Accuracy in Assessing Acreage

All County Assessors shall accurately calculate the acreage of all parcels of land within their county.

Legal descriptions and surveys shall be the prime factors in said accurate determination. However, the use of aerial photos will also be required to review and double check for accuracy. Discrepancies between property boundary lines defined by legal descriptions and existing fence lines as shown by the aerial photos shall be drawn onto the assessor’s maps. The assessor shall be held to within a 2% accuracy rate on all parcels of land which exceed .25 acre (one quarter acre). 

Recently, it was brought to a local assessor’s attention that a home was currently represented and taxed by the assessor as being 14.22 acres. In actuality the acreage was only about 5.65–5.85 acres +/-. As anyone (including a first grader) may easily realize, there is an enormous difference between 14+ acres and 5+ acres---for taxation on assessed value and value for purposes of selling!

The assessor did not fix the problem. And, apparently the Assessor’s office is continuing to assess this property as 14+ acres (as they have for 20 years). The senior employee in the Assessor’s office commented that “It is not our job to calculate acreages of properties.”

Well---I say:

*It is not right to provide inaccurate information to the public---especially once the inaccuracy is brought to the attention of the office.

*It is not right to over charge or over assess any property owner.

*It is not right to give the public incorrect information and once advised of the inaccuracy, to make no effort to correct the inaccuracy.

Down Zoning

The government cannot “take” or devalue property without “just” compensation.

If any State, County and/or City agency devalues an individual’s property through a regulation, re-zoning, change of classification, lowering of permitted density, and/or restriction of permitted usages, then that Governmental Agency shall be responsible for reimbursing said property owner for the value which has been lost.

If any governmental agency improves the value of an individual’s property through any of the above described processes, then no compensation shall be due the property owner.

This Statute shall be retroactive to 1999.

In Order to Lower the Foreclosure Rate and Keep People in their Properties:

Banks and/or Savings and Loan Institutions making Real Estate loans in the State of Washington shall be required to offer, during the course of the loan, one “six month” grace period in order to forestall and/or prevent the catastrophic consequences of foreclosure to the individual borrower.

When an individual suffers a major life threatening injury, a work/job disabling sickness or injury, a divorce costing in excess of $15,000 in Attorney’s fees, a business loss in one year of more than $30,000, or an uninsured loss of property in excess of $30,000, or loses a lawsuit and must pay the winner a settlement of over $30,000 in one calendar year,

Then:

(1) Said individual borrower shall be entitled to notify his lender and the lender shall agree to add the six months of loan payments to the end of the loan. The loan shall then continue for six months longer than the original term mutually agreed upon in the loan documents.

(2) A default rate of interest shall accrue for said six month period and shall be added to the loan’s principal balance.

(3) The loan amortization period may be extended for one additional month in order to pay off the accrued default interest.

(4) In order to have this option, the debtor must notify the bank that he wishes to apply for the option within three months after the commencement of the first payment default.

In order prevent the planned catastrophic premature failure of septic systems:

The County needs to encourage legislation that would allow separate drain fields for the separate treatment of “gray water” resulting from the dishwasher and washing machine. Separate treatment would help prevent the killing off of the bacteria and organisms in the septic tank, which are vital in a septic system.  It costs a struggling home owner in excess of $7,000 to install a new drain field because his septic tank could not digest the sludge (because the bacteria were killed off by bleach and harsh detergents).

In order to encourage the building of affordable housing:

The County and the State need to offer Tax Incentives. These property tax rebates would go to builders, who actually build legal new homes that sell for less than $100 per square foot (land included), with an upper limit of 1050 square feet.

In order to protect the sick, the elderly, those out of work and those in treatment centers:

Concerning Tax Foreclosures by County Treasurers: The statute currently allows counties to foreclose on properties with three years of accrued delinquent taxes.

Proposal: The County Treasurers hereby loses the power/right to foreclose on property due to the lack of payment of property taxes for the last three years. This right shall be replaced with the right to lien the tax payer’s properties for the delinquent taxes owed plus interest at the rate of 12% per annum.

In order to reduce the price of building lots to create affordable homes:

The state of Washington and every County therein shall for the next ten years be required to sell to “Affordable Home Builders Only” one section of land in each rural County--- subject to availability--- but no more than 2 sections of raw land in each County per year.

The price per building lot as defined by current zoning shall not exceed $35,000 per building lot.

The buyers of the homes must be in the “upper low income bracket” and must prove responsible credit history. Any Buyer failing to “owner occupy” said home for any 90 day period and/or failing to keep the payments current for said period shall immediately be subject to normal bank foreclosure (unless their loan company allows them to avail themselves of the six month “grace period”). The property may then be re-sold to another validated upper low income buyer.

The builders of the above described affordable homes on affordable lots shall receive full tax rebates from the County Treasurer for the first five years after the home has been sold.