So I was looking at my property on the County GIS page.....

[AzureRanger]

Mine is 1.76 acres, neighbor is 2.0.

Just to be clear....your tax assessment is based on 1.76 acres? Is that smaller than your actual acreage?

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[got3fords]

Just to be clear....your tax assessment is based on 1.76 acres? Is that smaller than your actual acreage?

Every time I mow it I swear it is! But I would have to actually walk it with a meter. The property is fairly sloped. Neighbor is more flat. Which further confuses the issue.

 

[FerdRanger]

modern survey measurements are expressed as horizontal distances in feet

not slope distances in links and chains using a compass on a jake staff like they did 100 years ago

 

[got3fords]

modern survey measurements are expressed as horizontal distances in feet

not slope distances in links and chains using a compass on a jake staff like they did 100 years ago

So walking it would not be accurate areage measurement? That further makes me curious why my neighbor's flatter property is supposedly larger.

 

[LaBalbe]

So walking it would not be accurate areage measurement? That further makes me curious why my neighbor's flatter property is supposedly larger.

This is oversimplifying it, but think of you and your neighbours' properties being a couple of playing cards. If his is laying flat on the table, then from above, it'll measure out the actual area of the playing card, but if yours is on an angle (say, propped up on your phone), then from above it'll measure out a little smaller, because some of that size will be "lost" in the slope.

 

[got3fords]

So I just went to https://www.mapdevelopers.com/area_finder.php where you trace an area of interest and it calculates area. I traced out my property the best I could and it was just 0.01 acre off at 1.75. Then I traced my neighbor as best I could and it came in at 1.22 acres. GIS says it's 2.0. That's a huge difference. I think my neighbor is paying too much tax.

 

[AzScorpion]

So I just went to https://www.mapdevelopers.com/area_finder.php where you trace an area of interest and it calculates area. I traced out my property the best I could and it was just 0.01 acre off at 1.75. Then I traced my neighbor as best I could and it came in at 1.22 acres. GIS says it's 2.0. That's a huge difference. I think my neighbor is paying too much tax.

One thing to remember is they go by many different things for the final tax. Age, size of house and size of the lot. The lot is usually not taxed much (in most areas) so his lot might be smaller but the value of his house is most likely making up the difference.

 

[got3fords]

One thing to remember is they go by many different things for the final tax. Age, size of house and size of the lot. The lot is usually not taxed much (in most areas) so his lot might be smaller but the value of his house is most likely making up the difference.

Yes, but when you click on a property on the GIS website, it shows both the land value and building value. Neighbor's land alone is valued higher than mine. Surrounding properties all seem to scale accordingly in size and value to mine. The SE neighbor though apparently smaller is valued higher, and would make sense if it were actually 2.0 acres.

 

[AzScorpion]

Yes, but when you click on a property on the GIS website, it shows both the land value and building value. Neighbor's land alone is valued higher than mine. Surrounding properties all seem to scale accordingly in size and value to mine. The SE neighbor though apparently smaller is valued higher, and would make sense if it were actually 2.0 acres.

Clicking the link brings you to a page where you have to fill in the address so I wasn't sure what the values were. I'd say let him know but then they could take a better look at yours and you wouldn't want yours to go up.

 

[CO2Ranger]

when I noticed something odd. My property is in red, according to the site, my property is 0.24 acres smaller than my neighbor to the southeast. WTF? How can that be?

It's not the size of the lot, it's how you use it...

 

[FerdRanger]

So I just went to https://www.mapdevelopers.com/area_finder.php where you trace an area of interest and it calculates area. I traced out my property the best I could and it was just 0.01 acre off at 1.75. Then I traced my neighbor as best I could and it came in at 1.22 acres. GIS says it's 2.0. That's a huge difference. I think my neighbor is paying too much tax.

Based on your original graphic with the bar scale
I get 1.83 ac for you and 1.29 acres for your neighbor.

like I said GIS.

Your neighbor may be paying too much tax, but in order to change it, one may have to go to grievance day and challenge your assessment to get it changed.

Then they might come out and reinspect your property.

"oops. We didn't notice that new shed you built.... did you get a permit? looks like you enlarged your deck too?"

I try to stay under the govment radar

 

[got3fords]

Clicking the link brings you to a page where you have to fill in the address so I wasn't sure what the values were. I'd say let him know but then they could take a better look at yours and you wouldn't want yours to go up.

Agreed, but the more I look at it the more I am convinced mine is correct. Maybe I'll just suggest they have theirs looked at and not make a stink about mine.

 

[Motorpsychology]

That’s interesting. Guess those are privately owned streets then? We’re in the county and our property ends about a foot before the street.

Not necessarily. They might do that for assessment purposes, e.g. to pave "your" part of the street or fix the storm sewer etc.

 

[FerdRanger]

Not necessarily. They might do that for assessment purposes, e.g. to pave "your" part of the street or fix the storm sewer etc.

It appears the OP lives on a State Route based on the route symbol in the roadway.

State Routes are public highways maintained by the state or local municipality depending on who has jurisdiction. Public highways are maintained and paid for from public monies.

The reason there is a gap between your front property line and the edge of the pavement is that the road has a public right of way. The width of these rights of way vary (ie Town road in a subdivision, a State Highway, or an Interstate)

The rights of way are for highway purposes only and public utilities are typically allowed to be located within them.

I live in a subdivision.
The pavement in front of my house is 24' wide curb to curb
The public right of way which was deeded to the Town when the subdivision was developed is 60' wide.
I have 18' of grass between my front property line and the curb which I am expected to maintain.

Theoretically, I could drive up and down the street on the neighbor's lawns within that 18' strip of public right of way and not be trespassing. YMMV

 

[TJC]

when I noticed something odd. My property is in red, according to the site, my property is 0.24 acres smaller than my neighbor to the southeast. WTF? How can that be?

It is about perspective. Our eyes play tricks on us. The closest object always appears larger. Notice how the other 2 lots look progressively smaller. Your lot is missing a corner and has significantly less road frontage. Think looking down railroad tracks, the further you look down them the narrower they appear to become.

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