Tax assessors, trespassing and leering into windows...

[Tynimiller]

Why do you assume that all of the revenue must be replaced? Are all government programs so indespensible? Should public education (even taking for granted that it should be kept at all) continue to cost nearly twice as much as an often superior private education? Would the loss of free internet porn for welfare slackers at our public libraries be a huge societal loss?

I do not assume all the revenue needs replaced, and am not personally against the idea of losing property taxes...however one does have to the issue of replacing a large chunk of that. Property taxes have been leaned on heavily in this state for funding, and contrary to what some people believe your Assessing office employees salaries are not the sole thing they fund...shoot bet that is not even 1% of where the money all goes. The beast of property tax dependance in the state is a beast that would need tackled, not just eliminating it cold because the downfall and budgetary issues that would spurn would be huge.

Property taxes aside I have always been a fan of less government, but I do feel if government is to exist it is better to have local more than state and state more then federal affecting my lives. The hatred some have (not saying you, and not truly implying anyone on this forum but we all know of ones I describe) for the government distorts our views so heavily of those that simply work for even localized government it is sad. If anyone ever has any questions about their assessment or the appeal process here in Indiana feel free to ask...it's sadly what I deal with in my main job on a daily basis.

Otherwise if nothing else just realize more often than not the assessing employees and even the assessors many times are simply following instructions from the state. Many go above and beyond the minimalistic type requirements for courtesy, just don't take your anger out on them.

 

[JettaKnight]

To All,

On a slight tangent I used to work in my fathers insurance office.

When a client bought a new home we had to go do a home inspection. This included getting a basic idea of the square footage of the home, its general condition, and so forth.

So you're one of those bastards Henry talks about, huh?

Reading this thread makes me think a lot of people would feel best if they could live in an old missile silo.

 

[HoughMade]

My insurance company came out and did that at my house....then placed the replacement cost at nearly twice what I paid for the house.

Varying between being happy about the good deal I got and PO'd about the insurance premium.

 

[Libertarian01]

So you're one of those bastards Henry talks about, huh?

Reading this thread makes me think a lot of people would feel best if they could live in an old missile silo.

I guess I was one of the ones.

The issue for me was the fact that I wasn't working on behalf of the current homeowner, but for the person who wanted to be the new homeowner. As every closing required insurance we needed to have a policy in effect for the correct day of the new homeowners legal right to the property so we had to get out there before they took possession of the property.

"Living space" is calculated at a different rate than "non-living space." This is why it was important to get the numbers as close to 100% as possible. On most homes this was easily determinable, but on a few the garage space was questionable which lead me to trying to peep into windows to see how far back it went. Naturally if there was someone home I would ask for help. This usually meant they would open the garage door and let me pace it off or tell me it ended at a window. If I couldn't do that I would try looking in to determine a "best guess."

My insurance company came out and did that at my house....then placed the replacement cost at nearly twice what I paid for the house.

Varying between being happy about the good deal I got and PO'd about the insurance premium.

^^^ That is 100% spot on! The insurance company doesn't give a rip what you pay for the property, only what it will cost them per their contract to replace the property in the event of a total loss. You could pay $1 million for a $10,000 home or $10k for a $1 million home. Your grace or folly didn't matter one bit. Also, the tax value of the home doesn't matter a whit to the insurance company. They will go by their method of determining a "replacement cost" value of the home. That was what I was there to provide the first line of information for.

Pace off the home to find square footage. Inspect the home visually from the outside to determine any obvious problems. Take a picture. That is what I did. (And occasionally peeped in windows)

Regards,

Doug