In the county we live in, we were able to file a rebuttal on our assessment. We were then given an appointment to meet with the assessor downtown at the tax office & supply them with our reasons why the assessment was incorrect--photos/GIS map, location, appraisal from when we purchased the property (it was within 5 years from the date of the assessment), recent similar sales, access, busy road, large creek with flood plain that cut the entire property in half, etc. Approximately 6 weeks later, we received a letter from the assessor stating the new assessment at the amount we paid for the property (we bought it as a foreclosure so that was a sweet deal). Mom & Dad built their house 4 years ago. The tax assessor in their county started coming out to the building site every month or so about 3/4 of the way through the build to see what was going in. As Mom & Dad were acting as their own GC they were on site and told him he could stay outside but he had no business inside. Afterall, assessors don't go inside your house when they reassess every 10 years and take into account that you've upgraded your 30 year old house to granite & hardwoods from the original early 1980's linoleum & speckled formica. Too, with the current mortgage crisis and so many foreclosures and values falling, you may not want to let the assessor be privy to your costs & finishes upfront. You may want to wait and see what he values the house at first (without giving him a list of finishes / letting him inside the finished house if at all possible if you're going with some higher end finishes like hardwoods & granite). Then if he comes back with an unreasonable value, file a rebuttal. Just my 2 cents.

Check with your builder and your local taxing authority. In Florida the real estate tax year is Jan 1-Dec 31. In our county the Assessor tries to squeeze in some addtional revenue by checking new construction through January 16. If the Certificate of Occupancy has not been issued, and if there is a reason it could not be issued, the tax is on the unimproved property - not the % of completion of the new build.

There is a fabulous nonprofit group here in Atlanta called the Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation. I found out about them by accident, and attended one of their classes last month. The class was taught by a former tax assessor, information they provided was very useful in regards to how taxes are formulated, how to appeal if you think your assessment is out of kilter, and how to gather your information for your appeal. Although their name is "Fulton County", the info they provided was valid statewide, and they welcomed anyone from any county in the state. It was well worth two hours of a Saturday morning to attend, and the class was free. See if you have a similar group nearby. BTW, they had no political orientation or agenda that I could determine. They presented purely property tax related information. Here is a link that might be useful: FCTF Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation

I am not sure how frequent reassessment is, but for me this is not germane to the topic because they will come. I have no idea what I can expect to save, but I am on a trajectory to find that out soon. It is certainly not a common goal. Sometimes when you wonder into territory that most people don't, you are trailblazing and other times you are just lost. In this case, I suspect you are very probably lost. The reason this is not a common goal is that the math just doesn't work out for most people. Simply spending less money is a great idea, and so is keeping maintenance and upkeep in mind. However, in the end, if your drive towards ad valorem savings accelerates maintenance, or leads to non-standard material you will probably spend more than the savings themselves are worth. The actual value of a dollar of annual tax savings is something between $9 and $11. So $500 of annual tax savings which is probably about $70,000 of home devaluation in middle Tennessee is worth between $4,500 and $5,500 of cash outlay during the build. Also since the value is only $4,500 to $5,500 almost any accelerated maintenance because of this plan wipes out the savings. ---- My personal advice is build smart, modest, and standard, then the net savings will be better than any tax savings. I am of the opinion that the words, "I have a great idea that you haven't seen before" never go with the words, "and it will save a ton of money." Just my 2 cents...