Will finishing my basement make my taxes go up? -- Updated - YES it will

One of the main reasons we are not buying a new home is because our taxes are so low for our area/neighborhood.

We're planning on renovating our basement to give us more living space but I'm worried that doing so might increase our taxes...

DH thinks that because we're not changing the footprint of our home/property we should be OK. Our architect seems to agree but I'm still worried.

Anyone have experience with this?
TIA.

UpDATE -- Just called my town's assessor's office and they 'estimate' if I put a playroom and a 3/4 bath downstairs -- our tax bill will go up about 8% -- which is an amount I can totally live with
I know it's not a guarantee but but makes me feel better!

Message edited 3/30/2011 3:50:10 PM.

Re: Will finishing my basement make my taxes go up?

Are you putting in a bathroom? I hope you get a few responses from "people in the know" because I have just done this. Finished the basement and added a full (stall shower) bath. I've been told that it would increase taxes since it added to the value of the home.
I didn't get a permit...I KNOW...a problem for selling. But I am planning on staying forever.

Re: Will finishing my basement make my taxes go up?

We finished the basement in our old home.. never added a bathroom.. but we never got a permit, DH did it himself, so the town never knew, so no tax increase. We sold it without a problem, no one ever questioned anything.

Even with the house we bought.. the homeowner finished his own basement YEARS ago. We didn't ask for a permit or even care. Again, the town didn't know so no tax increase.

Re: Will finishing my basement make my taxes go up?

We are in the same boat. To get a permit or not? If you get a permit, the town will do inspections and it will count as finished space. The taxes could go up, though atleast in our town, its gradual over a period of 7yrs.
I am worried about not getting a permit-beside the selling issue, the inspections with permit will be a safety net to catch potential mistakes in electrical or plumbing-which I or DH don't know anything about. but scheduling the inspections is going to be a PITA..
Sorry, can't help with your decision! just sharing my thought process here..

Re: Will finishing my basement make my taxes go up?

im pretty sure as long as there is no bathroom added then you dont need a permit and ur taxes stay the same, Once you add a bathroom its considered more living space and you need a permit (if you plan on selling anytime in the future)

Re: Will finishing my basement make my taxes go up?

Our architect says Yes, they'll go up but we should call the tax assessor's office and ask them to 'estimate' what they could become.

We consulted with a RE agent, too, and he's saying that right now our home is assessed at a significant amount less than it is worth/could sell for and he estimates that once we apply for the building permit, it'll raise a red flag and he thinks they'll go up by at least 30% AND THATS WITHOUT FINISHING THE BASEMENT!!

Then we went back to the architect, who said there's a program in Brookhaven for home improvement incentives --- it would assign the property tax increase incrementally (ie instead of it jumping from 6k to 9k right away, it'll go to 6600 the first year, then 7200 the next year, etc over a period of eight years).

Ughhh -- I thought I knew what we were going to do -- and now I'm not sure. Echh.

Re: Will finishing my basement make my taxes go up? -- Updated - YES it will

I guess 8% is not too bad-did they base it off the sq footage? Its good that they were able to estimate it at all. I should call our office and see what they have to say. Thanks for the update!

Re: Will finishing my basement make my taxes go up? -- Updated - YES it will

We purchased a house that had half the basement finished off with drywall, drop ceiling and crappy tile floor. Nobody (meaning lawyer, title company, anyone involved in the closing that should have picked up on it) ever caught on that it wasn't on the CO despite the fact that it was listed on the real estate documents. We certainly didn't know it was required. There was no bathroom, but when we did renovations adding a dormer the town came to inspect, and as a routine they check the whole house. We ended up having to pay an $800 fee for a retroactive permit with fines, and had to do about additional upgrades (don't recall if it was $1500 or more) in order to bring it up to code - stuff like adding a fire door between the finished side and the unfinished side.

After that experience I will NEVER buy a house that doesn't have a CO for every possible little homeowner renovation that was done without a permit. I don't want to get stuck again paying for someone else's negligence and failure to follow the law.