From: "Rich Gauszka" 

Nope. The property assessors will consider that the McMansion has upgraded
the neighborhood and everyone within two city blocks will have a higher
assessment :-(



"Ellen K."  wrote in message
news:kdtin11he8fnh13hnrkibmfg0i1i0tt479{at}4ax.com...
> Does this mean I get a reduction for the McMansion built on the next
> street that can see into my formerly private yard?
>
> On Mon, 14 Nov 2005 14:02:50 -0500, "Rich Gauszka"

> wrote in message :
>
>>I can just see the new taxes.  Better air quality will qualily you for the
>>'clean air' tax. A safe neighborhood will qualify one for a 'low crime'
>>tax.
>>Just think of the possibilities :-(
>>
>>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10033745/page/2/
>>
>>Learning from the 'View Manual'
>>So here, property assessors say, was their assignment: Try to judge each
>>of
>>the state's properties, and especially each vista, through the eyes of the
>>view-hungry buyers who were driving the market. There were no state
>>guidelines to help them compare views.
>>
>>"I hate saying that it's subjective," said Gary J. Roberge, chief
>>executive
>>officer of the company that valued Wilder's view. "But it is."
>>
>>There are, in some cases, rules of thumb that appraisers can turn to for
>>help. For instance, a view of a "name mountain," such as
Mount Washington
>>or
>>others in the famed Presidential Range, is usually worth more than a view
>>of
>>a less-famous peak. Also, 90 degrees of view is better than 45, and a
>>river
>>and hills are usually worth more than hills alone.
>>
>>But that is about as hard and fast as the business of valuing views seems
>>to
>>get.
>>
>>In an interview at his offices in Chichester, N.H., Roberge went through
>>pages from a "View Manual," showing a range of vistas
rated middling to
>>spectacular.
>>
>>There was a "300" rated property, whose view had a barn
up close and a
>>mountain in the distance. "You've got a little bit of the horizon,"
>>Roberge
>>said. That little bit, in this case, was enough view to triple the land's
>>value -- a difference of $96,000 or more for an average property in a
>>place
>>such as Plainfield, he said.
>>
>>Then Roberge got to a "500" view, with a lot more horizon
and distance.
>>"It
>>just goes on forever," Roberge said. It would add $192,000 to the same
>>property.
>>
>>He looked at a "600" view, which was a panorama of
mountains and receding
>>hills such as Wilder's in Plainfield. "If you were standing up there
>>looking
>>at it, it would blow you away," Roberge said. For that quality, Roberge
>>said, land such as this would be worth six times its original value, for
>>an
>>increase of $240,000 just because of the view.
>>
>>To which some landowners say: That's all there is to it?
>>
>>"The formula sucks pond water," said John Frado, 60,
whose property in
>>Winchester jumped in value by $70,000 because of another assessing
>>company's
>>opinion of its overlook.
>>
>>Forcing residents out
>>When Wilder contested his valuation in court, a local judge came to a
>>similar, though more decorously worded, conclusion: The appraisal
was "not
>>supported by evidence of anything other than the subjective judgment of
>>the
>>appraising company." He ordered it reduced, though the case has been
>>appealed.
>>
>>After protests across the state, state lawmakers are now considering ways
>>to
>>ensure that, in the future, assessors give more evidence to support the
>>values they place on views.
>>
>>"What do you see?" asked state Rep. Betsey L. Patten (R).
"I want you to
>>explain."
>>
>>For now, though, what residents call the "view tax" still has many
>>longtime
>>residents worrying that the mountain on the distance will soon force them
>>off the land beneath their feet. When farmer John Lynch, 65, found that
>>his
>>view had been valued at about $65,000, he confronted someone from the
>>assessing company: "How do you think we're going to hang on here?"
>>
>>Lynch, who lives in the town of Hill, N.H., said that one of the odd parts
>>about this controversy is that, with his attention always on the land, he
>>rarely spends time gazing out at his valuable view.
>>
>>"You very seldom look," Lynch said. "Well, to see
the weather or the
>>sunset
>>. . . ." Suddenly, he was troubled by the thought of a tax on sunsets.
>>
>>"Oh," he said, "don't tell them about that."
>>
>

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5