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melanarchy t1_j5q9cbq wrote

A lot of MA towns have absolutely absurd requirements around building codes. It's totally possible that the town sees a lot as "single family lot" and values them about the same, especially if it's impossible by town law to further subdivide and build more than 1 single family home on the lot.

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How close to the market value of the lot is your assessment?

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DaveGamelgard t1_j5q9v9b wrote

That’s a good question. The overall assessment value of the property is certainly closer, but I don’t know just about the lot value. I’m not sure where I could find a comp

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melanarchy t1_j5qkvk5 wrote

Oh it wasn't clear from your narrative that there is also a house on the lot and you're specifically worried about the land vs structure part of the assessment.

As long as the total value of the assessment is in the ballpark % of market value as your neighbors you don't have any shot of changing this. The assessor may just leave the land values at some minimum for years since the house is on that land and the breakdown between the two isn't relevant you your taxes.

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DaveGamelgard t1_j5qoarc wrote

The land, it seems to me, should be all the same. Not valued differently by size. A square foot is a square foot. The structure can vary because of many factors so I didn’t try to compare.

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melanarchy t1_j5qzfuv wrote

What I'm saying is that the land vs structure split is probably not being properly assessed because it's not relevant since taxes are based on the total assessment and unless you have a special tax status for your land the split doesn't matter except in your head where you think you're being treated unfairly.

I can't assess if you are being treated unfairly however because what matters is the comparative total assessment value as a % of market value for your entire property compared to those of your neighbors.

It is extremely common for people to challenge their assessments and they have varying levels of success depending on the town or city (which you've also left out). Most towns have only 1 assessor, sometimes even part time.

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DaveGamelgard t1_j5r9g6r wrote

Thank you. Now that I re read your comment along with another person’s comment it’s making a little more sense. The town is north reading, btw.

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