Town is requesting to inspect inside my home for assessment. Need help!

[CNHT]

Ditto on the right to appeal.

If they can't see your home, they make an educated guess. If they guess wrong, as they did with me, then you have to allow them to see why they were wrong or else their 'assessment' stands.

The assessor made a big issue of this with me in 1989. He kept saying 'but I would have to come in to see' even after I told him I wanted him to come in and see. I don't know why he thought I'd blocked him because I'd never had the chance to.

When I saw my tax bill I was appalled. What they had done was, base my assessment soley on the PERMIT that the builder applied for. The permit was for the largest house possible to fit on this lot, just in case we expanded in any way, he wouldn't have to reapply. However, the town should have done an "O" inspection (occupancy) just before the house was moved into, and I'm sure they did, but conveniently failed to note it was not 8,000 sq ft but 4,000 and what parts were not finished.

So there were a lot of things in the description that did not even match the assessment card.

The visit was no big deal -- I just followed him around and he looked to see the number of bathrooms, fireplaces, enclosed porches, cellar not finished, extra room over the garage, etc. Once that was confirmed, thousands of dollars were deducted from my bill.

[EthanAllen]

I find it sad how many armchair lawyers spoke up (with mostly bad info), but nobody local pointed this guy to the very person who knows the law and was the plantiff in the IJ case mentioned above:  Tony Lekas.  Talk to Tony, and he'll explain the lawsuit, the law, and why if you don't submit to an inspection, you lose the right to appeal what assessment they set.  You _can_ refuse an inspection, but the penalty is losing your right to appeal.

See just what I said...

me too...

[Dreepa]

See just what I said...

You mentioned the existence of the law (didn't link to it, but otherwise fine), but not the expert in our midst... Let's not reinvent the wheel, but increase knowledge - Tony's been down the road already, and can explain why they lost in court, and the next steps in the meantime...

I just get frustrated at the signal/noise ratio - lots of people who don't know what has gone before speaking up... and that's a great way to stay stuck in the same place.  If you want to repeat the same mistakes, just ignore the people who have tread the path before you...

I had no idea that Tony had been down that road.... Simply that I knew I had heard that you couldn't appeal... Didn't link to it because I couldn't find the link but figured that  this person could search for it.

[CNHT]

I'm not sure what the problem is. Don't you WANT to have a chance to correct a potentially wrong assessment? The assessor can't come in without you being there.

He isn't allowed to look in drawers and closets. He must abide by certain rules and NOT use software made for another state, as CNHT has exposed with one outfit that does this.

He is only supposed to be concerned with sq footage, number of rooms, fireplaces, kitchens, bathrooms, landscaping, driveways, outbuildings, general condition, cellar, etc. as to their existence...

These are things even the most casual observer can see...and are used to determine the value of your property.

I was here both times alone when the assessor came. I said, all you need to do is come to the bottom of the stairs to see that my cellar is 'unimproved' (they had us down for finished basement) and that was all I allowed him to do, is look. He came, he looked and wrote down that it was unimproved on his clipboard. PERIOD! I don't know what else you think they will do? They sometimes measure the outside of the house to see if it's the same...generally if the room count jives they don't.

Upstairs he kept staring at my fireplace, which I thought was weird, but as it turned out, he was admiring the mantle and wanted to know who designed it..

[Tom Sawyer]

Jane some people don't like the fact that government officials can demand to gain entry to your home. And if you refuse they can jack your property tax to any amount they want.

Many of us come from places where we have never experienced this kind of intrusion.

The cops show up at my house and I can tell them to pound sand, but for "administrative" reasons government officials can come in.

Same feelings about the Census.

[CNHT]

Jane some people don't like the fact that government officials can demand to gain entry to your home. And if you refuse they can jack your property tax to any amount they want.

Many of us come from places where we have never experienced this kind of intrusion.

The cops show up at my house and I can tell them to pound sand, but for "administrative" reasons government officials can come in.

Same feelings about the Census.

Oh I agree and I have refused entry at times as well. (It was the cops who supposedly came because a neighbor was 'concerned' that I hadn't had my lights on for 3 days...)

Usually though these are just workers for the assessing company that is hired and they really could care less about anything else but the dry statistics. They are not police or anything.

I don't know who does it in your town but here it's Vision Appraisal.  They don't ask you to leave them alone in there or anything.

My guns aren't hanging on the walls. :-) But if they were, so what? If you're worried about that, then we have trouble to begin with.

[amanuse]

Perhaps the big deal is a matter of principle. The town/state government is forcing my wife and I to waive either our Fourth or Fifth Amendment rights. They give us a choice: we can waive our right to refuse entry without a warrant, administrative or otherwise, or we can choose to waive our right to due process in the form of being able to appeal a seizure of our property via unjust taxation by arbitrary inflation  of our assessment. Forcing us to chose between one of two rights that are both guaranteed is reprehensible.

Furthermore, hypothetically, what if I do have something in my house that is illegal that I don't know about or even something I do know about? Some may argue that I should know the law and follow it, but that would be missing the point. I have a right, Constitutional and human, to be secure from unreasonable searches or seizures in my home that are conducted without a warrant and probable cause. I don't have anything to hide, to quote the often used rationalization, but I also don't have anything inside my house I want the government to see without probable cause and warrant in hand. I just bought new leather furniture and painted my walls. Am I to think that the assessor may increase my taxes thinking I can afford to pay more because I keep up my house? What is to prevent abuses with this?

Yes, the assessor wants to know how many bedrooms and bathrooms I have, but I can simply tell him when he asks. He doesn't need to see my house to confirm. If he has some reason to believe I'm lying, he can get a warrant. Otherwise, I am innocent until proved guilty.

In addition, permitting processes are in place that account for any changes or new construction. That process should inform the assessor just fine. If the concern is that people circumvent the permitting process, then it is the onus of the government to find probable cause to obtain a warrant. The point is that there are paper records indicating everything the government wants to know about my house. It does not need to see the inside of my house to to check these records. If it feels it needs to, then it needs a warrant.

What gets me most about this unconstitutional New Hampshire law, however, is that if I refuse to allow an unwarranted search of my home, I am stripped of my due process rights to appeal the unjust and arbitrary assessment they invent. This law is unconstitutional on two fronts, and that doesn't even address the relevant sections of the New Hampshire constitution.

It matters not that the assessor is not a cop, it matters not whether he is employed by the town or a contractor hired by the town, he is acting as an agent of the government, and is thus bound to the U.S. Constitution and all other guaranteed obligations of a government official that keeps us the people free. You may also want to review your history. The New Hampshire law in question seems eerily similar to the "writs of assistance," <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writ_of_Assistance>, which the colonists used as one of the primary reasons to revolt against the British Empire. If we forget our history, we may be doomed to repeat it.

I have attached both the Fourth and Fifth Amendments for your review, as well as the unjust, unconstitutional law I want destroyed.

Fourth Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Fifth Amendment
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Unjust, unconstitutional New Hampshire Law
TITLE V (TAXATION), CHAPTER 74, Section 74:17
    I. If the selectmen or assessing officials are unable to obtain consent to enter property for the purpose of obtaining information necessary to complete any inventory under this chapter or appraisal under RSA 75, they may obtain an administrative inspection warrant under RSA 595-B.
    II. Any person who refuses to grant consent to the selectmen or assessing officials to enter property for the purposes in paragraph I shall lose the right to appeal any matter pertaining to the property tax for which such person is liable and the right to appeal any exemptions for which such person may be entitled but has not yet received.
Source. 1991, 231:3. 1993, 128:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1994.

[CNHT]

Yes I understand.

I even had one tell me "I'm not lookin' at yer guns or anything."

So they are well aware we hate this procedure....

[Dave Ridley]

AM:

also head to CNHT.org and contact ed naile.  he's an expert on these things and if you could arrange for him to be there that might be helpful...

I dont' like the dunce cap idea if the assessor in fact is scrupulously staying outside people's homes.   i'm not even sure such a person should be protested.   if he's planning on coming in however....i would love to be part of making a scene.

[CNHT]

Yep that's what we do, town stuff...

However, I think Ed will just advise you to watch the guy when he's in the house just as you would any other workman, otherwise, you are chancing them wayyyy overcharging you with an unfair assessment like the one I had and then telling you there's nothing you can do about it because you did not let them see that you only had 7 rooms and not 9 for example.

[ny2nh]

I never let the inspectors in. I also realize that if I want to challenge my assessment, I would have to let them in.

Letting them in vs. not letting them in can go either way. For instance, say you don't let them in.....and you have mini blinds on your basement windows - but your basement is unfinished. They might presume that because there are blinds, the basement is finished and you'll be paying higher taxes on that space. On the flip side, if you have recently installed granite counters and hardwood floors, you could get put in an above-average column and get assessed higher on that.

[Raineyrocks]

I never let the inspectors in. I also realize that if I want to challenge my assessment, I would have to let them in.

Letting them in vs. not letting them in can go either way. For instance, say you don't let them in.....and you have mini blinds on your basement windows - but your basement is unfinished. They might presume that because there are blinds, the basement is finished and you'll be paying higher taxes on that space. On the flip side, if you have recently installed granite counters and hardwood floors, you could get put in an above-average column and get assessed higher on that.

So in New Hampshire tax assessors come around to look in people's homes?  It hasn't happened to me yet. 

You know what really bites too?  When you refinance they don't include your basement even if it's finished as living space so their comparable properties are of lower value and it affects the value of your property.  At least that's what I was told when we refinanced.

[CNHT]

Rainey, you assessment was likely based on the permit since it is new.

Go down and pull your assessment 'card' and review all the details to make sure they are correct and that they don't have you down for anything you don't have...

Otherwise you can file for an abatement. Does Rick tend to check these details out?

[lildog]

I received a similar letter in Merrimack.  When my wife called about it she was told legally we did not have to let them in.

It was also suggested to us that we don't because we do have nice antique furniture and were told by more then one person that often times the assessors will raise the value of your home based on how nice you keep it and on what kinds of things you own inside the house.

[Raineyrocks]

Rainey, you assessment was likely based on the permit since it is new.

Go down and pull your assessment 'card' and review all the details to make sure they are correct and that they don't have you down for anything you don't have...

Otherwise you can file for an abatement. Does Rick tend to check these details out?

Thanks!   So I should go to the town hall and ask them to pull my assessment card, right?  Rick doesn't ever check this stuff out I handle these kind of things.  I just didn't know there was anything like this until now. 
In Maryland I know we had a lady that would come out every spring and just look at the outside of the house and leave.  So you mean make sure they don't have things down like we have a pool when we don't and stuff like that, right?