Waterbury Democrat., 1902-06-11
ASSESSORS ARE BUSY.
Many Conjectures As to What Method They Will Use in Listing Property.


 Many Conjectures As to What Method
 They Will Use in Listing Property.
 People are still calling upon the as sessors and they will continue to visit them until July 1, when it is thought almost all the property in Wa terbury will have been listed by the owners. Then the board will return the favor by dropping around to have look at the different pieces of property about town and see what they think of the values set upon them by the owners Many would like to know what plan the board will adopt to de teImine what is the full value of prop erty. It is said that they will in quire what was paid for the last piece of property sold in certain localities and also endeavOr to find out what It cost to build houses and use this as basis to work upon. If this be true, it is doubtful if the result will prove satisfactory. A man might have req son for purchasing lot in a particular section and would be willing to pay more than the market price in order to get hold of it, but this hardly could be regarded as fair way of determining what property in the same neighbor- hood was worth The purchaser might not be willing to buy any more at that price and probably if he wanted to dis pose of it he could not get what he had paid foi. it. The same thing might be said with reference to houses. How often do you hear it said that Smith or Jones. as the case may be, put too much money into his house and that he never can make it pay? People will not pay him the rent necessary to give him fair return for the money in- vested in it and as q consequence he made mistake and lost on the yen- ture. It is not likely that the assessors will try to arrange values in this man. ner. Such a course would be nothing short of compelling others to suffer for the poor judgment of their neighbors. One man might pay S5.000 for a house iIl district where rents are not over SIP month, while one that didn't cost any more than that in some more popu lar section would command S20 per month for rents. In such cases as this, and there is lots of them about town, a knowledge of the actual cost of the building would not amount to much so far as helping out the assessors is concerned. The assessors are not likely to bother their heads about what property cost. What they will want to find out is what it is worth. How much could the owner get for it pro- veded he should put it on the market and what percentage is he making on the money he has invested in it.
 Or course there is another way of looking at this matter. A man might have a valuable building but lacked the business-like tact to make it pay. he lets it run down so that nobody cares to live in it while if he kept it in repair he might be realizing handsome ly on it. This is often the result of financial troubles and in case the as sessors look at it from some other standpoint and list it for what they think it could be made worth by modest outlay the owner will have to step aside and let some one with more means take hold of it. If such course as this should be decided upon many struggling people would lose the equity they have in their homes and inside of ten years the rich would be in possession of all the real estate in Waterbury.
 But it is not expected that the as- sessors will look at all property with a speculative eye, for the greater number of people in this town who own little places had no idea of speculating when they bought lots and built upon them. These houses are not for sale if the owners should be compelled to list them at speculation prices the ann bition on the part of the working people to own property and improve it would receive a shock which would greatly retard the development of the city, for man with but $50 or $1O0 to pay down would never think of in- yesting it in building lot.
 Another question real estate owners are asking. and naturally so too. It is this. Will the assessors exercise the same diligence in looking up the value of other property as they are said to intend doing with reference to real estate. The value of pianos and other property in the homes of some tenants represent more in dollars and cents than the equity their landlords have in their houses. What means will the assessors devise to get at this? Real estate can be seen by the assessors as they ride by in their carriage but they will have to a1ight and go through the several tenements in order to know what is taxable on the inside, for very few who own no real estate will visit the assessors office. They are said to be getting lot of pinos and sold watches on the list. No doubt this is true, but isn't it a fact that these pianos and watches are the property of people who called to list real estate? Are the assessors asking owners of houses how many of their tenants have pianos, gold watches, libraries and other taxable property? If not they are not doing their duty unless they intend to make a house to house can vass themselves. something which they will be very apt to neglect to do. The tenants piano should be listed as well as the landlords; so should the gold watch of the gentlemen boarders and the diamond of the fashionable young lady. They should pay tax on what they own as well as the owners of houses, who. in many instances are women who have to earn the money to | meet the rate bills on the washboard. and it is the plain duty of the assessors to see that they do not go scot free.