House + Taxes question

[BoxCar_Willie]

Have a quick question; though we bought a house I'm always looking for a great deal.
Ran across a straight up foreclosed home in a nice neighborhood that needs some work. Toured it today and I didn't think the house was more than 23-2400 sq feet, though I looked on the Franklin County Auditors site and it's listed at 3000 sq ft with $6,000 per year in taxes!!
Though once I looked at the plans for the house, it listed 500 sq ft for just the back deck, which takes up 1/3 of the backyard, 24 sq ft for a bay window, and even 1 sq ft for the porch. I'm not even sure how they listed the 3-car garage, it's like they didn't list part of the space at all.
Is this normal? Has the Deck always been listed as Square Footage on a house? I looked up similar houses in the neighborhood and they all have them listed. Can you just tear that bastard out and have it reappraised to lower taxes?

 

[sandgk]

Better bet - if you buy it out of foreclosure it is likely a bargain.
Get the thing appraised at the bought price if it is a fraction of the appraised value basis.
Result $6K taxes will shrink.

As for the deck, it seems unlikely that is a significant portion of the real property value.

 

[BoxCar_Willie]

Better bet - if you buy it out of foreclosure it is likely a bargain.
Get the thing appraised at the bought price if it is a fraction of the appraised value basis.
Result $6K taxes will shrink.

As for the deck, it seems unlikely that is a significant portion of the real property value.

Do Foreclosed homes usually sell for less than the bank paid?

 

[CleveBucks]

If you're looking at the Franklin Co. Auditor's site, they'll show things like decks, patios, and porches on their property sketch, but none of that is figured into your livable square footage. It should break it down by floor, which should then add up to their total. Is it possible that they included a finished basement? I think they're allowed to include that if they pull the proper permits on the finished part.

 

[iambrutus]

Do Foreclosed homes usually sell for less than the bank paid?

if they sit long enough, then yes - at some point the bank just wants to cut their losses


what were the taxes paid on the other houses in the neighborhood?

 

[sandgk]

If you're looking at the Franklin Co. Auditor's site, they'll show things like decks, patios, and porches on their property sketch, but none of that is figured into your livable square footage. It should break it down by floor, which should then add up to their total. Is it possible that they included a finished basement? I think they're allowed to include that if they pull the proper permits on the finished part.

That's interesting - I was under the impression that only walk-out basements got rolled up into the total square footage as a matter of course. Or does that practice vary from taxing authority to taxing authority?

 

[scooter1369]

Basements, furnished or not, cannot be included as "living space" unless they have a walkout (as mentioned by sandgk). Decks, patios and garages are never "living space" either. In fact, my inlaws learned after they had one put on, a three season room cannot be included either because it is not insulated living space. It is considered a glorified patio.

My wife's uncle is a realtor. We've learned a lot from him concerning home buying.

Some houses may seem larger or smaller due to the floor plan. My house is a four level split and is listed at around 1790 square feet. But because its a split level with plenty of open space, it seems larger than that. You'd think the house was closer to 2000 or 2100 square feet.

 

[BoxCar_Willie]

If you're looking at the Franklin Co. Auditor's site, they'll show things like decks, patios, and porches on their property sketch, but none of that is figured into your livable square footage. It should break it down by floor, which should then add up to their total. Is it possible that they included a finished basement? I think they're allowed to include that if they pull the proper permits on the finished part.

The basement is not finished, though the way it's arranged it could be finished easily and add about 1000 extra sq ft. The house is a non traditional floorplan but it's awesome.

if they sit long enough, then yes - at some point the bank just wants to cut their losses
what were the taxes paid on the other houses in the neighborhood?

They bought it in March, that long enough? Though all the other houses in the neighborhood aren't selling. The house right behind it is listed at about 40-50k higher than I would even consider paying. Kinda pissing me off. The taxes on the house are about inline with everything else in the neighborhood.

 

[BoxCar_Willie]

Went to the Auditor Website again and the Sq Footage that is on the site is what people are listing their homes as. The one behind it is listed in the MLS as 2894 sq foot, and the auditor has it as 2894 sq foot. It breaks it down like this;

ID Description SqFt
A One Story Frame over One Story Frame over Partial Basement 900
B One Half Story Frame over One Story Frame over Basement (9' by 12') 108
C Open Porch (5' by 12') 60
D One Story Frame over Frame Attached Garage (Irregular) 0
E Frame Attached Garage (7' by 20') 2
F One Story Frame over Frame Attached Garage 288
G One Story Frame over Crawl 252
H First Floor Frame Bay 16
I Wood Deck 16
J Open Porch (12' by 16') 16

Another neighboring house is listed in MLS at 2822 sq ft and at the auditors site. It's broken down like this.

ID Description SqFt
A One Story Stucco over One Story Stucco over Basement 991
B One Story Stucco over Basement (Irregular) 110
C Open Porch (5' by 12') 60
D One Story Stucco over Stucco Attached Garage 0
E Stucco Attached Garage 2
F One Story Stucco over Basement 187
G Wood Deck 240
H First Floor Frame Bay (Irregular) 12
I Second Floor Frame Overhang 4

And finally, the one I'm interested in is listed at 3007 and broken down like this.

ID Description SqFt
A High Ceiling Area One Story Stucco and Stone over Basement 1205
B One Story Stucco over One Story Stucco and Stone over Basement 703
C One Story Stucco over Stucco Attached Garage 372
D Stucco Attached Garage 0
E Masonry Stoop (Irregular) 1
F Bay Window (1' by 7') 7
G Wood Deck (3' by 3') 9
H Second Floor Stucco Overhang 24
I Wood Deck (Irregular) 500

Seems to me there's some shenagains going on in the real estate business

 

[CleveBucks]

And finally, the one I'm interested in is listed at 3007 and broken down like this.

ID Description SqFt
A High Ceiling Area One Story Stucco and Stone over Basement 1205
B One Story Stucco over One Story Stucco and Stone over Basement 703
C One Story Stucco over Stucco Attached Garage 372
D Stucco Attached Garage 0
E Masonry Stoop (Irregular) 1
F Bay Window (1' by 7') 7
G Wood Deck (3' by 3') 9
H Second Floor Stucco Overhang 24
I Wood Deck (Irregular) 500

Seems to me there's some shenagains going on in the real estate business

This last one seems correct:

1205 + 703 + 703 + 372 + 7 + 24 = 3014... may be some rounding on the auditor's site to account for the 7 sqft difference.

 

[Best Buckeye]

Better bet - if you buy it out of foreclosure it is likely a bargain.
Get the thing appraised at the bought price if it is a fraction of the appraised value basis.
Result $6K taxes will shrink.

As for the deck, it seems unlikely that is a significant portion of the real property value.

I bought my house out of foreclosure in 1975. Appraised at that time at 53,000. got it for 18,500. :tongue2:

 

[gbearbuck]

Basements, furnished or not, cannot be included as "living space" unless they have a walkout (as mentioned by sandgk). Decks, patios and garages are never "living space" either. In fact, my inlaws learned after they had one put on, a three season room cannot be included either because it is not insulated living space. It is considered a glorified patio.

My wife's uncle is a realtor. We've learned a lot from him concerning home buying...

That is the general rule... however if a "large" window is installed, they can add the basement in the square foot category. I don't know what the size of the window is (I know you have to be able to climb out of the window)...

just an fyi

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

Get a good real estate attorney from a reputable firm. If he's an independant, make sure that he has a good reputation.

People love to bash lawyers on this site, but a little money spent up front with a good lawyer will always save money in the long run in any number of ventures--real estate, business formation, dead hooker disposal.

 

[BoxCar_Willie]

I called the Auditor and the examiner I spoke to said they just take outside measurements to determine the sq footage but if I had access to the house they could do more exact measurements inside. She agreed that they were probably off because part of the house has high ceilings over the family room/living room/kitchen and the loft/part of one bedroom is over the gararge.

Thanks for all the advice guys.