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an associate story. he lives in a rural area in a different state.
fellow has a few acres and house off the regular road... he has a gate.
they "just about always" keep it closed. works with a zapper. so easy to open/close.
fellow got several buildings on the property when it was bought... and has improved some buildings with small apartment in one building. and expanded another with bathroom.
other improvements such as generator and fuel tanks have been added... for some of property no permits are needed. on other parts, well... he just assumed no permits needed there either.
he came home one day and didn't close gate as his wife was due in shortly.. gate works on solar and a battery. he left gate open as courtesy to wife and save the battery usage..
a few days later he got a letter from county code enforcement. when was this built and cost? when was that built and cost (4 structures) . what are dimensions? what is use?
he called county and got told various stories. we only went to the main dwelling... no one was home. they said. but none of the things we are inquiring about are on our records, he was told.
we just need to update our records, your village does not require permits, but we must update our records. this won't effect your tax bill, they said. we saw an exhaust pipe for gas so do you have a water heater or stove or furnace in building x? this may make a small adjustment to your tax bill. we only went to your house and didn't go anywhere else... we have the right to go anywhere we desire... we don't go around gates. we blew our horn. we knocked on the door. this list of comments above came over several phone calls, with 2 different code employees... several of the statements were contradictory.
he has a small camera security system and sure enough... he found their visit during the 40 minutes after he got home and before the wife got home..
one of obvious discrepancies is the story about gas exhaust... it can not be seen unless visitor goes behind the building... not near the house. and can't be seen from vehicle.
he thinks they had staked out house waiting for opportunity to visit... he has talked with many other residents on his road... no one else got a visit.
they have threatened to backdate changes.. some of the items go back to long before fellow bought the property... probably 30 plus years...
questioning community associates fellow has learned the county is using airplanes to survey and photo properties. fellow has threatened to appeal as real estate values are not going up in his area.
but, fellow doesn't want them to backdate fees... it looks like additional charges will be modest. fellow does not want county to realize extent of improvements.
so, bottom line, if you have a gate, keep it closed. maybe it will slow down a thief, or maybe the gov't! try to stay in good graces with gov't officials. they know he knows they "got confused" in their stories. maybe that will help keep changes modest.
fellow has a few acres and house off the regular road... he has a gate.
they "just about always" keep it closed. works with a zapper. so easy to open/close.
fellow got several buildings on the property when it was bought... and has improved some buildings with small apartment in one building. and expanded another with bathroom.
other improvements such as generator and fuel tanks have been added... for some of property no permits are needed. on other parts, well... he just assumed no permits needed there either.
he came home one day and didn't close gate as his wife was due in shortly.. gate works on solar and a battery. he left gate open as courtesy to wife and save the battery usage..
a few days later he got a letter from county code enforcement. when was this built and cost? when was that built and cost (4 structures) . what are dimensions? what is use?
he called county and got told various stories. we only went to the main dwelling... no one was home. they said. but none of the things we are inquiring about are on our records, he was told.
we just need to update our records, your village does not require permits, but we must update our records. this won't effect your tax bill, they said. we saw an exhaust pipe for gas so do you have a water heater or stove or furnace in building x? this may make a small adjustment to your tax bill. we only went to your house and didn't go anywhere else... we have the right to go anywhere we desire... we don't go around gates. we blew our horn. we knocked on the door. this list of comments above came over several phone calls, with 2 different code employees... several of the statements were contradictory.
he has a small camera security system and sure enough... he found their visit during the 40 minutes after he got home and before the wife got home..
one of obvious discrepancies is the story about gas exhaust... it can not be seen unless visitor goes behind the building... not near the house. and can't be seen from vehicle.
he thinks they had staked out house waiting for opportunity to visit... he has talked with many other residents on his road... no one else got a visit.
they have threatened to backdate changes.. some of the items go back to long before fellow bought the property... probably 30 plus years...
questioning community associates fellow has learned the county is using airplanes to survey and photo properties. fellow has threatened to appeal as real estate values are not going up in his area.
but, fellow doesn't want them to backdate fees... it looks like additional charges will be modest. fellow does not want county to realize extent of improvements.
so, bottom line, if you have a gate, keep it closed. maybe it will slow down a thief, or maybe the gov't! try to stay in good graces with gov't officials. they know he knows they "got confused" in their stories. maybe that will help keep changes modest.
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