My Property Taxes - Question

[Parks 788]

Asking here because there's a vast wealth of knowledge and epxerience. Have a question about our property taxes.

Our property is made up of two parcels. Main house sits on approx 20 acres. On the same 20 acres we have a newer mobile home (2019 model year or so) totally separate from the main house. THe other parcel sisters up to the 20 acre parcel and is about 25 acres. On the 25 acre parcel there are no dwellings or structures on it. I thought I remember when we closed escrow we had to pay a registration or tag fee for the yearly registration of the mobile home. That's what I thought i remember, anyways.

So, now, our property taxes with Creek County show three tax bills due. Main home sitting on the 20 acres. Also a separate smaller tax bill for the mobile home that sits on the same 20 acres. Third, a yet smaller tax bill for the undeveloped 25 acre parcel. The tax for the mobile home is $1560 which seems really high, especially since it sits on the same acerage as the main home and is not a permant structure. Maybe I don't know/understand all the OK property tax laws but this doesn't seem correct, what I'm being billed. What say you? Thanks in advance.

 

[SoonerP226]

It used to be that if you still had the wheels (and maybe tongue) intact on a trailer house, it could be tagged through the OK Tax Commission like any other trailer, but if you remove the trucks and tongue, it became a permanent dwelling on the land and subject to property taxes. As I recall, that's why Norman required the removal of the trucks and tongue on any trailer house inside the city limits if it was built after a certain date. Tax man gotta get his.

$1500 seems really high for Creek County, especially for a trailer house. I've been looking at real estate in Creek County off and on for a little while now, and I've seen actual houses that didn't have property taxes that high.

 

[dennishoddy]

Not sure how taxes run in your county, but we live in the Osage reservation, which is also an Ok county, so things may be different.
I also thought removing a tongue or having a building not permanently attached to the ground didn't qualify for property tax. Built a 12' X 16' storage building on blocks. Nope, assessor dunned me for it as well. Used to be the rule but not now. For this county.
This year in the spring, due to our travels in the RV, I removed the pool, the deck, the hot tub, the patio and everything outside of the back porch of the home because we didn't use them, and they were falling into disrepair. Called the assessor's office in May to report them all gone.
We got our tax assessment recently that showed the structures still there, so called the assessors office.
They said the tax assessor person hadn't been there to verify that so we got taxed for everything, but we have an option to protest.
I can go to the meeting to protest, but the price of the fuel to get to Pawhuska and back home would be more than what the tax bill is, so we will just wait until next year to see if they visit and make an adjustment.

 

[1shott]

Not sure how taxes run in your county, but we live in the Osage reservation, which is also an Ok county, so things may be different.
I also thought removing a tongue or having a building not permanently attached to the ground didn't qualify for property tax. Built a 12' X 16' storage building on blocks. Nope, assessor dunned me for it as well. Used to be the rule but not now. For this county.
This year in the spring, due to our travels in the RV, I removed the pool, the deck, the hot tub, the patio and everything outside of the back porch of the home because we didn't use them, and they were falling into disrepair. Called the assessor's office in May to report them all gone.
We got our tax assessment recently that showed the structures still there, so called the assessors office.
They said the tax assessor person hadn't been there to verify that so we got taxed for everything, but we have an option to protest.
I can go to the meeting to protest, but the price of the fuel to get to Pawhuska and back home would be more than what the tax bill is, so we will just wait until next year to see if they visit and make an adjustment.

I have a low liking for tax assessors.

 

[SlugSlinger]

The county I live in has a site to see assessed tax values of all the real properties in the county. I disputed the valuation of my property a few years ago. I compiled a list of similar properties and their square footage valuation, put it in a spreadsheet and sent it to the assessors office. They assessor that responded was very helpful and they actually reduced my valuation.

They do make mistakes and there is a process to correct them. Your county may be different. Rogers county sends out a valuation letter and they provide a short window to respond and challenge the change in valuation.

 

[Parks 788]

Thanks for the replies. Looks like there are several ways for the county to get their money but in the end, they will get it.

Second question. If one chooses to have their property reassessed, does the person that does the reassessment actually go into the house and other structures? How indepth do they get with the assessment? I'd imagine getting comps in our area would be difficult or very few.

 

[dennishoddy]

I have a low liking for tax assessors.

Me too. The way they assess our home is rediculous. The last time he showed up, I walked from the shop to his vehicle while he was looking at some paperwork. There was a Colt Revolver laying openly in the seat next to him. I'm sure he has been threatened more than once.

 

[dennishoddy]

Thanks for the replies. Looks like there are several ways for the county to get their money but in the end, they will get it.

Second question. If one chooses to have their property reassessed, does the person that does the reassessment actually go into the house and other structures? How indepth do they get with the assessment? I'd imagine getting comps in our area would be difficult or very few.

They measure the outside diameter of the buildings and assess them that way. They do not go inside.
They compare similar homes in like neighborhoods against each other.
In our case with only one home within miles, they compare us to homes in a neighborhood that has paved streets, three to five bedroom homes, etc.
Our home is on a ridge with a gravel road 3/10 mile long that is self maintained, smaller and yet we get compared to them.

 

[Jon3830]

Asking here because there's a vast wealth of knowledge and epxerience. Have a question about our property taxes.

Our property is made up of two parcels. Main house sits on approx 20 acres. On the same 20 acres we have a newer mobile home (2019 model year or so) totally separate from the main house. THe other parcel sisters up to the 20 acre parcel and is about 25 acres. On the 25 acre parcel there are no dwellings or structures on it. I thought I remember when we closed escrow we had to pay a registration or tag fee for the yearly registration of the mobile home. That's what I thought i remember, anyways.

So, now, our property taxes with Creek County show three tax bills due. Main home sitting on the 20 acres. Also a separate smaller tax bill for the mobile home that sits on the same 20 acres. Third, a yet smaller tax bill for the undeveloped 25 acre parcel. The tax for the mobile home is $1560 which seems really high, especially since it sits on the same acerage as the main home and is not a permant structure. Maybe I don't know/understand all the OK property tax laws but this doesn't seem correct, what I'm being billed. What say you? Thanks in advance.

https://mapview-online.com/Creek/it could be they made a mistake, just go down to the office or give them a call because last year my neighbor almost got screwed on his 1 acre water tap

 

[SlugSlinger]

Thanks for the replies. Looks like there are several ways for the county to get their money but in the end, they will get it.

Second question. If one chooses to have their property reassessed, does the person that does the reassessment actually go into the house and other structures? How indepth do they get with the assessment? I'd imagine getting comps in our area would be difficult or very few.

As mentioned, they don’t go into a house. Instead they make assumptions based on the outside dimensions of each building. Like they assessed my shop as living space. I notified them it was not living space and the assessor removed 1000 sqf from the assessed value of the house. It was assessed at a lower per foot amount.

Make sure the sqf is correct on each assessed living space and look at comparable properties and the assessed price per foot. If your footage is wrong or have a much higher per sqf assessment, you have something to challenge.

One note, when improvements are made to the property, the taxable value can be increased more than the limited amount of 3.5% (i think). So if you made improvements, the assessor has ways to know that, like adding footage to a house and adding an additional HVAC outside.

Not sure about your county, but Rogers county assessor site has pictures of my property from many different angles and if something changes, they must review the historical images and catch the changes.

I added an outdoor fireplace and my taxes went up because of the improvements.

It makes me not want to improve my property. Currently my capped amount is 40k less than my assessed amount. And that’s because of the limited amount the capped amount can be increased each year. If I made any improvements, they would increase my capped amount to the assessed amount and then raise both to account for the improvements.

Visit your county’s assessor and treasurer sites to see if details to compare properties are provided and there should be specific information about how properties are assessed and taxed.

This site is very useful. Thinfinity VirtualUI

Go to the interactive map and use the icons on top of the map for different functions.