted. If you don't then they can walk away from the contract. The Loan agent may also request fixes if the appraisal notes it as poor. They will withhold the money until it's fixed or the contract dies.

This is if the buyer and their agents even pull the permits. The housing market is so hot in some places sellers arent considering contracts with an inspection clause let alone fha or va loans and their stricter contracts.

>>1064249
I've never lived anywhere that an inspector would do more than a drive by assessment and maybe a flyover for pool checks. What nanny state hell do you live in where they walk through every year?

>>1064256
You really should get permits to do stuff. You don't sound like a handyman and most building code is for the owners protection.

Where I am, California, they do a new base tax assessment of a home every time it is sold and every time you make significant improvements. From there they *can* do reassessments every year. They often don't. The tax rate for homes is only 1%. On top of that, the amount they can increase it is fixed at 2% a year, which is generally less than inflation. So a $100,000 property will have a $1,000 tax bill per year. This will, at most, become a $1,020 after being reassessed, even if the value of the property double in the same period. That is unless the house is sold or significant improvements are made. On top for THAT, if it is your primary residence, you can apply for a 'value reduction' of several thousand dollars that lowers the taxable portion of the homes value. They knocked $7,000 off of my assessment. All in all my property tax is one of my smaller monthly expenses. Oh, property taxes are tax deductible. Yeah, wrap your head around that.

>>1064586
This. I live in the king of nanny states in the US and all the assessor did was make sure the home had the same footprint (ie same square footage) as what was on file and that no one had added a pool or an outbuilding or something in the back. This was basically a walk around the front and a peek over the side fence. Didn't even go inside. I've gotten more hassle from Jehovah's Witnesses.

People do that every year, they just fix up the interior of the home and leave the outside to look old and unfixed.

>>1064175

My mom had her bathroom redone, we needed a building permit (attached to our front door) and the inspector showed up within two days

>>1064190
We've done all that to our property, knocked down walls, renovated bathrooms + kitchens, etc. Never had anyone say anything, although I'm sure someone could

>>1064712
The concern here really is added square footage. Finishing an unfinished basement. Additions onto the house etc.

>>1064163
handyman here. Yes by law you are "required" to pull permits, and yearly or biyearly (sometimes even longer) house assessments. Now if you own the home and are hopefully competent enough you can pretty much do pretty much whatever you want as long as you undo it before you sell the house.
When dealing with inspectors, always understand that you are dealing with bureaucracy. Most inspectors are incredibly incompetent because most of them never have actually built or done anything of the things they're inspecting. In fact, a lot of the times they don't even know the proper code or will invent something up just because they think it's right, especially when dealing with A/C or electrical components. All they rely on mostly is their power trip because no matter what they're "right". What you can hide you can get away with, and sometimes that means doing retarded shit.

Couple examples:
Where I live, you have to pull a permit for new sheds which is fucking stupid. So when reassessment comes around we throw wood and tarps over them so they become woodpiles instead.
Also adding an attached deck increases sq. footage and therefore taxes here where I live. So we put a floating deck that isn't attached to the house. If the inspector brings in up we just tell him that we have no problem burning it and getting a reevaluation.
Play by their game and if you know a certain inspector or know someone who knows an inspector who's an easy going guy then get him if he covers your area/district.

>>1064175
Lmao 'murica land of the free

>>1064893
It varies by state and county. The majority of people agreed that it was better not to live next to a crack house and have to fill out some paperwork. So all the people that like living in crack houses move to the same states. We call these states 'the South.'

>>1064958
That's ignorant; every state has non-urban areas where people regularly renovate their homes without dealing with bureaucrats. I live in New York (but not in NYC) and I have made several improvements to my own property by following these two steps:
1. Buy materials.
2. Make improvements.

Just because you live in the trendy part of uptown doesn't mean the rest of the country is living in the ghetto.