Do we dare suspect that Suffolk's home appraisal process reflects any of this? NO CHANCE! While the real world tells us that home prices are now where they were in the Fall of 2002, Suffolk clings to the absurd philosophy that home prices remain at their peak and never suffered a loss--at least when it comes to taxing those properties. And so Suffolk continues to defy gravity, economics, reality and common sense if only to provide cover for continued municipal spending beyond the city's means! Click on the following.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124334273595354315.html#mod=djemalertNEWS
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"The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable."
-H.L. Mencken
The first wave of the Bush-Obama Tsunami has passed. The sucessive waves brought on by hyper-inflation, government regulation of industry and taxes have yet to hit. The dollar value of your home may actually go up as the dollar's purchasing power errodes.
So the folks in a nearby sophisticated city may one day expect to see their property assessment determined by opinion and judgment of interlopers who are employed by their city to seek your permission to do a look-see inside your home. Then granite drain-boards, fancy toilets, brass stair rails, gilded mirrors and other expensive items could add to your home’s value thereby increasing your taxes. What will they think of next? Well, the next step would be to make value inside the home part of the deal. So far it appears making them welcome is voluntary, but. Of course it is possible that valuing the inside could reduce some assessments,but not likely.
You gotta love their logic--while detesting the politicians who encourage such abuses. If a property isn't "posted", and a gate isn't locked, city employees see no reason not to traipse all over your private property looking
for any home improvements they can base a higher assessment upon! So if your door isn't locked, I guess they will have no qualms about entering your home without permission either! But the first person to shoot one of these
trespassers will be Public Enemy Number 1, I'm sure. And what about dogs who are naturally protective of property when their owners are not around? Will
the cities start banning unleashed dogs on their own property now?
At the same time, all local cities will ignore the WSJ alert about the average national home price dropping to what it was at the 4th Quarter of 2002! Why? Because that fact is not convenient because it fails to support local municipal officials' goal of "finding ways to increase revenue". I'd be willing to bet that something like 95% of area home prices are still assessed at the housing bubble peak value in 2007! And I've heard that homes under foreclosure are simply removed from the housing inventory value database--also to avoid having assessments reflect true value under the actual economy we are living in. What else is wrong with this picture?
Arrogant government officials would rather cut your throat before they make reductions in city expeditures. Until they are accountable for their actions and the public awakens that the most important election for their wallets is the local all we'll being hearing from them is, money, money, money.
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