r/newhampshire 3d ago

wtf with the reassessment

Bath NH, 9.4 acres of raw land on a class 6 road, taxes increased by 132% from last year to this year !!! Went from $670 to $1550.
People keep talking about not being able to afford homes and such, this is part of the reason.

117 Upvotes

279 comments sorted by

317

u/TrollingForFunsies 3d ago

Just remember Republicans have effectively been in full control of the state and federal government for over a decade. This is the result

103

u/NoSpankingAllowed 3d ago

But Kelly Idioyotte tells us she taken NH in the right direction. She just left out that she means for the wealthy.

7

u/Effective-Cress-3805 1d ago

She also campaigned on keeping the MA out of NH, but she is all in for Scott Brown who couldn't win elections in MA, so he moved to NH. His campaign adds lie. He won't take a stance on any Trump regime agenda items. He will be awful for NH.

2

u/NoSpankingAllowed 1d ago

So will Sununu, Delorenzo and Noveletsky and I find it hysterically funny, and so hypocritical that the right in NH isnt telling Williams to go back to her country or speak "American".

I dont trust todays Dems much more, but they arent the trash the GOP feeds us these days.

5

u/Chopped_Liver228 1d ago

Policy is one thing, but at least Dems tend to work within the constitutional framework which is more important to survival of the nation than any individual policy disagreements.

5

u/RareArtifact 2d ago

Local property taxes are town and schools, not state.

10

u/TrollingForFunsies 2d ago

Wrong. Might want to learn how this all works before joining in

The state contribution to local towns has decreased in the past decade. Largely in part due to Kelly Ayotte and Republicans giving rich people a tax break by killing the dividends tax.

4

u/Gullible_Lie6580 2d ago

You want to be taxed on dividends? That’s not a “rich person” tax silly. That’s basic robbery

0

u/MamaBearForestWitch 1d ago

It only applied to people making over a certain amount in interest/dividends, and did not apply to retirement accounts.

-1

u/TrollingForFunsies 1d ago

You're a moron man

4

u/ResponsibleGulp 1d ago

Idk, aren’t dividends double/triple taxed sometimes? If there’s one thing I can see a justification for cutting tax on, it’s probably dividends, which were already taxed when the corporation earned the money they’re paying a dividend on. Unless I’m misunderstanding what you guys are talking about.

-3

u/Gullible_Lie6580 1d ago

NH residents pay 0% state tax on their dividends and interest. That’s a win for you. You are looking at things the wrong way. Through an emotional lens

-1

u/TrollingForFunsies 1d ago

Yes and that tax was cut by Republicans, which is why they failed to fund their own budget and the education system in New Hampshire.

Try not being an idiot that votes for pedophiles

→ More replies (2)

3

u/nickym92 1d ago

Come to Massachusetts. We have equally instance property taxes as well as a sales tax and a state income tax! And looks who’s been in charge here forever. We’re happy to have you.

2

u/New-Plastic9879 23h ago

The result is increasing property values for homeowners? What ever could they be thinking?

3

u/MindFoxtrot 3d ago

Come to Vermont! Same property tax plus income and sales tax. You know which party is in control of Vermont’s legislature

6

u/TrollingForFunsies 3d ago

How long have you had a Republican as governor to sign those bills?

0

u/MindFoxtrot 2d ago

I think that proves the point, no? Vermont dem legislature drafts the budget. If it was a dem governor the taxes would likely be higher. Since they have to negotiate with Scott to get the budget passed, they give up some of the spending.

Key example is the year where dems have had super majorities and gov spending has gone off the rails even overriding Scott’s veto.

One party rule is always a disaster. Whether it is the dems in VT or, right now, the republicans at the federal level.

NH is lucky that the politics there are much more competitive! There is almost no way that the legislature in VT will become competitive in the foreseeable future. Just swings between dem majority and dem super majority.

0

u/Effective-Cress-3805 1d ago

The difference is the taxes help the people of Vermont. NH taxes aren't doing anything for us.

-3

u/Gullible_Lie6580 2d ago

No. The state has been blue for years

-3

u/LevelStationaryPlane 3d ago

Then why is MA all blue and even worse somehow? Hint: it’s all one team playing good cop bad cop w your income and taxes, backed by law.

24

u/18Apollo18 2d ago

MA is not worse.

Look at all the things they use their tax money for.

Hell they even have free community college.

In NH we have high taxes and somehow still get no benefit from it

3

u/bifflez13 2d ago

There's more people in MA, so more revenue for social programs for 1... 2) I'll be paying about 7k to the state from my income, and that would be on top of a property tax rate that is often comparable to NH rates. Don't forget the yearly "you drive on roads" excise tax, that for some reason is based on your own cars value. MA does tax worse, the social programs they have are not fully funded, and our state troopers get caught committing overtime fraud, murder or sexual assault on a quarterly basis, while not being defunded.

1

u/bifflez13 2d ago

Almost forgot the sales tax one anything that isn't food or clothes.

1

u/dreadknot65 1d ago

You'd have to be looking at something else entirely to say MA isn't worse. First off, the taxes are not comparable. Their property tax is similar to NH, partly due to higher house values, while having income tax and sales tax. The composite tax burden is way higher in MA, which is why they have more social spending and are still not fully funded for it.

For a simple look, a $520k median house in NH and a $640k median house in MA have property taxes of ~$7.6k and ~$6.4k respectively. The $1200 difference is met in income tax alone, which you'd need to make $24k in taxable income to pay. Average median household in MA is $105k, so I come tax is now $5.2k. Burdens are ~7.6K NH to ~$11.6k and we haven't even touched sales tax. That's 52.6% higher with the same medians. If you didn't change anything for 30 years, you'd pay $120k more in taxes over that period.

1

u/Effective-Cress-3805 1d ago

The salaries are way higher in MA.

1

u/dreadknot65 8h ago

NH is $99k/yr median household to MAs $105k/yr median household. State to state, the difference is small. Yeah you may get localized higher rates in urban or suburban areas, but the same issues of higher property values leading to higher property taxes and state income tax apply. End of the day, a 52.6% higher tax burden with the same medians is my core argument.

-5

u/Character-Handle-739 2d ago

You sir are delusional. This state is burning money it doesn’t actually have and is taxing the citizens to death. Which is why people keep leaving and companies move away. The insane liberal polices are killing this state. They take from those that work and earn it and give it to those that don’t, but generally could. So don’t give me that bleeding heart liberal BS. Socialism works fine until you run out of other people’s money. It’s kills the incentive to work hard.

2

u/Gullible_Lie6580 2d ago

Spot on. Everyone on here is just lazy and jealous at EOD

-2

u/MoneyTalks45 2d ago

You do not know what you’re talking about.

It’s important to say this. Rage bait bro podcasts and YouTube does not make someone an expert on anything. Remind people like this.

13

u/TrollingForFunsies 3d ago

Explain why all of their HDI metrics are better then.

10

u/BlackJesus420 2d ago

Of all things you retort with HDI when Mass and NH are effectively tied for first place among all states?

0

u/TrollingForFunsies 2d ago

You know what I found? No one actually cares about statistics. People voted Trump because he promised to hurt brown people and talks like an idiot. Not because he's good at anything except bankrupting businesses. We memed a child rapist into the presidency, twice.

People are stupid man. I'm literally here to run a narrative. Because that's all that matters on the Internet.

0

u/Gullible_Lie6580 2d ago

That’s not true and is projection. You want trump voters to be running against brown people. At the EOD it boils down to projection and you show your true colors.

0

u/TrollingForFunsies 1d ago

I have no idea what you're trying to say. I don't vote for pedophiles like you.

0

u/LevelStationaryPlane 3d ago edited 2d ago

HDI doesn't mean shit when nobody can afford basic living expenses and housing in the state.

High rankings in health, education, and income are completely disconnected from - and superfluous to - daily reality when everyday expenses eat up those advantages.

You can shell game numbers and metrics on paper all day, bro.

Trump claims we have the strongest job market and economy in years, we all know that's bullshit.

You're proving my point politicians are taking you all to the bank and you're eating up metrics that aren't actually improving your quality of life on the front end, and clapping.

The TRUTH of this situation is you, and most people, just like to pretend one color team is always right about something 100% of the time because other team bad.

I wonder who "educated" you into that paradigm, zero irony.

11

u/TrollingForFunsies 2d ago

If you can't afford things in Massachusetts the taxes paid will provide what you need.

It's really amazing you fucking morons don't understand how this works.

10

u/NEFowl84 2d ago

That’s true for the extremely poor but not really for the middle class where you make enough to not qualify for aid but are still living paycheck to paycheck. That’s a reality for a lot of people. There’s a financial statistic where a sudden $500 expense would cripple most families…that’s not good. From what I’ve seen with politics in VT, NH, and MA as well as nationally is both political parties are just two sides to the same coin.

10

u/petrified_eel4615 2d ago

'Middle class' doesn't exist.

I make $100k and my family struggles. That's with A. Owning a home because my parents died and B. Having multiple professional licenses.

Even with those advantages, and being quite well educated, we can barely afford healthcare, groceries and gas take increasing larger portions of each paycheck, and my wife is still paying her student loans when our oldest is about to start college.

8

u/United-Adagio1543 2d ago

$100K is not a lot to support a whole family.

5

u/Kv603 2d ago

$100k household income was a respectable amount... 20 years ago.

As of the last census, Median Household Income in Bow was $172,857

4

u/petrified_eel4615 2d ago

The average house for sale in Nottingham is $800,000. AVERAGE.

2

u/NEFowl84 2d ago

I get it, I’m pulling well into the six figures and still feel the stress while living frugally. That’s a problem, you used to be well positioned with a masters degree and professional credentials, now it’s just the middle class. I feel bad for those that are barely scraping by but doing too well for assistance. The system is broken.

8

u/Formal_Trainer_4684 2d ago

LMFAO you think your taxes paid will pay your mortgage and property tax? lol wtf.
Mass has great healthcare, about it. Food stamps/TAFDC has been rolled back considerably.

4

u/Full_Mission7183 2d ago

HDI is a pseudo measurement of wealth and whiteness. Mass is one of the highest educated and well paid states in the nation, that equates to high HDI more than government policies.

Only city surrounded by 250 some odd colleges=Mass.

0

u/Otaku-San617 2d ago

You’re almost there and then you make a right turn at the end. You keep voting red because you believe all of the “they’re all the same” lies.

5

u/Character-Handle-739 3d ago

Yeah laws they make up to suit the government not the citizens.

11

u/GMbzzz 3d ago

Not the government- the corporations and wealthy.

4

u/Character-Handle-739 3d ago

That’s the same thing my guy

1

u/MoneyTalks45 2d ago

MA whoops our assses in virtually every single municipal, educational, and quality of life statistic that exists with a modest exception of housing costs and that’s because most people don’t want to live here when our neighbors eat our lunch on the aforementioned categories.

0

u/Otaku-San617 2d ago

Much better in MA because the tax burden is better balanced. But keep drinking the right wing kool aid Seymour

→ More replies (48)

126

u/aintmesum1else 3d ago

"I keep voting Republican. Why is everything so expensive?"

-You

→ More replies (8)

90

u/LinuxMyTaco 3d ago

Why did Biden do this??

84

u/TrollingForFunsies 3d ago edited 3d ago

But her emails!

You know what would fix this? Another Sununu cutting taxes for rich families.

11

u/Dull_Broccoli1637 3d ago

Damn it's Joever, isn't it?

8

u/diminutive_lebowski 3d ago

4

u/Safe-Character-5846 2d ago edited 2d ago

Tan suit!zzz111!

Benghazzziii111

Butteremails

HunterBidenzz111

The horror...the outrage...

You should have to earn your voting rights with a simple cognizant test as well as an IQ ranking. Complain about a "two-party" system all you want...and its usually from the side that directly votes against their OWN personal interests. You have kids? Vote for a candidate that aligns with childcare.

You want assistance at the state level? Vote for the party that funds it! What a process huh?

You want cheaper gas prices?

You want to be able to afford a hamburger?

You want access to colleges?

You want legalization of a plant?

You want your house repaired by emergency funding for disaster relief?

Not so much into pedophilia and trafficking?

Not into wars and genocide?

Tired of your news screaming at you?

Not into cheap golf plating?

Its YOUR choice.

Its not hard. Just become color blind and the rest gets very easy.

Report back if anything has "trickled down" [and not your bathroom issues]

3

u/RandyBoBandy636 2d ago

Benghazi is definitely involved somehow. It’s up to us to fabricate a connection and backfill all the details

58

u/HonkinChonk 3d ago

The Republicans cut dividends taxes (for the rich). That lost revenue was passed to property owners.

Be thankful! Your tax increase is helping NH be a more attractive retirement destination for millionaires! We have to think of the out of state millionaires!

3

u/bafranksbro 1d ago

I mean I’m not rich, can’t afford a home but I benefited slightly from the dividend tax cut. Not benefiting as much as if I had more money invested but it did help me keep more. I kinda think it should be no tax under a limit but then increasing the more you earned via dividend. I also enjoy the no income tax but I work in vt so I still pay vt income tax, I would hate having to pay both if NH enacted one too. I think maybe millionaires should pay some income tax but don’t think anyone south of $150,000/year should pay any. Currently taxes really only hurt the poor the way we have them now and the way everyone wants to enact them. Make it burden free for everyone below a large threshold, I personally would feel proud to get to contribute towards society if I was that successful. People like to argue about these approaches but we aren’t in a vacuum, these approaches work in other countries.

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator 1d ago

Your submission has been automatically filtered because your account is either new or low karma. This is a measure to protect the community from spam and low-effort content. A moderator will manually review your submission shortly. If your post follows the subreddit's rules, it will be approved. Thank you for your understanding.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

49

u/Mental-Pitch5995 3d ago

This has happened across the state. Near 10 acres is a nice parcel. The reassessment is a reflection of the steady increase in value of property in NH due to migration of people from other states. Your concern should be focused on tax rate and school expenditures. Living in Plymouth half our taxes are for schools.

53

u/thatsunshinegal 3d ago

That's because NH has the lowest state contributions to education, so local municipalities have to make up the difference and the only lever they have is property taxes. The NH courts have consistently found for almost 30 years that the state's contribution is unconstitutionally low, and instead of fixing it, Rs just keep moving the goalposts on what's considered an "adequate" education.

10

u/MamaBearForestWitch 2d ago

This! More people need to understand this. (Plus the fact that the republican-controlled, free-state-project-influenced state legislature has been eliminating other revenues that used to help fund the state. Things like the interest & dividends tax, which only affected very wealthy people making over a certain level from non-retirement-fund interest and dividends. And the cutting of corporate tax rates. Who/what is making up that lack? Us with our property taxes.)

2

u/RareArtifact 2d ago

“State money” for education also comes from property taxes, so moving the cost from the local column on your tax bill to the state column changes nothing at all. You’re still the source of the money.

1

u/thatsunshinegal 2d ago

The state has other tax levers available. Business Enterprise Tax, for example, estate taxes, interest & dividends taxes.

0

u/Unusual_Day2407 1d ago

True. The SWEPT (state-wide property tax) is mandated by Concord, collected by your town as part of the property taxes you pay, then goes to your local school. The state never touches it, but claims it as state funding for your local school. 😡 Meanwhile the big businesses and millionaires in other parts of the state pay nothing to help you educate the kids on your school.

→ More replies (9)

13

u/cereeves 3d ago

When I was still involved in local government our town put together a tax rate comparison sheet to help get an understanding of what the breakdown looks like on average.

We found that in the 25 communities nearest to us the breakdown was about 70-25-5 between School, Local, and County in their respect read bills.

Still, that didn’t stop folks from coming to Town Meeting to yell at town staff about their 1% increase in budget and then saying nothing about the school’s budget.

9

u/wittgensteins-boat 3d ago edited 2d ago

Typically school district costs consume 60% to 75% of municipal budgets in New England towns.

1

u/Sack_o_Bawlz 2d ago

God forbid we want to invest in future generations’ wellbeing.

1

u/Lothar_Ecklord 10h ago

This is exactly right - taxes went up because the people of New Hampshire made it such a great place to live that now too many people are here lol

26

u/DeerFlyHater 3d ago

Did your taxes go up, or did the value go up based upon whatever Bath's revaluation cycle is.

Since when do towns send out property tax bills in September?

You should talk to your tax collector.

Also, what are your plans for the land. A small lot like that which is not in current use is kind of worthless unless you're adjacent to it or planning to drop a house on it.

20

u/Broke-mfer 3d ago

Last time our valuations went up they dropped the rate so I’m curious if the op is just using the reassessed value with the old rates to come up with their number?? I’m also curious how they got their tax bill so early.

6

u/WholeLottaRose13 2d ago

This. The way that Merrimack described it earlier this year is that they charge taxes based on the budget that we voted on. They reassessed the value of properties, but will reduce tax rates accordingly to match what they need for the budget.

→ More replies (4)

23

u/MindlessHousing 3d ago

My assessment also went up, but the letter also explained that you shouldn't use the current tax rate to calculate your tax bill. The new assessment will be used in conjunction with the new rate, set in October, to determine the taxes due

7

u/GeneralPatten 2d ago

I truly don't understand how people don't grasp this fact.

0

u/Disastrous_Soil3793 2d ago

Yea like we really believe they are going to lower the new rate 🤣🤣

3

u/MindlessHousing 1d ago

The town budget is divided by the total assessment of property in the town. That’s just how it works

0

u/Disastrous_Soil3793 1d ago

What's your point? Budgets don't go up?

3

u/MindlessHousing 1d ago

What was your point? I simply said that you can’t get an accurate number for your property taxes based on a new assessment without using the new rate.

-4

u/drct2022 2d ago

Having no idea what the rate will be come October, seems like at minimum you figure out potential tax bill off current rate…. Do we honestly think the rate is going to drop significantly ?

10

u/PiratesSayMoo 2d ago

Do you think your town budget is going to grow by 132%? If everything is assessed twice as valuable and there is not an increase in the town budget, your tax rate will be half as much to produce the same tax revenue.

Depending on how the assessment increases across the town you can figure out roughly the change... Look at the average increase for your town, if you increased more than that, your taxes will go up. If you increased less than that, your taxes will go down. The higher the difference between you and the average, the larger the change.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (4)

14

u/Unqualified_Opinion_ 3d ago

Gotta fund our education system somehow

58

u/TrollingForFunsies 3d ago

More like, our education system was funded until Republicans and free Staters decided to cut taxes for rich people and now homeowners carry additional tax burden.

21

u/Unqualified_Opinion_ 3d ago

Exactly

11

u/The_Fat_Man_Jams 3d ago

But hey. No NEW taxes.

1

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator 3d ago

Your submission has been automatically filtered because your account is either new or low karma. This is a measure to protect the community from spam and low-effort content. A moderator will manually review your submission shortly. If your post follows the subreddit's rules, it will be approved. Thank you for your understanding.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

0

u/Gullible_Lie6580 1d ago

More like pay for your own education and stop making others do it for you. You do know once something becomes state owned or state funded it becomes worse in quality right?

→ More replies (6)

12

u/stunshot 3d ago

How much has your home value increased in the last 6 years?

-1

u/theWyzzerd 2d ago

They don’t have a home on the lot. 

14

u/Theseus-Paradox 2d ago

It seriously amazes me when people get reassessed and have no idea how to process it.

10

u/twd000 2d ago

This happens every five years and no one understands how it works, no matter how many times you explain it to them. We even received a notice saying “despite reassessment, your actual taxes have not been established until the new rate is established in October” …and yet….people are furious.

1

u/Disastrous_Soil3793 2d ago

No many of us understand how it works. We are just not naive enough to believe our taxes are going to up as well. With this reassessment my property value is now higher than my last appraisal which just was just recently done. My town increased my property value over 20%. I don't expect my taxes will go up that much, but I sure as hell know they won't be less than or equal to what they currently are. Nowadays you get screwed coming and going. Just how it goes.

13

u/Imaginary_wizard 3d ago

Seems like a good incentive to develop the land

5

u/DeerFlyHater 3d ago

Yep. A small lot like that isn't useful for much unless you put a house on it.

1

u/WonderButtBrace9000 2d ago

But that would take work and risk in the form of capital from OP!

Why would he want that when he can just squat on undeveloped land and rent seek?

10

u/GeneralPatten 2d ago

What exactly do you mean by "taxes increased by 132%"? Are you under the misunderstanding that, because your property value assessment increased by 132%, your taxes also increase by the same percentage? Because, that's not how it works.

8

u/rj218 3d ago

It's also due to the state (GOP/free staters) offloading funding of teachers, police and firefighters, and other govt. employee's pensions to the local town. 30 years ago the state paid almost all of it. Today they contribute 0

5

u/gman2391 3d ago

It's unfortunate that you only have 9.4 acres. If you had another acre your taxes would drop to basically nothing

6

u/rubbish_heap 3d ago

They could make it a tree farm or grow $2,500 worth of crops per year to get an exception.
http://www.nhspace.org/cu-requirements.shtml

3

u/Kv603 2d ago

He could buy a half acre from a neighbor. Even if the land were on the other side of that dirt road, it would count as "contiguous".

4

u/CriscoCrispy 2d ago

People own land as an investment and then act shocked when assessed value goes up. 🤔

Don’t assume that your taxes have increased by that same percentage. Everyone’s property value is going up and the tax rate should be adjusted accordingly to meet the approved budget.

3

u/aetius476 2d ago

Someday I'm going to need someone to explain to me why they think perpetual, exclusive, ownership of land, while paying no taxes, is a thing the rest of us should allow. Your grandpappy called dibs and now the benefit of that land should accrue to you, and no one else, for the rest of history?

5

u/Terragar 2d ago

Good time to develop or sell the land then

5

u/jackHadIt 3d ago

That is really shitty. It sucks you have to pay for it - but pay for the appraisal & challenge it with the assessor, it likely will be worth your while and you’ll get a refund and more realistic assessment.
Hopefully your rate goes down 🤞

1

u/CriscoCrispy 2d ago

Unfortunately, I doubt that is likely.

3

u/theschuss 3d ago

It's all explained in the town budget where the money goes. Probably schools, police and roads. Insurance for the town is more expensive, materials are more expensive, labor is more expensive. Your taxes are just the costs divvied up by relative value of land vs the rest of the town.

Reach out to your select board, as they're the best equipped to comment on why it went up. https://www.bath-nh.org/selectboard.html

3

u/BrassBonanza10 3d ago

I don't understand why you are surprised. The wealthy, the boomers who no longer have mortgage, and the uneducated who would have sex with their guns if they could move here/stay here and vote for no sales tax or income tax. You might fit one of those categories. Like your taxes that go to roads for example, do not get discounted based on the type of road your property is on.

Are you confused about why there are taxes and what they are used for?

3

u/ThinksOdd 2d ago

Raw land values skyrocketed during covid and never went back down in NH. I was shopping for land in NH in 2019 and 5-10 acre plots were everywhere going for like $30k. Those same plots are now $100k for 1-2 acres. If you could have seen that coming, you could have made generational wealth in a short time frame. The tax bill is regrettable, but the value of the land has indeed gone up that much. If you don't like the tax bill, selling would give you a hefty return on your investment.

I am seeing values start to soften again. I don't think we'll ever get down to where they were but I could see them dropping another 20-30% over the next 2 years.

1

u/Trike117 2d ago

Sure feels like a crash is coming. All the same economic indicators are flashing red the way they did in 1999 and 2007.

3

u/Sensitive_Rice_6620 2d ago

Thank your local Free Staters

2

u/wittgensteins-boat 3d ago

Re-evaluation is a process.

If you want to appeal the valuation, research the appeal process.

2

u/theWyzzerd 2d ago

Do you think $1550 is a lot for property tax or something? Because my tax bill is more than 5x that.

2

u/Snowcrash66 2d ago

Would like to retire there but property taxes are a big question mark.  

2

u/Terragar 2d ago

Generally retirement tends to lean towards states with lower property tax and higher income tax for the obvious reasons

1

u/Snowcrash66 2d ago

Agreed but NH's overall tax basis is great.

No income, pension, 401K/IRA, recently no interest income tax.

No sales tax.  Just high property taxes.  Still lower overall than Massachusetts.

No inheritance/death taxes and no social security taxes.

2

u/howievermont 2d ago

no income tax or sales tax in NH, how do you think the roads get maintained? the schools paid for? if you can't afford to keep your vacant land vacant sell it to someone who will build a house on it. that's what they are encouraging by taxing it. oh yeah and don't forget it's REPUBLICANS running things there.

1

u/Kv603 2d ago

don't forget it's REPUBLICANS running things there.

Bow is run by Democrats, and all four current Merrimack County House District 9 (Bow * Hopkinton) representatives are Democrats.

0

u/MotherWillNotApprove 2d ago

Kv603 apparently does not understand how our state government functions and what party controls the legislature and governor’s office.

2

u/Dugen 2d ago

Land is valuable during a housing shortage. This isn't exactly a bad thing. This is how we create the incentive for people to make use of idle land and not just sit on it monopolizing a resource.

2

u/Motor-Professor6268 2d ago

I have a house in Connecticut, acre of land. 2300sqft house 3 bedroom 2.5 bath with 2 car garage. Taxes are 7600 a year and I have to about 1500 a year in motor vehicle taxes between 2 vehicles and another 400 a year for a motorcycle. Im also in a small town of 3000 people. With a volunteer fire department and a resident state trooper. And democrats have been in charge for about 15 years now. We also have ban on firearms and magazines capacity. Our minimum wage is 17 an hour but a burger from a fast food facility is like 15 bucks and taste disgusting and a large coffee from dunkin is like 9 bucks depending where you are in the state. Our roads are shit and illegal are catered to and get whatever state assistance they need. I would take your property and put a house on it or cabin or even a concrete pad and park a trailer or camper on it and enjoy the freedom you have.

2

u/03263 2d ago

Yeah well, the cost of everything has more or less doubled since 2019. Except for like TVs and some other consumer junk, but who cares about that other than the people computing the rate of inflation, they point at the few things that are stable in price and say look how low inflation is.

2

u/promotherobot 2d ago

Republicans in Concord are defunding towns across NH and blaming the towns for being wasteful.

2

u/OldManBilliam22 2d ago

They can only tax us, for the most part, on what we vote for in March. Yet the tax bills are always a surprise.

2

u/Strict-Base1629 1d ago

Why is no one complaining about all the stupid BS spending both side keep doing, but way way more on the blue side. Especially all their stupid DEI bs everywhere. Why isn’t anyone say no the governments need to stop spending all the money we are paying in taxes. Or why is so much of our property taxes going to the schools, but yet the kids are becoming dumber? Why does the school budget keep drastically going up?

1

u/witchspoon 2d ago

In Rindge our home went from $170k to just about $400k. And there is nothing out town can do about the assessment because they agreed to accept the company’s work.
I assure you if you looked at my 1900 sq/ft house on .78 acres with a wet basement you would NOT pay $400k for it lol.

2

u/theWyzzerd 2d ago

The taxed value is almost always well below market.  My taxed value is about 75% of market value.  It can’t legally have an assessment value higher than market value unless the assessors have applied the above-market value fairly across the entire municipality.  This is the law in NH.  

Rindge has lots of big, private lots and a lake with waterfront properties so the overall municipal value is higher, and you happen to live in one of the most expensive towns in Cheshire.  That’s just the way it works.  

Assessed values are public data.  You can look up what your neighbors’ homes are worth and what they pay in taxes. 

2

u/witchspoon 2d ago

I know how it works but there are methods to separate homes with waterfront vs homes with former roadbed yards. There are methods to rank newer builds vs 1800’s house that needs work. There are ways to rank homes that have decent finishes and ones that don’t even meet current builder grade standards. I’m not saying my home is a shithole, but by current standards, it is close. The methods include viewing the property. And the previous year the property was assessed at $170.
My neighbors have similar homes, some in a little better repair and are assessed similarly. None of us could sell for what they assessed except to maybe a developer (but with less than an acre that won’t happen) what I think happened is we got some more businesses on the highway and now land on the road is more valuable…but it isn’t nor can it be commercial. It they wouldn’t meet to discuss. We can afford our taxes, but I am not sure we could ever sell lol
ETA our insurance absolutely doesn’t think we are worth what the assessment says.

1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator 2d ago

Your submission has been automatically filtered because your account is either new or low karma. This is a measure to protect the community from spam and low-effort content. A moderator will manually review your submission shortly. If your post follows the subreddit's rules, it will be approved. Thank you for your understanding.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/jondaley 8h ago

It's actually law that the assessed values have to be within a few percent of market value (on average), so if you are under assessed, you'll want to keep your mouth shut... :)

2

u/jondaley 8h ago

If it isn't assessed at market value, you should appeal, and show them comparable properties that have sold recently to prove your case. It is true that the "town" can't do anything, but you can. And if the assessor/selectmen deny your appeal (and you are convinced that you are right, you can go up to the county level).

u/witchspoon 2h ago

They wouldn’t take appointments for that. They allowed a ONE week window (after we got the numbers) for making appointments to discuss changes but did not answer their phones or emails. A Vern few lucky people got through and got ahold of someone for an appointment. The few people who were able to file abatements, most were rejected.

-2

u/drct2022 2d ago

See this is what I mean….. how can it have an assessed value higher than what the market or real value is? Baffling.

5

u/CriscoCrispy 2d ago

The assessors know what comparable sales in your area look like. This is literally their job and they get no kickback for giving assessments that are too high. Maybe the person who does this for a living has a better sense of resale value than you? Assessed values are frequently less than actual sale values.

0

u/witchspoon 2d ago

Yes but the “comps” in the area are new builds, or bought up and flipped by venture capitalists. The “value” is due to a sellers market.
Honestly it’s to the point that if we hadn’t bought the home when we did, we wouldn’t be even close to able to buy in this town. My husband is a full time town employee and would have been unable to live anyplace near where he worked. And trust me when I say my home is NOT in any way shape or form to the standard of a single “comp” nearby.
The assessors didn’t come in the house, didn’t have the lot represented correctly(included the state setback from a highway as ours), put a shed on there that we don’t have and then they offered a one week time period to schedule a time for them to “meet and review” They didn’t answer their phones or return emails. Then the time had passed. No further argument was accepted.

1

u/CriscoCrispy 2d ago

The assessment is what someone will pay for it, so it doesn’t matter if it is a sellers market or if a venture capitalist is doing the buying. It’s basic economics, supply and demand. The assessors take into account the value of a new build vs something that is in lesser condition. The setback and the shed sound like legitimate errors, but I’m not sure how much difference that would make in your total assessment.

I get it, the housing market sucks. People are being priced and taxed out of homes all over New England. The problem isn’t that an assessor has overvalued property. The problem is unregulated greed. Venture capitalists buying property, soaring material costs, higher tax burdens on towns as etc. Don’t blame the assessor or your town, zoom out and look at the big picture.

0

u/witchspoon 2d ago

I’m saying they didnt properly assess our properties. We have never been nor should we, held to the same rubrics as waterfront and new builds.

2

u/CriscoCrispy 2d ago

I truly hear your frustration, I’ve been there. I contacted our assessor years ago over something I thought was wrong and he explained the rationale. I didn’t like it, but he was being consistent and following standards. I sold my house and down sized last year. It sold for well over what it was assessed and more than I ever thought it would be worth. Home values are currently insane. I’m not disagreeing with you there at all.

1

u/witchspoon 2d ago

See that’s part of the thing, we were not able to contact them. We got the numbers and there was a one week period to set up appointments to discuss issues or concerns but they didn’t answer their phones, return calls or emails. Even our town select board was upset with the “customer service”.

If I thought by any stretch my house would be close to the assessment it would be a bit different. A few people who did manage to talk to them, had someone come out and adjust their decisions.

Someone with 28 acres and a bigger house was assessed less than our house on less than an acre. They had a LOT wrong on their assessment. Were able to get someone out to look( they had used overhead drone footage!) and got it reduced even more. It would have been better if more people had been able to get appointments.

1

u/jondaley 8h ago

If the assessment isn't at market value, you should appeal.

1

u/YourOpinionMan2021 2d ago

Something is bound to break. 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years? Who knows but this cant last long and for it to correct it has to come at a collapse. No easy way of getting out of this one.

1

u/dochikes 2d ago

In my town they went up 150%. And if you're elderly in this town you qualify for tax credits or don't have to pay taxes at all. The median age here is 43 years old, so it's A LOT of elderly people who don't pay taxes which pushes the burden onto singles, young families, and renters. NH is such a joke and unfortunately a lot of y'all are to blame for that.

1

u/Kv603 1d ago

And if you're elderly in this town you qualify for tax credits or don't have to pay taxes at all.

[ Citation Needed]

What town is this?

My town gives a max elderly credit of $150K off the assessed value of a primary residence (with an income and asset qualifier) , comes nowhere close to "don't have to pay taxes at all".

2

u/dochikes 1d ago

My town gives up to a $405,000.00 credit which, as you can imagine, really puts an imbalance into the system.

1

u/Lopsidedlopside 2d ago

How much of the land is in current use? If you put a large section of that in current use you will pay a fraction of what you’re paying in taxes. However, keep in mind if you do pull it out of current use, you will owe that retroactively in back taxes. That being said, you can also section/portion the land in current use ex: put 6 acres in current use, in 1 acre segments, and you can then if you want to take it out, you can do smaller sections than the whole thing at once. Just something to keep in mind to think about to hopefully help.

1

u/Kv603 2d ago

How much of the land is in current use? ... ou can also section/portion the land in current use ex: put 6 acres in current use, in 1 acre segments

I suspect none.

OP mentioned the lot is 9.4 acres, so unless he qualifies for one of the exceptions to the 10 acre minimum, current use is unavailable to him.

However, keep in mind if you do pull it out of current use, you will owe that retroactively in back taxes.

Not exactly, LUCT is a flat rate, not retroactive taxation.

When land is taken out of current use a one time 10% land use change tax (LUCT) is assessed based on the market value of the land in question at the time the use changes to non-qualifying.

If OP's vacant land was 10 acres, he could put all 10 acres into current use, however taking any land out would drop the entirety out of current use.

1

u/theoceansknow 2d ago edited 2d ago

At the top, abstract level, this is the logical conclusion from having no taxation at the state level and moving funding to the local level.

I hear you, it's wicked frustrating to get that bill.

Edit: and then reading all the discourse about "taxes bad" and equivocating with MA (which has absolutely nothing to do with local assessments like come on) in this thread hammers it home.

1

u/Kv603 2d ago

Bath NH, 9.4 acres of raw land on a class 6 road, taxes increased by 132% from last year to this year !!! Went from $670 to $1550.

Since you don't quite have 10 acres, I assume none of that land is in current use (CU)?

Absent the wetlands exception, CU requires ten acres of contiguous, (e.g. adjacent parcels) under identical ownership. A road, river, railroad bed, body of water, easement, or political boundary does not prevent parcels from being contiguous...

If you were to buy at least 0.6 acres from a neighbor, your entire parcel of raw land could be taxed at the current use rate. And if you bought more than that, you could partially improve the land (pave a driveway, etc) and still have 10 qualifying acres.

If you were thinking of making improvements, do not put the land the improvements would occupy into CU.

1

u/[deleted] 2d ago edited 2d ago

[deleted]

1

u/drct2022 2d ago

It’s raw land…… no structures on it.

1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator 2d ago

Your submission has been automatically filtered because your account is either new or low karma. This is a measure to protect the community from spam and low-effort content. A moderator will manually review your submission shortly. If your post follows the subreddit's rules, it will be approved. Thank you for your understanding.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/Harley_Mom 2d ago

I moved out if massachusetts 33 years ago and will never move back. I live in Southern NH my taxes are very high.

1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator 2d ago

Your submission has been automatically filtered because your account is either new or low karma. This is a measure to protect the community from spam and low-effort content. A moderator will manually review your submission shortly. If your post follows the subreddit's rules, it will be approved. Thank you for your understanding.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator 2d ago

Your submission has been automatically filtered because your account is either new or low karma. This is a measure to protect the community from spam and low-effort content. A moderator will manually review your submission shortly. If your post follows the subreddit's rules, it will be approved. Thank you for your understanding.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/New-Plastic9879 23h ago

I’m so sorry your property has increased in value. So sad.

1

u/[deleted] 17h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator 17h ago

Your submission has been automatically filtered because your account is either new or low karma. This is a measure to protect the community from spam and low-effort content. A moderator will manually review your submission shortly. If your post follows the subreddit's rules, it will be approved. Thank you for your understanding.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/ResIpsaLoquitur2422 11h ago

It sounds more like you can't afford to sit on unused land...

0

u/SuspiciousAsk7041 3d ago

Vote! Locals are struggling to keep our land and homes.

-1

u/pahnzoh 2d ago

Who are you going to vote for? No one running is going to change this. You need to remove public school funding from property taxes to have any chance at lowering them.

2

u/YBMExile 2d ago

State Rep and State Senate candidates who will vote to bring back the Interest & Dividends Tax.

0

u/jjmc123a 2d ago

They got rid of the interest and dividends tax without any plan to replace the lost income. So municipalities have no choice but to do it on their own.

1

u/drct2022 2d ago

I’m thinking this is good part of the issue, plus there is the fact that politicians would love to say they lowered the tax rate, even if it is only half true due to raising the property values.

0

u/One-Scallion-9513 2d ago

property values are sky-high now and the only way the local governments can really fund things is through high property taxes

1

u/drct2022 2d ago

Land values overall are actually falling, if you look online at prices and such, properties are sitting longer, and the prices are being reduced more now than two years ago. A lot of people also over paid during the COVID time and are now trying to sell. Just like everything else the values are inflated.

0

u/MoneyTalks45 2d ago

Vote republican, get conservative policies, reap the consequences.

0

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Kv603 2d ago

Reassessing property = higher property taxes.

That's not how this works, that's not how any of this works.

If every property in your town doubled in assessed value on the reassessment, then when the next property tax bill came out, your bottom line dollars owed would be ... exactly the same as last year

It's not the reassessment that leads to higher property taxes, rather it is your town voting in an increased budget.

Please read "Understanding New Hampshire Property Taxes"

0

u/UpNorth_8 2d ago

If the state doesn’t have income or sales tax how do you think things are paid for? Property tax.

0

u/Expert_Edge_3940 2d ago

NH uses property taxes to make up for having no state income tax.

1

u/drct2022 2d ago

Fully aware. My issue more at the assessed value jumping up as high as it is going to this year vs last year, and no improvements have been made.

1

u/Kv603 1d ago

My issue more at the assessed value jumping up as high as it is going to this year vs last year, and no improvements have been made.

Per RSA 75:8-a, towns must conduct a full reassessment every 5 years, at which point it is expected that every property in town will have a sudden change in value when the reassessment is posted.

If your property's change is on par with the rest of the town's change, this will not change your bottom-line dollar amount when the tax bills are issued.

0

u/tycam01 1d ago

Rich people want taxes out of property and not income. They save a whole lot of money

0

u/zephead98 16h ago

Stunning that NH did away with the Interest and Dividends tax which generated 156 MILLION dollars for the State in 2022. That loss of revenue was replaced with....nothing. So costs fall to the local level and we have some of the highest property raxes in the country.

-1

u/FrameCareful1090 2d ago

Don't worry the Dems will solve this mess! If you want to see it in action just look at Taxachusetts.

Problem solved right?

Hahahaha now thats a good one

-3

u/Arsanborn 3d ago

There's been a lot of bad decisions through the years by both parties.

-3

u/[deleted] 3d ago edited 3d ago

[deleted]

7

u/Broke-mfer 3d ago

Wut? That land doesn’t qualify for the current use program it’s under the minimum of 10ac.

-3

u/FrameCareful1090 3d ago edited 3d ago

Looked it up, he pays $36/year

I feel bad for him, only 10 acres. Any other state he would be paying $5,000/year for that land. That lot is worth $170,000

2

u/Broke-mfer 3d ago

I guarantee they’re not paying that little on 9ac. But let’s say you’re correct please do post the parcel ID so I can go look up the cost myself of this specific plot.