High-rise condo depreciation: how much land value tot exclude

High-rise condo depreciation: how much land value tot exclude

NY · Member since 2012 · 4 posts · 0 votes

Great forum discussions here.... I read several relevant threads but my question focuses on how to split between land and building value in a high rise condo for depreciation purposes.

I purchased the condo 10 years ago for 250k in a commuter town in the NYC suburbs (downtown highrise building w/300 condo apartments; no real vacant land nearby for price comparison purposes). The condo includes in the deed 0.25% common interest (i.e. LAND and other common elements).
FMV in 2012 >300k, according to comps from sales. Since purchase price < FMV I will need to use the former for depreciation.

I moved out in mid 2012 and have been renting it since; now I need to calculate depreciation since the conversion to rental.

The original appraisal does not split between land and building value. The 2012 town tax assessor's values the condo at less than half FMV. The land is assessed at 22k and the building at 90k for a total of 112.

I see 3 options of splitting land vs building value:

1) assign 22k to land value (simply per tax assessment) and use 228k for depreciation. That would be about 10% value for land.

2) use the ratio between land and building from the city tax assessment and scale it to the purchase price (of 250k). i.e. land value = ~50k and depreciable building portion =~ 200k. That would give about 20% value to land.
BTW if 50k = 0.25%, the cost per acre of land would be 9 milion :)

3) Another option that I saw elsewhere is that some CPAs claim that condos in high-rises have no land value... so basically use 250k for depreciation and 0% value for land. Would that even fly in case of an audit?

x) The last option would be to get a new assessment for land vs building value but I doubt I can get that done by 4/15.

I am interested in your learned opinions :)

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Investor · Pawleys Island, SC · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 837 votes
13y

You paid $250K for the condo which includes (by deed) a portion of the common elements that we will call "land" for depreciation purposes.

If you can get the tax assessment history for the complex from 10 years ago, you can see what the assessed value of your share the common elements was vs the total assessed value of the condo. Divide the assessed value of the common elements by the assessed value of the total property. Multiply that percentage by your $250K purchase price to determine how much of your condo purchase price to allocate to the land.

If you can't get the assessment from 10 years ago, use the current tax assessment in the same way. Divide the tax assessor's value of your share of the common elements by the value of the condo. Multiply that percentage by $250K to determine the value of your non-depreciable land.

The fact that your deed says you have a 0.25% ownership interest in the common elements is just a distraction here and is not relevant information in answering your question.

Your option one is not correct because you are using the current assesed value of the "land" and subtracting that from your actual purchase price. That does not accurately represent the value of the land in relation to the value of your property.

Your option three is a popular choice because the value of the land usually turns out to be such a small number when compared to the purchase price, but I suspect the IRS will have a problem with this if you were audited.

Option four is viable, but you already have all the information you need from your tax assessment. Why pay for information you can determine from other sources for free?

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  • Accountant, Enrolled Agent · Grayslake, IL · Member since 2011 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    13y

    Ted R. how does your assessor value land? Here it is $9 per sq ft. How big it the piece of land its on? Divided the sq footage of the land its on by the number of units and multiple it by the dollar amount per sq foot.

    Otherwise take the amount they give you.

    -Steven

  • NY · Member since 2012 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    13y

    Steven, my % common interest is 0.25% of the ~2 acres for the entire building, which comes out to ~200 sq ft of land :) If 200 sq ft is assessed at 22k that makes it around $100/sq ft. I never talked to the assessor's office so I wouldn't know more than this...

    BUT that assessment massively subestimates the entire condo value at ~1/3 FMV so do I need to scale up the 22k land value from their assessment?

  • Investor · Pawleys Island, SC · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 837 votes
    13y

    You paid $250K for the condo which includes (by deed) a portion of the common elements that we will call "land" for depreciation purposes.

    If you can get the tax assessment history for the complex from 10 years ago, you can see what the assessed value of your share the common elements was vs the total assessed value of the condo. Divide the assessed value of the common elements by the assessed value of the total property. Multiply that percentage by your $250K purchase price to determine how much of your condo purchase price to allocate to the land.

    If you can't get the assessment from 10 years ago, use the current tax assessment in the same way. Divide the tax assessor's value of your share of the common elements by the value of the condo. Multiply that percentage by $250K to determine the value of your non-depreciable land.

    The fact that your deed says you have a 0.25% ownership interest in the common elements is just a distraction here and is not relevant information in answering your question.

    Your option one is not correct because you are using the current assesed value of the "land" and subtracting that from your actual purchase price. That does not accurately represent the value of the land in relation to the value of your property.

    Your option three is a popular choice because the value of the land usually turns out to be such a small number when compared to the purchase price, but I suspect the IRS will have a problem with this if you were audited.

    Option four is viable, but you already have all the information you need from your tax assessment. Why pay for information you can determine from other sources for free?

  • NY · Member since 2012 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    13y

    Thanks Dave for your great suggestion!

    I was able to get the info from 10 years ago with a simple phonecall. The land was valued at ~21k (~12.7% of total assessed value) and the building ~144k for a total assessed value of ~165k. Actual purchase price was 50% higher at 250k.

    Could I use 21k as per the assessor's land valuation or am I required to calculate it as 12.7% of the actual purchase price?

  • Investor, Entrepreneur, Educator · Springfield, MO · Member since 2009 · 21k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    13y

    If the land is held by the association, the CPA is correct, you don't own it, you can't depreciate or assign values to something you don't own. :)

    Back up to RE basics, you'll see that sales on multis, commercial or even residential investments at high dollar amounts should have the land and improvements broken out in the sale contract. Otherwise you'll get stuck with assessor/tax values.

  • NY · Member since 2012 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    13y

    Bill, per deed the condo has a 0.25% interest in the common land and other common elements. I assume this means that I own ~200 sq ft of the 2 acres of land.

    Good suggestion for future purchases to specify in the contract land vs. building value though it is unclear whether there are certain minimums and if this even applies for IRS purposes :)

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