What to do with House with 100 Acres, paid off but taxes are $10k

[Mat O'Grady]

Hello Everyone,

My friend's parents own a house free and clear with 100 acres of land. He father built the house, he is getting old and they can no longer afford the taxes of 10k a year. Does anyone know of a way to lower the taxes? They don't want to subdivide or anything that would have other people build around them. Is there a way to turn the land into conservation or something?

Thanks,

Mat

[Jon Ree]

I am not familiar with Connecticut but you can apply for farm assessment on the land in certain states. It might require you to show some nominal amount of sales each year (I think $500 in New Jersey). If it's a wooded lot just sell some firewood. The reduction in taxes can be huge.