Many factors go into assessment of homes

Response to Chuck Spiller's letter from April 20, 2005:

Dear Chuck,

You wrote several weeks ago to ask why new home owners aren't required to sign a legal document stating the cost of construction upon completion of their new homes. You suggested the information could be used by the Assessor's Office to put new construction on the rolls. Thanks for your patience while waiting for the answer.

Even when the Assessor's Office knows construction costs, we still have to go to the site, measure the house, and gather information about the structure. Market value for assessment purposes is not determined by the cost to construct, but from the characteristics of the house such as size, quality, materials and design. These elements can only be determined from an on-site inspection. To be able to substitute construction costs for market value for assessment purposes would require a change in the Idaho Code.

In your letter you referenced building location permits being completed and OK'd. At this time, there is no follow-up on construction after a building location permit is issued in Bonner County. In the past, a certificate of occupancy was issued and served to notify the Assessor's Office when new construction was completed.

Reinstating this procedure would help the Assessor's Office know when homes are ready to be put on the tax rolls.

JUDIE CONLAN

Sandpoint