This is your property classification and appraisal notice

[SAJ-99]

FEMA

Sure it is FEMA, but there are reasons the premiums have increased. The same reasons premiums have increased in the fire-prone areas of the West. Everyone wants the financial safety of insurance, but paying for it is painful (more so today, obviously), whether it is FEMA insurance or private insurance.

 

[RobG]

I wonder why that happen? Higher cost of rebuilding maybe? Higher chance of extreme weather events?

You guys are lucky you aren't required to buy flood insurance. We have to have it here if the house is financed, so the lienholder is protected against flood damage to the house. Those prices have doubled in the last two years. A policy that cost $550 two years ago is now $1400. That is if you renew your existing policy. If you are getting a new policy, the same flood zone that was $550 is now $3500. That adds $300 a month to your house note (for Escrow) just for flood insurance, not counting the Homeowner's Insurance that has increased an average of 12 to 15%.

My insurance has also gone up a lot. Increased cost of materials I guess.

 

[Gulf of America]

You guys are lucky you aren't required to buy flood insurance. We have to have it here if the house is financed, so the lienholder is protected against flood damage to the house. Those prices have doubled in the last two years. A policy that cost $550 two years ago is now $1400. That is if you renew your existing policy. If you are getting a new policy, the same flood zone that was $550 is now $3500. That adds $300 a month to your house note (for Escrow) just for flood insurance, not counting the Homeowner's Insurance that has increased an average of 12 to 15%.

Our home insurance policy was dropped this spring when they decided they no longer would insure this area due to wildfire risk. After a day calling around, several other national insurers said the same. Wound up with another policy that costs a bit more, but I'm still fairly lucky (for now).

My boss is nearing retirement and his house is in an area that's experienced several fires in the last few years. His taxes and insurance for his place (a reasonable home on 6 acres) add up to $1000/month!

 

[RobG]

To your point…
View attachment 282676

Nice graphic. I see the states with no income tax are:

• Alaska.
• Florida.
• Nevada.
• South Dakota.
• Texas.
• Washington.
• Wyoming
• Tennessee
• New Hampshire.

Or just look at the light green in the top 1% map...

 

[LuketheDog]

Slick move by GG.
Give property owners a kick back from surplus funds. ( bolster the fan base)
.....but crank the appraisals.
What a f-you .

It's the same m.o. here in Colorado...

 

[Laelkhunter]

I wonder why that happen? Higher cost of rebuilding maybe? Higher chance of extreme weather events?

Government bailed out the ones that didn't have flood insurance but suffered a loss. They were the ones that did not live in a flood threat zone, so they could have purchased the insurance for around $300. They're the same ones that said "Flood Insurance, it never floods here." Then they lost everything and were boohooing that they didn't have insurance. So, long story short everyone has to pay to refill the coffers of the Insurance companies.

 

[Laelkhunter]

My insurance has also gone up a lot. Increased cost of materials I guess.

Yes partially. The Insurance Companies calculate what it would cost to rebuild your house in case of a total loss, so increased cost of materials certainly figures into that.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Nice graphic. I see the states with no income tax are:

• Alaska.
• Florida.
• Nevada.
• South Dakota.
• Texas.
• Washington.
• Wyoming
• Tennessee
• New Hampshire.

Or just look at the light green in the top 1% map...

The other key take away is that if your or middle income you’re paying a pretty similar amount no matter the system. The real winners/losers of various systems are the richest and poorest.

 

[brendog84cj8]

I believe there is a proper kindergarten through junior high school out there now. Times change. mtmuley

You are correct, after 8th grade they will go to Stevi or Florence. My son goes to Lone Rock.

 

[SAJ-99]

Government bailed out the ones that didn't have flood insurance but suffered a loss. They were the ones that did not live in a flood threat zone, so they could have purchased the insurance for around $300. They're the same ones that said "Flood Insurance, it never floods here." Then they lost everything and were boohooing that they didn't have insurance. So, long story short everyone has to pay to refill the coffers of the Insurance companies.

FEMA doesn't have coffers and Insurance companies offer a service and want to make a profit. Maybe members of the Yellowstone Club can self-insure the fire risk, but a lot of people can't do that. They rely on the statistical models from FEMA to determine risk and cost of insuring. FEMA asks Congress for supplemental appropriations every time there is an event (so yeah, like every year). As a taxpayer, I guess I don't mind the price increase. If people want to live in a flood zone or in the a high-fire zone, they should pay the appropriate amount of that insurance instead of coming to the taxpayer with hat in hand every few years. But yes, as you well know, the model's probabilities have been updated as well. If a Cat 5 storm destroys NOLA in the next 5 years, maybe we should discuss paying people to not rebuild and just move from those more prone areas. But the same applies to areas of Houston, Miami, Etc.

 

[JDH]

My insurance has also gone up a lot. Increased cost of materials I guess.

Same here. Almost 50% increase

 

[noharleyyet]

Same here. Almost 50% increase

Yep, home and auto.

 

[Wildabeest]

Property valuation / property tax increases aren’t unique to MT. Here’s mine from Lincoln County WY - 25% YoY increase…

I haven’t seen the estimates on my MT property - guess I need to check the mailbox. But I’ve been paying less than $100/yr property tax on 20 acres that’s worth ~$400,000. Even if my tax on that quadrupled, it’d still be damn cheap compared to what I pay for properties in other states.

I was involved in a project 20 years ago to build a computer system for county tax offices to automate the “revaluation” appraisal process using market sales data and other factors. It was all about “fair” allocation of the tax burden based on as up-to-date and accurate market data as could be found. One thing I learned during that project is that counties often drop the millage rates if property values are increasing at a faster rate than county budget needs. So don’t assume that just because your assessed value has increased by a specific multiple that your tax bill will increase by the same multiple. They are two different things. Assessed value is based on fair distribution of the burden based on market data, whereas the setting of millage rates is based on budgetary needs of the taxing authority to generate $x of revenue in total. In the WY example above, the 2023 estimate for amount owed is based on 2022 millage rate. I’m pretty confident that the property value increases aren’t unique to just my property, which also gives me confidence that millage rate will be lower for 2023 when I get my actual bill.

 

[Nameless Range]

It’s not a unique story at all, but 12 years ago my wife and I bought the 2.5 acre parcel our house is on for $38,000. We built our 3600 square-foot house for $203,000 - around 240,000 total.

There are 2 acre lots in my subdivision selling for that much….

As was mentioned earlier, one of the things that I see as unfortunate about this is that local mill levys, School bonds, etc. are going to be increasingly distasteful to folks who feel like they’re being taxed out of house and home.

When, I think in reality, those local things that increase your taxes that require public approval will often have far more an affect on your life and the characteristics of your community, than statewide tax revenue and expenditure , though I certainly know there is large overlap between the two.

 

[Wildabeest]

And @Gerald Martin, I get your issues with school funding, but what about people without kids? Or folks like me who no longer have school age kids? Shouldn’t we get our money back too since we aren’t directly benefitting from it? And to take it a step further, I never drive on Highway xyz, so shouldn’t I also get back my portion of whatever tax money is spent on that highway? Hopefully you can see the slippery slope here.

 

[longbow51]

It's the same m.o. here in Colorado...

Not sure what the gov in either state has to do with appraisals; the article Randy posted explained it pretty well. Residential goes up due to supply and demand. Folks fleeing crime, riots, lockdowns, etc. Not to mention Yellowstone.

On our street alone, houses have almost doubled in some cases; our neighbor across the street had a bidding war with 7 bids over appraisal, all cash.

If you haven't read the article, it's excellent.

 

[YukonGold]

Town halls coming on this issue. Looks like a couple zoom meetings too. I plan to attend. My property value and estimated tax doubled.

Citizen Knowledge Article View - Citizen

montana.servicenowservices.com

 

[rogerthat]

My insurance has also gone up a lot. Increased cost of materials I guess.

I wish. Inflation guard on most policies is some X% probably 3-5% but the premiums are going up 10% plus each year. Mine were up 40% last year alone. Insurance people are literally fleecing this country. They are just getting in on the “inflation” bump like everyone else. My agents have upped their tropical vacations to a minimum of 4 a year and they are golfing most afternoons. Got to pay for that lifestyle somehow

 

[TimberBuck]

Apologies if this was already posted, but here is a clip from the Gallatin County Commission that was shared with me regarding the new Tax Assessments that homeowners recently received:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CuH_i1dAI2r/

 

[BuzzH]

FEMA doesn't have coffers and Insurance companies offer a service and want to make a profit. Maybe members of the Yellowstone Club can self-insure the fire risk, but a lot of people can't do that. They rely on the statistical models from FEMA to determine risk and cost of insuring. FEMA asks Congress for supplemental appropriations every time there is an event (so yeah, like every year). As a taxpayer, I guess I don't mind the price increase. If people want to live in a flood zone or in the a high-fire zone, they should pay the appropriate amount of that insurance instead of coming to the taxpayer with hat in hand every few years. But yes, as you well know, the model's probabilities have been updated as well. If a Cat 5 storm destroys NOLA in the next 5 years, maybe we should discuss paying people to not rebuild and just move from those more prone areas. But the same applies to areas of Houston, Miami, Etc.


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View attachment 282705

I don't have a problem with the insurance, FEMA absolutely IS the problem and how they classified properties for the flood insurance requirement.

Does it make sense in NOLA yes, does it make sense in Laramie Wyoming when you have a creek that you can jump across anywhere, that's entrenched in a 30-40 foot cannel? Probably not, and in particular when the homes across the street (with more flood control in the streets) borders it are the ONLY homes paying for flood insurance. Never mind that if my rental house floods the people living behind me, as well as the University of Wyoming, are also going to be under the same amount of water.

I called FEMA directly and asked how they classified which homes need flood insurance and which ones don't. They had GIS analysts look at perennial water and made the determination arbitrarily on what they "thought" the risk of flooding was. I can tell you since that house was built in 1957, it has not come close to flooding. Further, I think their GIS analyst should try to get a basic understanding of elevation, noting that in some cases the houses that aren't required to have it on the next block over are LOWER in elevation than the houses that require it.

The unfortunate part, is many of the homes on that street are of the first time home buyer variety, in that 200-350K dollar range. That puts many of those homes out of reach when you have to factor in regular home owners insurance, plus flood insurance. Its a joke.

I painted FEMA's little red wagon and just cut a check to pay off the rental so we could drop the flood insurance and only paid one years premium.

Its a total scam in Laramie.