I also was under that impression, until the first tax bill the first year after I broke ground. I broke ground the day before Thanksgiving, 2003. I then got a school tax bill showing a $39,000 assessment increase on the only building on the property, a 16x24 pole type sugarhouse with rough cut board (no batten yet) siding, no electric and only a partial floor made of wood (12' x 16'), 3 slider windows and a 8" smoke stack (homemade into a triple wall and approved by the fire dept). At that point I only had just under $7000 into it.
Good old spend and tax NY. After I finished the sugarhouse I applied for an Ag assessment, that cut my taxes to under 1/3.
I did have a building permit, which about 2 years later I discovered I had not needed one for an Ag Structure. Yes, I am a farm and file my taxes as a farm, besides the maple, I also have 4.5 acres of blueberries on another parcel.
Dave Klish, I recently ordered a 2x6 wood fired evaporator from A&A Sheet Metal which I will be converting to oil fired
Now have solar, 2x6 finish pan, 5 bank 7x7 filter press, large water jacketed bottler, and tankless water heater.
Recently bought another Gingerich RO, this one was a 125, but a second membrane was added thus is a 250, like I had.
After running a 2x3, a 2x6, 3x8 tapping from 79 taps up to 1320 all woodfired, now I'm going to a 2x6 oil fired and a 200-425 taps.