Attic Dormer Addition archived

Oscar- I cannot answer your specific questions but want to say that my next door neighbor is having this very addition added to his home and the results so far are exceptional. What a contractor he is using!!
Ciao,
b

Thanks bgs, but we are going to do it ourselves, or I should say, my hubby is going to do it since he is a carpenter by trade. But, I need to know the specifics. If you catch the name of the contractor there would you mind passing along his info to me? Maybe I could contact them to get some details.

pass along that info, I want to do the same, except I want to open up the entire back side of the attic (except for a small space for a shower, sink, & toilet), dorm it out with french doors, or sliding glass doors, so that I can completely open the back, like one big giant balcony, of course I know I'll need safety railings.
Then on the front I would like to just dorm out the entire front side with casement windows.
I was thinking of hiring someone to do the framing and then I would do the rest myself.

I know you can get a tax waiver for 5 years in South Orange for any improvements. I believe the same is available in Maplewood.

Not sure about the existence of a free ride on added assessment for home improvements in Maplewood, but in the absence of such a thing, you should expect something. The starting point could be the cost cited on the building permit, if realistic. Just because you save by doing it yourself doesn't mean the Tax Assessor is going to give you a better deal than the guy who hired a contractor to do the work. The value of the improvement is arguably the same.The equalization ratio (54.18% in 2008) could be applied to the cost and the resulting number added to your assessment. If the project is completed prior to October 1, then the added assessment would be prorated for the year and added in full to the assessment for the next tax year. If completed after Oct 1, then the following Fall they could pick up the tail of the tax year in which the project was completed and the 12 months of the next. Added assesment are imposed in October of each year.

OSCAR

If the attic is already considered "finished" on your tax eval, and all you are doing is adding a dormer to increase your livable (standing) space in your attic, then the dormer will NOT increase your taxes. surprised? I had this discussion with the tax guy a while ago. The taxes on an attic is based on total square footage (total span of the floor, ie ceiling of your 2nd floor) and if it is finished or not. I complained about this since the livable space in my attic is only 200 sq ft, (height above 4 ft) but I was charged for 400sq ft, the total floor space of the attic (where the roof meets the 2nd floor ceiling). The tax guy stated that it was the only fair way to do it, so I stated that then a dormer would not increase my taxes, and he stated that was correct, as long as it did not add to the total square footage of the attic, it would not add to my taxes. Now if you add a large dormer and put a new bath in it, then that would add to your taxes. If your attic is considered "unfinished", taxed at a lower rate per sqft, and you add a dormer and make the attic "finished" then your taxes will increase. The rate per sqft for a finished vs unfinished attic is 2x., but that rate is still a smaller rate than for the 2nd floor or 1st floor rate. The rate per sqft for the 1st floor is the highest in your house.

Fotboat

While I agree that additional taxes are usually calculated on added square feet or the cost of the improvement they really should be based on the increase in the market value of the building because of the work. The idea of property taxes is to reflect the market value of the building.

If you spend say $50,000 for a new kitchen, the houses market value isn't going to increase by that amount. Most likely you could expect to recoup about 75% of the cost if you sold.

Thank you Fotboat for your response. I recently "finished" the attic. Meaning, I removed the industrial attic fan, installed new windows, insulated and sheet-rocked the beams and installed parquet flooring. After having done that work and realizing the potential to an already beautiful space, I figured I'd get the most out of it and use it as additional living space. Makes more sense than moving or neglecting usable space. Your response helps me a great deal.

Can you post a picture of what it looks like now? We want to do dormers also and were going to call Tico's - since they do roofing AND carpentry. Our attic isn't finished and also have the replace the fan vent with a window.

Trinity,

Are you from Costa Rica, a "tica" perhaps, married or girlfriend of a "tico"? Just wondering.

Huh? Uhm no...just plain ol' American. I'd love to visit one day though. The Tico's I spoke of is the carpentry company in Maplewood who do GREAT work in this community.