assessment

Join now!

User login

Localities

Who's your legislator?

When proposed legislation threatens the value of your home, we can help you contact your legislator.

Send us a tip!

Have a news item you think we'd want to share? Send it to us on our contact form!

Find us on...

Tell a Friend

Click here to send an e-mail to friend, co-worker, neighbor, or relative about the Virginia Homeowners Alliance.

Contact us

info@VaHomeowners
Alliance.com

Va Homeowners Alliance
PO Box 643
Richmond, VA 23286-0572

Court throws out suit challenging Augusta County assessments

An Augusta County Circuit Court threw out a suit brought by Francis Chester, a Churchville lawyer who was attempting to have the county's 2009 real estate reassessments overturned. The ruling effectively ends Chester's effort, he said: "The court has made its decision and at this particular point the people are not going to have their day in court, which has been my goal," Chester said. "But this is the court's decision, so I'm putting an end to the case. I've taken it as far as I can, and there is not much more to do."

Property assessments are of keen interest to homeowners, as tax bills are based on the assessed values of homes.

Gloucester assessor says new assessments will be late

Gloucester County's next assessments are due in 17 months, but County Assessor Reese Milligan says that budget cuts and flawed data will prevent them from being completed on time.

Much of the flawed data was inherited from a previous assessment, and everything has to be verified in the field, which is a large-scale project, Milligan said.

Homeowners benefit from accurate property assessments, which reflect the sale value of their homes.

Verizon seeking lower property assessments

verizon Verizon is challenging the assessed value of its property in Virginia. If the move is successful, the telecommunications giant would pay about $500,000 less in taxes in the Lynchburg region.

If its property assessments are lowered, the company will ask for refunds on its 2009 property taxes. A public hearing on the matter will be held in March 2011.

Losing such a significant source of tax revenue would force localities to make up the difference by cutting services or raising money in other areas. Homeowners could see higher taxes and fees as a result.

Read more in the Lynchburgh News & Advance....

Posted on Saturday, May 1, 2010 - 10:32am

Stafford property taxes could be lower than proposed

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors may advertise a real estate tax rate two cents less than what the county administrator has proposed.

The Budget and Finance Committee has recommended a tax rate of $1.12 per $100 of assessed value, up from the current 84-cent rate. The higher rate makesup for the recent drop seen in most property values, meaning average homeowners would not see an increase in their property tax bills if the rate is adopted.

Chesterfield County budget down 2.1% from last year

Chesterfield County's spending from the general fund will be down for the second year in a row -- 2.1% less than last year -- dropping to $700.4 million. This year’s budget dropped to $714 million from $749 million in 2009.

About 45% of the general fund comes from real estate taxes. According to Jonathan Davis, the county’s director of real estate assessments, residential assessments are down 4% from November 2009 to January this year.

Read more at the Chesterfield Observer....

Posted on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - 4:05pm

Pittsylvania County property owners to pay lower real estate taxes

Pittsylvania County property owners will pay less in taxes for the 2010-11 fiscal year. The Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to lower the rate from 56 cents per $100 of assessed value to 52 cents per $100 of assessed value.

The board is required to set a rate that generates no more than a 1% increase in real estate tax revenue from the year before. Virginia statute requires the board to decrease next year's rate because the county’s 2009 land valuation was higher than it was in 2005.

Charlottesville residents ask for lower property taxes

Homeowners in Charlottesville won't see their property taxes go up -- in fact, with lower assessed values, many will pay less this year than last year. Still, they would be happy to see their taxes drop further. “Not only is it not time to raise the tax rate but it would be welcome to lower it,” said Colette Hall, president of the North Downtown Residents Association.

Home values in Prince William County starting to stabilize

Homeowners in Prince William County will be pleased to hear that housing prices in that area are no longer declining -- and some assessments are increasing.

The average residential property assessment is up about 0.4 percent over the past year. Last year it was down almost 30%, according to officials.

"Some neighborhoods are stabilizing in value faster than others, but prices basically . . . are not dropping any further," Prince William financial analyst Dave Sinclair said. "This is a giant step in seeing them slowly climb back up again."

Real estate taxes to rise in Fairfax, Falls Church

City 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.

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.

Read the full story...

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