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Real estate taxes to rise in Fairfax, Falls Church

alancleaver 2000City managers in Fairfax and Falls Church are proposing real estate tax hikes. The hikes are to make up revenue lost from dropping residential and commercial property assessments.

Falls Church proposed a 20-cent increase in its tax rate, from $1.07 to $1.27 per $100 of assessed value. Fairfax City is considering an increase of 8.5 cents, from 88 cents to 96.5 cents per $100 of assessed value.

Falls Church is set to adopt its budget April 26, and Fairfax will vote on its budget April 29.

Read more at The Washington Post...

Posted on Friday, March 12, 2010 - 8:07am

Chesapeake home assessments fall 6.35 percent on average

According to the Virginian-Pilot, average home values have fallen by 6.35 percent, with some high-end neighborhoods in central and southern Chesapeake experiencing the biggest decreases in real estate assessments.

Overall assessments, including commercial and industrial properties, are about 5.5 percent lower than last year, according to figures released by Chesapeake Real Estate Assessor William Rice.

The average decline in home values in Chesapeake is larger than figures released by both Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

It is only the second time since 1990 that Chesapeake has reported a decrease in overall assessments. Last year, the average decrease in assessments was about 1.79 percent.

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Posted on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 - 1:45pm

Norfolk residential assessments will fall by 4.9 percent

According to the Virginian-Pilot, due to steep declines on pricey homes in Ocean View, downtown and Larchmont, Norfolk residential real estate assessments will fall by 4.9 percent.  Overall assessments, including commercial and industrial property, will decline 3.6 percent, Real Estate Assessor Deborah Bunn told the City Council on Tuesday.

It will be the first decline in more than two decades.

The decline means that most Norfolk homeowners will see a modest reduction in real estate taxes in the fiscal year that begins July 1, assuming that the City Council does not raise real estate taxes this spring. Bunn said assessment notices will be mailed to 68,000 homes and businesses Friday. Virginia Beach Assessor Jerry Banagan, who said he expects a 5.75 percent decline in residential real estate, is the only other assessor in South Hampton Roads to announce an estimate.

 

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Posted on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 - 1:42pm

Campbell County begins property reassessment process

According to the Altavista Journal, "Campbell County property owners will not receive their reassessment notices until 2011, but the county real estate office is already gathering the information necessary for the setting of new property values.

According to information provided by Alan Lane, director of management services for the county, Virginia law requires all real property, residential and commercial, to be assessed for taxation purposes at 100 percent of market value, and the assessments must be fair and equitable. Campbell County is required by state law to conduct a property reassessment every four years. The last reassessment was done in 2007." Homeowners should brace for significant drops in their assessments given the state of the housing market.

 

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Posted on Thursday, February 25, 2010 - 10:52am

Halifax Equalization Board Hears Assessments Complaints

According to the Gazette-Virginian, Halifax County landowners who have complaints or objections about their real estate assessments may meet with the board of equalization. Meetings are scheduled at 10-minute intervals on Tuesday, Feb. 9, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Thursday, Feb. 11, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The equalization board is listening to complaints of inequalities, including errors in acreage, according to Halifax County Tax Assessor Harold Throckmorton. Prior to a change being granted, the taxpayer or his agent is required to prove the property is not uniform with similar properties or prove the property is assessed in excess of its fair market value, said Throckmorton.

 

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Posted on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 - 5:05pm

Halifax Board to Hear Assessment Complaints

In early February, Halifax homeowners will have an oppportunity for their voices to be heard.  The Board of Equalization will convene to hear complaints from homeowners that disagree with their real estate assessments. Complaints may be submitted in writing or orally during the meeting.  The outcome of the meeting may result in a decrease, an increase or an affirmation of the assessment originally issued.  The hearing dates range from February 4- February 11 at various times. It is important for homeowners to ensure that their real estate assessment is accurate, as it affects the tax levied, but it may also impact the future sales price for re-sale purposes.

 

Read the Gazette-Virginian story for specifics...

Posted on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - 5:02pm

Average Property Values in Gloucester Climb 8 Percent

Gloucester property owners will be receiving this year's reassessments soon and according to the Daily Press, property values increased on average by 8 percent. The increase is mainly attributed to land values that were previously assessed low.

Property owners who want to challenge the new assessed values can find applications online at www.gloucesterva.info/assessment. Or, applications are available at the Real Estate Assessment Office and both Gloucester Public Library locations. Property owners have until Nov. 30 to submit an application and request a review by the assessor's office."

"Assessments of Gloucester properties climbed an average of 8 percent in this year's reassessment.

Almost 23,000 notices have been mailed out notifying property owners of their new assessments. But 888 notices — mostly waterfront properties — are still being reviewed and no timeline for their mailing has been set, said County Assessor Reese Milligan.

The county saw 10,439 properties decrease in value by an average of $25,000, while 13,417 properties increased by an average of $47,000.

Assessments that increased generally saw land values rise while home values declined slightly. Land values had been underassessed and raised to bring them more in line with market value, Milligan said. As a result, home prices might have dropped slightly for many homeowners. 'We lowered that to get back to the overall market value,' Milligan said.

The assessment notices take effect Jan. 1, 2010, and are not tax bills. The tax rate — currently at 61 cents per $100 of assessed value — will be set next May by the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors during its budget process.

If the tax rate stays the same, the owner of a $250,000 home that had the assessed value climb by 8 percent would pay $122 more in taxes next year over this year's bill."

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Posted on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 - 6:34pm

Hundreds of Shenandoah Residents Attend Emotional Hearing About Appraisals

Hundreds of homeowners attended a meeting with Shenandoah County officials to discuss the recent real estate reassessments, according to NVDaily.com.

Many homeowners shared stories of being on fixed incomes, and not able to meet the increase in taxes that will likely follow the increased property assessments. They also discussed the fear of fragmentation that could occur as owners would sell off parcels of their land to cover the cost of the increased taxes. Fragmentation can hinder some communities by creating unplanned increases in needs for services, schools, transportation and public safety. The homeowners convinced the Board of Supervisors to take another look at the recent reassessments for valdity.

 

"With hundreds of people angry about the recent real estate reassessments present, the chairman of the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors conceded Thursday night that a meeting with the appraisal group to get justification of its findings was needed.

At the largest supervisors meeting in years -- perhaps in history -- several hundred people filled Central High School's gymnasium seeking answers on the increased reassessments and likelihood of a tax increase as a result. According to a presentation from County Administrator Vince Poling, changes in real property assessed values went up 21.9 percent, from $4.36 billion to $5.32 billion, in the preliminary 2009-10 figures determined by Wampler/Eanes Appraisal Group, which was hired by the supervisors for $450,000.

The county typically conducts reassessments every four years, Poling said.

In the presentation, he noted that the new reassessment does not necessarily mean a person's taxes will go up, which elicited laughter from the crowd and one person yelling, 'Tell us another one.' Instead, Poling said, the assessed value and the county's tax rate are used in conjunction to determine the final tax bill.

Enough people were present and vocal Thursday to give Board Chairman David Ferguson concern about the validity of the reassessments. He said the board needed to go back and address the matter with Wampler/ Eanes."

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Posted on Monday, November 2, 2009 - 12:56am

King George Residents Will Receive Assessments Soon

King George county property owners should be receiving their real estate assessments soon, according to the The Journal Press.

The company preparing the assessments that will go into effect next year said that the reassessment notices should be mailed out on or about October 16th.

"A real estate reassessment has been underway in King George and assessments are being readied by Blue Ridge Mass Appraisals that will go into effect next year.

Blue Ridge’s Mike Didawick recently provided a brief report on his company’s reassessment process to the Board of Supervisors.

Didawick said on Sept. 15 that the county has about 12,500 parcels, adding that the company expected to finish up in the intervening weeks.

With the current economy, will property values go up or down?

Didawick said three weeks ago that there were only about 500 parcels left to process.  But 'it’s too early to say what is going to happen to the values.'

Didawick noted that land values in King George remain strong, adding, 'There may be a slight increase in land values.'

'Raw land is still increasing in value everywhere, including this county,' he said.

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Posted on Monday, October 12, 2009 - 12:30pm

Isle of Wight Residents Could See Assessments Drop if Home Sales Trend Continues

Property assessments in Isle of Wight could decline about 2 percent next year, according to the Daily Press.

A recent report prepared for the Board of Assessors to help them get ready for the 2010 reassessments showed that 81 single-family homes in the county were sold during the first six months of 2009, and their average sales price was less than the countys assessed value on the properties. If that trent continues, then property owners could see reduced assessments in 2010.

A drop in home values doesn't mean tax bills will decline, too. Localities sometimes must increase a tax rate to offset the decline in property values, in order to maintain the same flow of income to fund expenses

Isle of Wight homeowners can expect to receive their 2010 reassessments in Apirl.

"Based on current sales trends, property assessments on houses could decline by about 2 percent next year, said Tom Finderson, chairman of the Isle of Wight Board of Assessors.

A sales study report prepared for the Board of Assessors, which is gearing up for its 2010 reassessment cycle, shows that 222 properties — including houses, vacant land, town homes, condominiums and commercial properties — exchanged hands between July 2008 and June 2009.

The report shows that 81 single-family homes in the county were sold during the first six months of this year, with the average sales price of $300,411 coming in somewhat less than the county's assessed value on the properties, Finderson said.

That could end up translating into reduced assessments for property owners, if the current sales trend continues over the next few months, Finderson said.

'It appears that we are seeing a stabilization of reassessments compared to years past, when it was climbing at double-digit rates,' said Commissioner of the Revenue Gerald H. Gwaltney. The county's reassessments in 2008 and 2006 jumped 11 and 45 percent, respectively."

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Posted on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - 9:10am