Our township has decided to start doing interior home inspections to determine the annual assessment of property taxes. Anybody else have this going on, and anybody have any info regarding success or failure in preventing interior inspections?
Our neighbors are rather up in arms about it; I have doubts that there’s a legal precedent out there to prevent such an inspection as long as due notice and flexibility in scheduling the assessment is provided. But I’d love to be proved wrong.
The state is Wisconsin, BTW. The state requires an annual assessment. The assessor has a duty to keep all property at market value, but may change an assessment because of building permits or sales activity even though an actual inspection of the property has not been made. State law requires each municipality to assess property within ten percent of full value at least once every five years.
Interesting that article is about New Hampshire. I lived there for about 5 years in the 1980s and '90s, and no tax assessor ever asked to come inside. Apparently it used to be more common, according to my mother who grew up there. When we were listening to Fortunate Son on the radio, and she burst out laughing at the line “when the taxman comes to the door, Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale.” In the 1940s and '50s, her parents would intentionally let the house and yard get messy and put off repairs if they knew the tax assessor was scheduled to come by.
In my town, assessors do not normally go into a house. If you appeal your assessment, an interior inspection is requested. Refusal to allow an interior inspection is normally followed by a refusal to grant an abatement. If you appeal to the state appellate tax board, the burden of proof is on the taxpayer. Without a view of the inside, the appellate tax board typically dismissed the appeal.
I assume the requirement for interior inspections was created by a legislative body (township or state). The legislative body can change the requirement or the voters can change the legislators.
Is it “legal” for a legislative body to decide what taxes should be created? Yes, it is. That’s what the voters elected representatives to do, among other things.
Depending on how the bill/law was worded, the township/state may/probably has the authority to make/change assessments without gaining access. You probably won’t like the assessed amount but can’t dispute the figure without granting them access. Catch-22. On the other hand, if you grant them access, you probably won’t like the assessed amount either.
Your first step should be to find out the exact wording of the statute. Step two is to get that information to your neighbors. Step three is deciding if you have enough people who want to fight this.
Thanks, folks. I’ve rooted around in State statutes and found that allowing an interior inspection is optional. If it’s not allowed the assessor makes their best determination based on other evidence, and the property owner then loses the right to appeal said assessment.