Replies

1. 
   Bon_Vivant | Jun 27, 2022 08:11am | #1

   Your house, You go what you want.
   Good luck.

2. 
   eddo234 | Jun 27, 2022 09:19am | #2

   Can’t imagine any scenario, other than a designated historic building, where you can’t, or shouldn’t do that. And make sure you see about lowering your taxes afterwards. Bear in mind though, that in some places that haven’t had a reappraisal done in a long time, you may be opening a can of worms by asking for a reduction, and actually wind up paying more property tax, even with the sun room removed.

1. 
   mikemahan3 | Jun 27, 2022 12:02pm | #3

   In California it can only be reappraisal for the value of the work.

2. 
   Deleted | Jun 27, 2022 01:06pm | #4

   “[Deleted]”

3. 
   cdanner | Jun 27, 2022 01:09pm | #5

   I deleted my own comment somehow. Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. I'll have to look into how it works with reappraisal. It'd sure be nice to lower those taxes, but if there's a risk we could end up paying more, we'll let it go. I'm just curious if we would be required to do a reappraisal.

4. 
   eddo234 | Jun 27, 2022 01:31pm | #6

   Not sure how it works in whatever state you're in. Here in Vermont when you get a building permit for anything, renovation, new construction, etc., the appraiser/lister comes to appraise it when the work is finished. And it always has raised my taxes. :-) But.... you're not getting a permit for work that would add value, so not sure if the appraiser would even come around (unless you asked them or they though they could get some more $ out of you). :-) The other thing in Vermont is that eventually the whole town's average assessment is lower than market value, which triggers a town-wide reappraisal, but otherwise they don't just come to individual properties whenever they decide they want to raise values unless work has been done.

5. 
   tfarwell | Jun 28, 2022 12:05am | #7

   I would recommend removing it. It will make you happier, and that's worth a lot. Best of luck to you.

1. 
   cdanner | Jun 28, 2022 04:10pm | #8

   Thanks so much for the great feedback and encouragement. I was expecting people to lecture me about reducing the property value and arguing that no one goes smaller. It's always bigger and for good reason. Value! Value! Value!

   Our home was built by a Forest Service employee in California in the 1960s. The original size is charming. The sunroom was done nicely by the former owners, great people, too. But there are problems, and it's never felt right. The bathroom window looks out into the sunroom, and it's our only bathroom. The foundation is on pillars, clay soil, and there are cracks on the exterior wall. It was built over an old 60s era cement sidewalk and large steps. They're cracking and breaking away. Some pillars are sitting on top.

   The old redwood deck boards (they built a deck over the sidewalk before deciding to enclose it as a sunroom extension) are in excellent condition. There's a lot of salvable materials.

   I'm pretty excited. The county told me the demolition permit is $142 with no requirements on how it's to be done. I thought that was odd because the breaker box is mounted on the exterior of the original wall to the house, and on the outside of one of the sunroom walls is the electrical box that the power goes into from the power line.

   The power company installed the meter facing the road on the extension. We'll have to figure out how to manage relocating it. I'm not sure what the options are. We want it to look nice. And can the breaker box be outside and exposed to the elements? We don't have a garage. On the other side of that wall is the kitchen.

   Thanks again, folks!

6. 
   eddo234 | Jun 28, 2022 04:40pm | #9

   There definitely are weatherproof service panels, but from what you say it sounds like it was always inside, maybe not. There should be a weather rating label on the panel.

7. 
   Nickmilleres | Jun 30, 2022 02:26am | #10

   Thanks for this interesting information!