Fluvanna Reassessment Still Looks Bleak
November 21, 2006 |
NBC 29 ran a story on Friday that covered the property reassessment in Fluvanna County. According to the story, the county is preparing residents for an average 40% increase in property assessments for 2007. That’s a 40% tax increase.
About a month ago, I covered this in a post I wrote that attempted to show that increasing property assessments by even 30% would mean that the assessments would now be higher than market value. In light of the fact that with this latest story, Fluvanna seems to be preparing residents for a 40% average increase, I wanted to see how the data would shake out.
I went into the MLS and looked up every property that sold in the month of October in Fluvanna County. I then looked at the current tax assessment for each of those properties, increased the assessment by 40% and compared it to the actual sales price to see if a 40% increase is in line with market value. Here’s what I found:
There were 35 properties that closed in the month of October, 2006. Of those 35 properties, I threw out three of them. One was thrown out because it was completely renovated both inside and out prior to its sale, and the other two were thrown out because they were so new that the assessment only reflected the land value. That left 32 property sales to look at.
Of the 32 sales that I examined, only 6 sold for a value AT OR ABOVE a 40% increase in their current assessments. That means that 80% of the properties sold for BELOW a 40% increase in their current assessments. What does this mean? It means that if the 40% increase in assessments were to go into effect today, 80% of the homes sold in October would be over-taxed. Not good.
My first concern is with the over-taxation. No population at any time, for any reason, should be over-taxed. This is especially true in the case of over-valued assessments, since assessments are something that can be changed. If someone wants to have a debate over the actual tax rate being to high, that’s fine. There is no reason, however, that assessments should be too high. I fully understand that tax-payers have the right to challenge their assessments, but judging by what some people have told me about their previous experiences with challenges, I don’t have a lot of hope that people will have success.
My second concern is that people will attempt to use the tax assessments to value their homes when they want to sell. The government does not set the value of a home, the market does. Tax assessments are supposed to be a reflection of the market, not the other way around. Judging by the little bit of data that I have looked at, most property assessments are going to be above the current market value unless the county experiences tremendous appreciation between now and the time the tax bills go out. I don’t foresee that happening.
The reassessment in Fluvanna County as it is currently being discussed, or not being discussed as the case may be, has the potential to be very bad for residents. At the very least, this is an issue that needs to be addressed and discussed much more at the Board of Supervisors level, and residents should be asking a lot more questions about just how much impact this reassessment is going to have on not only their tax bills, but the financial health of the county as a whole.
I am going to take some time to break down the stats that I gathered a little more, and I will continue to follow the coverage of the issue and try to get some answers from county officials.
[tags] real estate, realtor, fluvanna, virginia, reassessment, tax, property value [/tags]
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8 Responses to “Fluvanna Reassessment Still Looks Bleak”
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Disclaimer
My name is Daniel Rothamel. I am a licensed real estate agent in the Commonwealth of Virginia and a member of the National Association of REALTORS. As such, I adhere to a strict code of ethics and all laws with regard to equal housing, which is reflected in the content of this blog. My broker is Strong Team REALTORS, 86 Joshua Lane, Palmyra, VA 22963; (434) 589-5800. My VA Real Estate License number is 0225 077325. All of the opinions in this blog are mine, unless otherwise noted.
Daniel,
One of the reasons we decided to buy in Fluvanna was the low taxes. Would you be so kind as to point us to information about the process of challenging assessments in Fluvanna. I was once successful in Erie County NY, and am chomping at the bit to give it another go. What I found is a little due diligence goes a long way. But we need to know the rules.
Steve
[Reply]
[...] A client of mine alerted my attention to a document that Fluvanna County has posted on its government website. The document is a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the tax reassessment. I wanted to pass it along to readers of this blog because I have received questions from people about the reassessment. The FAQ list from the county is the first step in addressing some of those questions. I shall do my best to continue to follow the reassessment discussion and keep everyone up-to-date. [...]
My husband and I are Fluvanna county residents. We just opened our 2007 real estate assessments and almost fainted. Ours increased a little over 40%. There is no way in the present real estate climate that we could sell our house for what they are claiming. I have read the FAQ on the county webpage, however it does not address the evidence required to reduce your assessment. Is there any guidance here?
Thanks.
[Reply]
Christina,
A lot of people share your concerns. I will send you an email about your situation, and you can always keep checking the blog for more info.
[Reply]
I couldn’t sleep after opening my reassesment. I live at Lake Monticello in a small, under 1300 sq ft home. I am a single parent. My home increased by $62,200. Is this right? I don’t have a basement, garage, or fireplace. My home is very basic. I moved here 3 years ago because I can’t afford Charlottesville.
[Reply]
April,
Unfortunately, “right” is a relative term in this situation. Most people who have a home like yours are in the same situation. I would need to know specifics about your house to determine what fair market value may be. Even then, I’m not an appraiser, so while my guess my be an educated one, it is still a guess.
You probably shouldn’t fear not being able to afford your home. As I mentioned in my last post, while your assessment may have increased dramatically, the chance of your actual tax bill going up is reasonably low. The problem won’t be for you so much as it will be for someone who wanted to buy your home, and had to pay taxes on an inflated assessment.
[Reply]
We live in Fluvanna County, to the east of Scottsville on 10 acres. While our total assessment increased by 53% ($94,000), the land value increased by 119%. Needless too say, this is rather absurd considering the current market conditions.
Our appointment to “discuss” this assessment is next Thursday. Thus any suggestions regarding challenging this assessment would be appreciated. Also if anyone knows the basis for land valuation used by the assessors, please share it. Thanks and good luck to all of us.
[Reply]
Hello:
I,too, received a 40% increase in Fluvanna County’s re-assessment. The assessment separates land value from building(s). The interesting part for me is the land assessment increased 86%. I want to challenge that land value assessment but have been unsuccessful at finding any information on land values in the Palmyra area of the county. I also want to get a highly reputable independant appraiser to assist in the appeal. Can you help on any of these matters.
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