That’s one of the many things we discussed in last week’s column featuring Grays Harbor County Assessor Paul Easter. But there’s more to say – and it’s good news!

So, as promised, we will continue for the next few weeks with helpful information from Paul, who has served as Grays Harbor County’s Assessor some 17 years.

At Aberdeen Neighborhood Housing Services, we strive to increase the livability of homes on Grays Harbor. We often hear people say they’re afraid to keep up their house or make improvements because they’re afraid of an increased tax burden.

To the contrary, Paul said that individual maintenance and repair items such as putting on a new roof, painting your house, adding new windows, installing new siding, insulating, landscaping your property or adding a new fence won’t make your assessment go up. These examples are considered maintenance items rather than "value additions."

Although he did say if you made all those changes at once, his office might take note.

In addition, however, he let us know about the remodeling exemption. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that folks could get some tax relief while making physical improvements to their home. Here’s how:

The State Legislature passed a law giving tax relief to those who embark on qualified home improvement projects. With the snappy title of "Physical Improvement to a Single Family Dwelling Exemption program," it may be your ticket to some savings.

"It’s a state law that encourages the upkeep and reclaiming of value to homes," Paul explained.

This is how it works: Before beginning your remodel, you must fill out a very simple one-page form found at the County Assessor’s Office in Montesano. Or, you can have them mail it to you.

The form asks you to describe the planned improvement, how much you estimate it will cost you, when you plan to begin and who issued the building permit.

For the purpose of this program, the term "physical improvement" means any addition, improvement, remodeling, renovation, structural correction or repairs that add to the value or condition of an existing dwelling. It also includes the addition of, or repairs to, garages, carports, patios, decks or other improvements attached to and compatible with the home.

However, it does not include swimming pools or outbuildings.

Once you’ve been accepted into the program, the Assessor’s Office establishes the before-the- improvement-value of your home. When the improvements are complete your home is revalued.

Now here comes the good part – the difference between the value before the improvements and the value after the improvement is the amount exempted. This exemption is limited to 30 percent of your home’s value before the improvement.

So, for example, you’re going to build a $30,000 addition onto your $70,000 (before-improvement-value) house. Using the formula, 30 percent of $70,000 is $21,000. This would be the amount exempted, leaving $79,000 as your new assessment for three years.

Take the $21,000 exempted and multiply by a typical Grays Harbor tax rate of, say, $12.50 per $1,000 and you save $262.50 a year. Because the exemption is good for three years, you save a total of $787 in taxes for just filling out one piece of paper.

So, if you’re planning a remodeling project this spring or summer, it’s certainly worth looking into. And do it soon, because it’s important that you fill out the forms before you start your project.

Give the Assessor’s Office a call for more information – (360) 249-4121. They can give you an idea on the phone whether the project you have in mind would fit this program.

With the tax statements coming out last week, folks could be concerned about making any home improvements. However, in addition to telling us about the remodeling exemption, Paul gave us some other encouraging words.

First, he explained that if you have, for example, a 1950s home and you add on or make other physical improvements, "we calculate those improvements in considering the ‘effective age’ of the house. That gives a little depreciation to the improvements, so the tax of the improvement is not as harsh as one might think."

Second, depending on where you live in the county, even a $10,000 improvement would only increase taxes about $100 to $160 a year.

Third, he let us know that the County Assessor’s Office has a four-year area cycle to re-assess homes in the county. In addition, new construction and remodeling in the county is assessed each year, from May 31 to July 31, but only on the percentage of the project completed.

So, here’s a tax tip: If you don’t get your project complete until August or September, the assessed value won’t go up as much until the following year.

Better yet, if you don’t start your project until after July 31 2000, the Assessor won’t pick up the increase in value until Jan. 1, 2001 for taxes in 2002. So, because of the assessors’ schedules, you’ve gained a year of tax reprieve.

Next week we’ll talk about the senior citizen and disabled persons property tax exemption program. And, coming up soon, we’ll tell you what to do if you disagree with your property assessment.

Just a quick addendum to let you know that your dream of homeownership may be closer to coming true.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Home Loan Partnership Program has awarded ANHS $153,000, which will be leveraged with money from local lenders and ANHS to provide several loans for low-income, first-time homebuyers.

The homes can be located anywhere in the county except within the city limits of Aberdeen, Hoquiam and Cosmopolis.

For more information, give us a call at (360) 533-7828.