Assesors Office Wants to see Pellet Stove

In all the places I have lived, the assessors are forbidden to enter your house unless you invite them in. It sounds like it is also time to attend some town or township meetings and raise heck abou the streets, taxes and perhaps how they are spending those taxes!

They tax me on a regular fireplace, even though I don't use it. It's punishment for improving your property. They are getting more and more money hungry now that their revenue is decreasing. What they need to do is what we taxpayers do - CUT SPENDING! But I expect that I'm preaching to the choir, here...

Hello

They raised my property value $1200 for a new small LP gas fireplace I put in!! I do not use it much either because gas is alot more expensive than wood pellets

About not letting the assessor into your house, while legally you don't have to you have then subjected yourself to assessment by default which would allow the assessor to place whatever value he wishes on your property and then you have to go through the abatement process in order to get his assessment changed.

In other words you may be biting your nose off to spite your face by not letting the assessor in. Such is the law in most states the last I looked.

Good luck.

I would think an insert or stove is not a permanently installed device like a fireplace and therefore should not be subject to property tax.

Try calling and asking why the assessor needs to inspect a regular appliance and put the burden on them to show that it is a taxable improvement (did you rebuild the hearth?)

I just installed a wood burning insert, so I'll prbably also take the improvement hit too.

Aaron

Sure, they know that you are going to be saving money (not spending as much) so they feel that is INCOME. IRS will be over after lunch.

Can you tell me the name of your town?? Sounds like Ipswich, yes?

Maybe if you call it a temporary installation because it can be taken apart and not sold with the property. If you sell, you can convince the town to move on to the next house on the street for their money. I did that with a storage shed because it was put together with screws, rather than nails, and it worked.

in NH I have been told that the stove should not be added to your property taxes but anything permanently installed like a hearth or chimney (or vent I suppose) can be taxed. If you just added an insert to existing hearth, I don't think they can hit you for any additional value.

Before I took an oathe to be a quiet and peacable citizen, I would have told them that they are not coming into my home. Just sayin

wait, if the scale goes from 1-100 how can -10 be an option.

Is this like my less air to make a the flame more yellow post?

If your last appraisal is significantly less than your taxable appraisal, by all means invite him down to discuss lowering your taxes. If he refuse and adds valuation due to the insert, file an abatement request to get your valuation inline to where it should be. I am not even sure a non-permanent device is taxable. If so all appliances would be taxed.

I can't see why a pellet stove would be a permanent fixture, you can easily remove the piping and plug the hole during the summer.

Mr. Heat Miser said:

My home value has dropped below what I paid for it, so my mortgage is upside down. I recently tried to refinance to take advantage of lower mortgage rates, but was refused when the appraisal came in. My taxes have already gone up this year vs. last year. My street is one of the worst in town, covered in potholes and patches, and there are no immediate plans to repave it.

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If it was me, I would send him a letter attaching a copy of your appraisal that showed a decrease in property value, along with photos of the potholes in the street. Advise him that when the town grants you a lower assessment due to home value decline and fixes ALL of the potholes on your street, you'd be happy to let him in and look at the stove. If they try and raise your taxes, they'll get a property tax appeal and and an order to show cause forcing them to fix the potholes.

Here in Illinois and in N.Wisconsin, I was told by the city,the county and by the insurance companies that a wood stove is considered a space heater. As a space heater is considered an appliance, no building permit was required in either location. You may need to check with your attorney! Big govt may be out of step in this case. Appliances are not considered "real property" in Illinois and Wisconsin and therefore have no bearing on "real estate assessments".
Just my $0.02 worth.
Thanks
Tom

It's all about collecting tax revenue. I did a renovation in my house where I gutted an old bathroom and put the new bathroom in a new location. The assesor came over before the renovations were done and asked to see the second bathroom. The permit specified removing the old one and putting in a new one. He was so adamant that it was here, he even went to the basement to look. I know they have jobs to do, but seriously leave the little guys alone.

They also use satellite photography websites to compare neighborhoods from one year to the next to see who had a pool put in that did not pull a permit. Or in my case a small shed. :red:

Wow, for a second there I thought you were from NYS. I thought that we had the worst tax creeps in the world. That's why I tell them absolutely nothing and if I was faced with what you are doing it would leave for the summer and I would be down there in their face demanding it be removed from my assessment. The first thing you will find about these people is that they dread confrontation but you know something tough crap, they took the job so they can suck it up. The other thing they hate is reading about their exploits in the local paper. Like I said you have to be ready to make noise. These people aren't your friends and never will be so don't be afraid to get into those public records and dig. They can't deny you although they wish they could. Get in there in person and demand to see the section of law that allows them to tax you on an "appliance". They may have it and you may find that it is one of those little interpretations that they have stretched past the limit. You may very well find that his is just one of their recent tricks and it may not even be legal to begin with and you making noise will likely put a halt to it. If you can find some way that you are being "singled out" or treated improperly and have a lawyer kicking around then ask him about it. You have to do your homework and not be afraid to call these people out on their actions and they will often go away. At the least they will keep a respectable distance in the future. For the most part they don't like confrontation and will for the most part down the road leave you alone down the road. Of course what they are counting on and in most cases it works out that you will just groan and complain to everybody around you and do nothing. Be the squeaky wheel and they will avoid irritating you down the road. After all, how much worse can they make it for you? Remember, these people are counting on you to do nothing, that's how they get away with it. Be the exception

Franks said:

wait, if the scale goes from 1-100 how can -10 be an option.

Is this like my less air to make a the flame more yellow post?

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that's funny. :lol: