question regarding Assessed value of Yurt

[Ivan]

Hi,

I have just had my Yurt assessed by my town in New Hampshire.. The town did not know how to assess it , so they assessed it as a cabin at $25/sq foot. I guess I am a little incensed at having my Yurt called a cabin, and I don't know what the correlation would be except for the size . My Yurt is a 200 yard walk up, no electricity, plumbing. I guess my question is , how is your town assessing your Yurt?

[HawaiiYurts]

It sounds like you got off pretty easy... $25/psf @ 200 sf is only $5,000 value, or if it's a 30' diameter, that's $17,500. Did you pay less than that for it when it was all said and done?

Our office yurt is assessed at $65,000 and I'm still getting a deal for the value of a residentially permitted yurt home...

Yurts aren't the 'norm' yet, so they don't have their own class in situations like this. 'Cabin' is a very common catch-all for structures that they don't know how to categorize.

Aloha,
M

[Ivan]

The town only has a couple of thousand folks, up in the mountains so prices are low? that is unless you have lake front property.. The Yurt is a mile walk in the winter , with no power, water, data, cell, interior walls, loft or concrete footings.. I think they assessed it at $8,500, which is cheap, but I guess that is not the point. I think they assessed it as a cabin because it was easy, but from that point on , as you know there is no comparison.. I have contacted other towns in New Hampshire and the are all grappling with it differently, with some not even assessing it, except just for the deck.

[Wintergreen282]

200 yard walk up. I think Ivan's yurt is 24'? So more like $10,700. I think my NH 24', 7(?) year old White Mt. Yurt with no running water and solar is assessed at $12,900. And honestly, I'm just happy the town is letting me live here and I'm now (hopefully) grandfathered in. Guessing if you had plumbing and electrical that would be added on top. Not sure what is included - paved driveway, pool? I do know in NH they add extra if your home has a nice view.

Bottom line though, you are still probably paying way less than a 428 sq ft condo or home. I'd be nervous the town might decide to pull your occupancy permit because of some zoning requirement you don't meet. I have a friend who bought land in NH, built a tiny house, and now the town won't let her live there.

If you know your town has no zoning perhaps you can fight your assessment, but again, I'd be nervous that someone might say, you're right, with no this or that it's more like a shed or office - and we don't allow people here to live in sheds or offices.

[Ivan]

My town does not do building permits? Although the state has adopted BOCA, so if their is a problem they will go back to that.. The big issue is always septic systems, which I am sure are regulated, and we have an out-house which is still accepted there. I am not sure if they even have zoning laws either. I am happy to be there.

[Bob Rowlands]

Kinda on topic and kinda off topic. We have well and septic on our 2.5 acres. You better believe you have to prove to the building dept and the state that they both are to code and safe, or you won't get a certificate of occupancy. For septic that means an approved, engineered design, that is site inspected. They are NOT going to trust 'you built it to code'. On a well the water has to be tested for potability immediately prior to certificate of occupancy. Mine flunked first go round and in a panic I add a couple more gallons of bleach of bleach to get it to pass. Then let the well run for a couple days to clear the bleach. lol I'm tellin ya.

The gov't takes safety and code stuff as seriously as they do taxes. It's public safety and nobody wants a finger pointed their way in a lawsuit. Much as I bitch about taxes, in quake country our buildings rarely collapse because they were built to strict code. Other countries bribes get buildings done under the table and moderate quakes bring down what easily survives here. Just look what we take for granted on our overpasses, bridges and interstates. We kick major @$$ in this country and I'm very proud of that.

[Ivan]

agree Bob. Just don't want to be assessed as a cabin. :-)

[Jafo]

Originally Posted by Ivan

agree Bob. Just don't want to be assessed as a cabin. :-)

Why not? What would you prefer it to be assessed as?

[Ivan]

I think that with Yurts and other non-US -traditional structures it may be time for a new classification.. In a neighboring town they also classify Yurts as a cabin , but with sub-categories for no water, power grid .. Just trying to pay the least that I can, while still contributing my fair share to the municipal cash flow needs.