We have good water. It’s full of minerals, which also causes some of the hard water deposits you see in your bathrooms and kitchens. I know we are not talking about soft water systems, but most people don’t realize that there’s a good possibility your home either has a system in place, or hookups ready for a system to be installed. Almost all of the newer constructed homes have hookups – remember the plastic pipe loop next to your washer and dryer? That’s what it’s for. I’ll save you from what I know about ion exchange in regards to how these systems work. Back to wells. I decided to do this write-up because of an increasing number of buyers interested in lots that are uncertain about the cost of drilling a well, and bringing in other utilities. As far as the cost, it’s pretty simple. I interviewed a few local well drilling companies, it’s about $40/foot including a well casing. The Idaho Department of Water Resources requires a steel casing, that is tagged with a well tag number. Almost every well drilled in recent history is then recorded with the department. The department’s website, idwr.idaho.gov provides a well driller’s research tool in which you can pull up information on each well drilled that has been reported, called a well driller’s report. The well driller’s report will tell the approximate site, the types of ground materials, and at what depth. As you would guess, it also reports the exact depth of the well. The reason I am telling you this of course; the next logical question after understanding the price per foot, would be the depth. Usually, you will find a neighbor who has a well in the same area in which you are thinking about drilling a well. Now, there are no guarantees your well will be the same depth of your neighbors, but you can bet that it will be pretty close. The well driller’s research tool can be daunting unless you understand how to search by township and range, but there is also a way of searching by last name etc. On a final note, you might be thinking to yourself, “Why don’t I just buy a lot in town and hook up to the city water and sewer system?” You can! Just remember, the city will charge a hook up fee for water and for sewer, and it’s not all that cheap. The cheapest way of doing it? Locate a lot in a development with a pre-existing community well system. They’re usually pretty reliable, and fairly inexpensive to hook up to.
Glider Rides
Typically scenic glider rides are offered from May through October. The rides are one hour +/-, depending on weather, thermal heating and ridge lift. The areas flown are Darby Canyon, Treasure Mountain, Alaska basin, Battleship Mountain, Ice flow lake, Snow Drift Lake, the West side of the Teton range, Table Rock, Cascade Canyon, Teton Canyon both North and South, over Grand Targhee then if there is time and are maintaining or gaining altitude, they will go across the valley to the Teton River and then back to the Driggs airport. On very rare occasions they may find enough lift to go high enough to go over the top of the Grand Teton. On a clear day, the passenger will also get a view of the Jackson Hole valley, Jackson and Jenny Lake and Swan Valley.
The glider carries one passenger weighing no more than 230 Lbs. and the cost is $250.00. which covers the cost of the tow plane, tow plane pilot, glider and glider pilot. They do not do any aerobatics during a scenic flight. It is recommended passengers bring a small hat (for sun protection), sunglasses and a camera with a wide angle lens. It can be very warm in the glider so summer attire is also recommended. They have taken passengers as old as 100 years and can often accommodate those with disabilities if they are light enough to be lifted into the glider. They generally don’t take children under eight years old because they have a habit of climbing out of their seat belt and standing up, fiddling with the controls or simply not appreciating the flight or the scenery.
It’s best to schedule a glider flight at least one day in advance, but often times we can squeeze in a last minute booking. Passengers need to understand that weather is a major factor in providing a safe and enjoyable ride and should be flexible and understanding when conditions such as strong winds, thunderstorms or low cloud cover require that we cancel, postpone or reschedule flights.
For further information or to schedule reides contact Teotn Aviation at 208-354-3100.
What do I need to know about the County assessment notice I just received in the mail?
Not long ago I did an article on property taxes, and how they work here in Teton County. In that article I go over levies, taxing districts and so on. Since I won’t go into too much detail on that end of things, feel free to email me, and I will forward you the link to that post. I keep all of the Ask the Expert articles up on the Teton Valley Realty website blog.
Anyway – the county’s primary source of revenue is property tax. The county has to come up with a way for all property owners to share the cost of “operations”, and they accomplished that by prorating each property owner’s share based on the value of their property. They determine that value based on sales prices, construction costs, rents, etc. Whenever a property is sold here in the county, they send the new property owner a letter requesting the details of the sale, including purchase price. ***Note, Idaho is a non-disclosure state, and the new owner is not required to respond to the letter.
Back to your asessment notice. Many of you probably noticed an increase in your assessed value this year. Don’t get excited, this only means that your prorated share of property taxes is going to increase. The increase most of us are seeing is based mostly on real estate recovery. Building costs are up, rents are up, demand is higher than in recent years, and supply is low. It’s important that you understand the accuracy of this letter. If the county is assessing the value of your property too high, you could be unnecessarily paying more than your fair share of property taxes. If the value is too low… well, you decide what to do.
If you read read your notice, you will see instructions on how to “appeal” your property’s assesment. If you only made note of the value and stashed it in your file cabinet, you can find that information on the county’s website under additional information on the assessor page. If you don’t email, you can pick up the information at the county courthouse during normal business hours, or stop by my office and I will print it out for you. IMPORTANT – should you decide that the county is over valuing your property, the deadline for appeal is Monday, June 22nd at 5:00 PM. The county is surprisingly easy to work with regarding the appeal process, but probably less so as we approach the deadline. Those who wait until 4:30PM on Monday the 22nd, might see less cooperation.
Prior to starting the appeal process, it would be a good idea to arm yourself with data supporting your claim that your property is overvalued. If you are a land owner, you might obtain recent sales of lots in your subdivision or nearby. When the county assesses homes, they value the land, then the improvements for a total assessed value. You could obtain sales data for land, or data of recent home sales in your area, as long as they are similar in size. If you have a finished basement and your neighbor doesn’t, that would definitely affect assessed value. A great resource is your favorite real estate agent, who would probably love to send you the information you are looking for.
There is a bit of good news in all of this, our market is improving dramatically. If you missed last month’s article, It’s a good overview of where we are today.
Teton County, Idaho Property Tax
TETON COUNTY, IDAHO
Trying to figure out how property tax and levies are created can be daunting, even for a real estate agent! Property tax can be defined as the primary source of revenue for the local governments that serve and protect the community, such as school districts, ambulance, fire, and so on.
First, we should understand how your property values are assessed. Basically, the assessor’s office identifies and values all the taxable property in the county. They use recent sales data, estimated construction costs, and other data to estimate the value of each property. All valuations are monitored by the state tax commission to ensure accuracy and compliance with state laws. The letters that you receive asking about sale data after you purchase a property are used to help value your property. Note*** Idaho is a nondisclosure state, and you are not required to submit this document. Weigh the pros and cons of giving this information to the County.
Next, we need to understand how the levy (imposed tax) is calculated. This job is handled by the County Clerk. The simplest answer is the rate is calculated by dividing the amount of property tax needed by the total taxable value of all the properties. The long answer is not quite that simple, but it uses the same method. This method is used by 14 districts within the county that create their own budget, and calculate a tax rate for that specific district. District 1, the City of Driggs has a slightly different tax rate and budget than District 2, in the City of Victor. So, each district divides their budget by the taxable value of the properties within that district to come up with the tax rate for that district.
Now that we have the tax rate for your district, and your assessed value, all each district has to do is multiply the value of your property by the tax rate to come up with your property tax amount. So, this is the final step before you receive your bill. It’s important to understand that each budget is created at the end of the year, and therefore your taxes are assessed for the prior year. The taxes are paid in two halves for each year. The first half of each year becomes due December 20th and the second half of that year is due the following year on June 20th. State law limits budget increases as a whole (not on an individual basis) to 3%.
Understanding that this is a very brief description of how the system works, coming from someone who does not work for the County with only a limited understanding, there are a few other points to be made here. One question you might ask yourself is, how can I reduce the amount I pay in property taxes? There are a few things to keep your eye on. First, if the property is your primary residence, make sure that you have applied for the homeowners exemption. This must be filed with the assessor’s office by April 15th. Second, always review your annual assessment notice, and call the assessor’s office if things seem out of line. Idaho Code states that any claim for tax reduction shall be filed with the assessor’s office between January 1st and April 15th of each year.
