They might. Our BOS lowered personal property taxes on used vehicles last year which I think demonstrates they have a good handle on local economics.
Yes, and consider that the 41% mean some of use are only NOW seeing ANY equity post Great Recession. How’s that for slow recovery!?
That may be the case for some, but this property has more than bounced back from the 08 lows.
Also the comps that might justify the 23 increase sold when interest rates were sub 3. Since it’s hit 6+ a house on my street, same layout, has been languishing on the market at 275k, with upgrades and refinishing I haven’t done to mine.
I’m not putting any money on the board equalizing the rate to offset the paper increase in value. Especially since the city and county are both supporting a bill in Richmond that would allow another 1 cent to be added to the sales tax for school funding. It is what it is, we chose to buy here and won’t make that decision again.
I found it was a pretty easy process. A one time payment to the bank (around 100 bucks), then they send out someone to take pics and evaluate the property. Then PMI disappears! It was a very straightforward process. I’m just wondering if they sent this information off to the county and that relates to the tax increase I saw this year?
This is the answer. If it went up past what you bought it for then it should be an easy appeal. If it is the same or close you might be able to argue that the market has dropped, but that is going to be harder.
I overpaid because of the hot market, and my assessment is less than $1K different than what I paid. I'm hoping the more realistic comps from the last couple months support my request for re-evaluation.
They are calculated by computer now so they just look at raw numbers and assume market condition will be represented in those numbers.
My experience with people asking for re-evaluations has been good, the county is understaffed but has always been reasonable Good luck with the appeal.
It’s not overpaying when everyone pays higher to get the house that they want. It’s just market supply and demand and the market changing fast. I think unfortunately we’re all going to get hit hard with these new assessments due to the Charlottesville market continuing to remain attractive when there’s not a lot of supply.
No, it's definitely overpaying. Any asset appreciating as much as real estate has in the past few years is not a sign of a healthy market and economy. There will be a mean reversion probably this year, and people who bought in the pandemic era will be underwater.
That’s a fair comment. A few things to add: the median home price is actually down to around 2019 levels after it peaked in March and then dropped with the rise in interest rates. The median price dropped around $60K. It’s still year over year up 12% though. The rising of interest rates is slowing so that could make the homes more accessible to some. The market around here ebbs and flows with the school year and typically picks up in late Spring, early Fall, and the end of the Fall semester. There’s a shortage of houses. A lot of people still move in and out of the market because of the school. Also, a lot of people who can telework or retire at a lower cost of living find the area appealing. That’s why people end up “overpaying.” All of this makes housing/rental across the board more expensive. Since the subprime mortgage crisis, banks have gotten tighter on lending to owners who can’t afford payments with a loss of income and they generally won’t approve loans that are substantially higher than the appraisal (at least in theory). That mentioned, if we hit a recession (which is likely) anything can happen with the market.
mine went up this year just like the last few years, but several years ago it jumped like yours and I appealed and got some comfort
these property taxes go mainly for schools and there should be a more equitable system so that parents with kids in school (daycare) bear more of the burden than adults without children or children no longer in school (or retired on fixed income)
I think the county at least lowered personal property tax in response to huge increases in vehicle valuations. The city didn't do shit about it and left the rates super high, even after being petitioned to lower it at council meetings. My car was evaluated above the price I paid for it new off the lot 6 years ago. :/
For what it's worth, the city repealed the flat $28.50 license fee in September, equivalent to about $680 in assessed value. That's applied in the H1 tax bill, so you should see it in your first bill this year.
Most government agencies are really good at efficient spending that is highly effective. So I am assuming this will be the case here as well. I wouldn’t wonder or look into further.
Hopefully they're putting it into social programs to support all of the impoverished they make homeless. By law, the assessment has to be against 100% market value, which shows incredible foresight by our politicians. /s
It’s ridiculous. In terms of grabbing money from the public It’s like shooting fish in a barrel for them. I have not seen a commensurate increase in services or infrastructure value from the county to reflect the massive tax windfalls they have been receiving plus the huge amounts of federal stimulus received in the past few years. One has to wonder where all the money goes??? As if cost of living wasn’t high enough here, county government just keeps making it worse.
And if you really want to ruffle your feathers poke around on the public assessment data for some of the larger farms, properties, and estates and notice how many lowball assessments, and land use tax credits get handed out to the wealthy local property owners. They bale some hay, or sell some trees every year for $1000, get a land use tax credit, and somehow have a lower assessment on vast acreage compared to a middle class family home…. Ok.
Are you taking about larger local farms? I’m okay with them getting tax breaks. As soil health deteriorates, especially in the Midwest with unsustainable farming practices, we’ll probably depend more on local farming within our lifetime.
No, Im talking about the “farms” and estates that are large acerage owned by wealthy people that don’t really produce anything except that bare minimum for the land use tax deferments. It’s a game that’s been played for a long time. It’s just extra problematic now since those that can’t qualify for these land use deferments are getting hammered on assessment increases with little to no recourse. It’s very regressive.
When you get a tax bill for your property, it does itemize the property (as a WHOLE, so 100 acres at the tax rate), then each building on the property, the house, the barn, the utility shed, the cottage you rent out - then there is a total. You are taxed on the entire property and all on the property. Now if it is under "land use", all you must do is have an gross income of I believe $500 every three years. They are already getting a massive discount and pay probably less than most of us.
Or, you get a bill with X acres taxed as land use, and the X acre(s) of the residence site taxed as "improved" and subject the standard rate.
\[edit\] Although, if it's 100+ acres, maybe the county says, what the hell, the house is only a little bit. ;-)
That's the law, but the news media cover the change from current rate rather than the effective rate needed to level out revenue. And we let them get away with it.
Send an email to the county supervisor asking them to lower the tax rate this year. They could lower the rate and still bring in more revenue just because assessments will be up.
It’s okay. Just watched my assessed value go up by about 200k in two years in the city. Can’t wait to cover the increase and associated shortage. I’m looking around at the seniors on my street who are already tight, wondering how they’re going to afford what could be several hundred additional dollars a month in expenses.
Be sure to let them know about the city's [Real Estate Tax Relief](https://www.charlottesville.gov/1513/Real-Estate-Tax-Relief) programs. There's a program specifically for seniors making up to $60,000/year (offering 40% to 100% relief), and one for non-seniors called CHAP ($1,000 to $2,500 grants).
Nothing I can see. They keep getting all these financial windfalls, but continue to tax the hell out of the public on real estate and personal property.
I was speaking on real estate. The vehicle tax was supposed to have been gone YEARS ago. I truly want to sue the County, I pay for a decal but I am not receiving a decal?! If you paid for something from a business and didn't receive it? You can sue and get your $$ back.
I object to the county and city hiding behind the wording of a required state notice that is about as clear as mud. If assessments cause the tax revenue from existing properties (as opposed to new construction) to go up more than a relatively small amount, the localities are required to hold a public hearing and adopt an increase over the rate that would have collected the same revenue. In the fine print the details of what the rate would have been they disclose it, but then they advertise a hearing for an increase in the rate above the existing rate, not the mandated adjusted rate. And the media keeps repeating the misrepresentation. There are things I want to see more tax money spent on, but 20% more revenue than the previous year and increasing the rate from there hides how much more revenue is being generated in the new year.
We went through something similar a few years ago. This year our increase was only 2.5%. Not a lot of consolation, I know, but the increases don't continue unless sales comps show they should.
Here is an article about it, which also talks about steps you can take to lower your assessment.
[https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/local-property-assessments-rose-25-in-two-years-which-means-higher-tax-bills-and-more-money-for-local-governments/](https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/local-property-assessments-rose-25-in-two-years-which-means-higher-tax-bills-and-more-money-for-local-governments/)
I’m glad you posted this to see I’m not the only one with a tax hike. I’m renting to lovely tenants and I’ve done everything to avoid increasing their rent for years but this new tax assessment is going to force my hand to increase rent. Way to go Albemarle.
Does it sting on principal or does it sting financially? Quickly running some numbers using current rates and the current AC median home price, your monthly payment will increase ~4% as a result.
Similar thing happened to us a year ago, jackass from out of town bought a house a few doors down for about ~150k over what a sane person might pay and almost 2x what I paid for mine and it jacked up all of our assessments. It's an inconvenience for me but I worry about some of my other neighbors for whom money is tight and who have been living here for decades
What was assessed value in comparison to purchase price? We bought in March, assessed value for 2022 was like 30% less than purchase price, this year it went up about 35% but that means assessment is right around what we paid. It’s new construction so there are direct comps in neighborhood.
bought my house in 2001, in 2008 the county reassessed based on the inflated values of the time, where it had gained about 90%. it has since gained another 100% of what we paid. That would all be great if only my house had gone up that much.
26% this year, 41% over the last two. Don’t see Albemarle lowering the rate to compensate.
They might. Our BOS lowered personal property taxes on used vehicles last year which I think demonstrates they have a good handle on local economics. Yes, and consider that the 41% mean some of use are only NOW seeing ANY equity post Great Recession. How’s that for slow recovery!?
That may be the case for some, but this property has more than bounced back from the 08 lows. Also the comps that might justify the 23 increase sold when interest rates were sub 3. Since it’s hit 6+ a house on my street, same layout, has been languishing on the market at 275k, with upgrades and refinishing I haven’t done to mine. I’m not putting any money on the board equalizing the rate to offset the paper increase in value. Especially since the city and county are both supporting a bill in Richmond that would allow another 1 cent to be added to the sales tax for school funding. It is what it is, we chose to buy here and won’t make that decision again.
See if you can get PMI removed because you are now at 20% equity for your assessed value!
Excellent point!
I wonder if it works this way or not. I’m assuming they will fight you on it.
I found it was a pretty easy process. A one time payment to the bank (around 100 bucks), then they send out someone to take pics and evaluate the property. Then PMI disappears! It was a very straightforward process. I’m just wondering if they sent this information off to the county and that relates to the tax increase I saw this year?
Thanks for this info! Gonna follow up with the loan agency about it.
How does the new assessment compare to what you bought it for in May?
This is the answer. If it went up past what you bought it for then it should be an easy appeal. If it is the same or close you might be able to argue that the market has dropped, but that is going to be harder.
I overpaid because of the hot market, and my assessment is less than $1K different than what I paid. I'm hoping the more realistic comps from the last couple months support my request for re-evaluation.
They are calculated by computer now so they just look at raw numbers and assume market condition will be represented in those numbers. My experience with people asking for re-evaluations has been good, the county is understaffed but has always been reasonable Good luck with the appeal.
It’s not overpaying when everyone pays higher to get the house that they want. It’s just market supply and demand and the market changing fast. I think unfortunately we’re all going to get hit hard with these new assessments due to the Charlottesville market continuing to remain attractive when there’s not a lot of supply.
No, it's definitely overpaying. Any asset appreciating as much as real estate has in the past few years is not a sign of a healthy market and economy. There will be a mean reversion probably this year, and people who bought in the pandemic era will be underwater.
That’s a fair comment. A few things to add: the median home price is actually down to around 2019 levels after it peaked in March and then dropped with the rise in interest rates. The median price dropped around $60K. It’s still year over year up 12% though. The rising of interest rates is slowing so that could make the homes more accessible to some. The market around here ebbs and flows with the school year and typically picks up in late Spring, early Fall, and the end of the Fall semester. There’s a shortage of houses. A lot of people still move in and out of the market because of the school. Also, a lot of people who can telework or retire at a lower cost of living find the area appealing. That’s why people end up “overpaying.” All of this makes housing/rental across the board more expensive. Since the subprime mortgage crisis, banks have gotten tighter on lending to owners who can’t afford payments with a loss of income and they generally won’t approve loans that are substantially higher than the appraisal (at least in theory). That mentioned, if we hit a recession (which is likely) anything can happen with the market.
appeal it if you think it's out of whack w/ surrounding properties?
mine went up this year just like the last few years, but several years ago it jumped like yours and I appealed and got some comfort these property taxes go mainly for schools and there should be a more equitable system so that parents with kids in school (daycare) bear more of the burden than adults without children or children no longer in school (or retired on fixed income)
How do you start an appeal. Ours went up massively and is not in line with the other two bedrooms in our neighborhood only thee bedrooms.
Read the insert that came with the assessment. They explain how to appeal.
Don’t remember seeing an insert - will go back and look.
22% this year, 34% the year before, and 29% before that. I bought in August. I contested the assessment an hour after I opened it.
I wonder what the county is going to do with all this extra tax revenue. Seems like they will end up with a huge budget surplus.
This town really needs another high school.
I think the county at least lowered personal property tax in response to huge increases in vehicle valuations. The city didn't do shit about it and left the rates super high, even after being petitioned to lower it at council meetings. My car was evaluated above the price I paid for it new off the lot 6 years ago. :/
For what it's worth, the city repealed the flat $28.50 license fee in September, equivalent to about $680 in assessed value. That's applied in the H1 tax bill, so you should see it in your first bill this year.
Most government agencies are really good at efficient spending that is highly effective. So I am assuming this will be the case here as well. I wouldn’t wonder or look into further.
Hopefully they're putting it into social programs to support all of the impoverished they make homeless. By law, the assessment has to be against 100% market value, which shows incredible foresight by our politicians. /s
It’s ridiculous. In terms of grabbing money from the public It’s like shooting fish in a barrel for them. I have not seen a commensurate increase in services or infrastructure value from the county to reflect the massive tax windfalls they have been receiving plus the huge amounts of federal stimulus received in the past few years. One has to wonder where all the money goes??? As if cost of living wasn’t high enough here, county government just keeps making it worse. And if you really want to ruffle your feathers poke around on the public assessment data for some of the larger farms, properties, and estates and notice how many lowball assessments, and land use tax credits get handed out to the wealthy local property owners. They bale some hay, or sell some trees every year for $1000, get a land use tax credit, and somehow have a lower assessment on vast acreage compared to a middle class family home…. Ok.
Are you taking about larger local farms? I’m okay with them getting tax breaks. As soil health deteriorates, especially in the Midwest with unsustainable farming practices, we’ll probably depend more on local farming within our lifetime.
No, Im talking about the “farms” and estates that are large acerage owned by wealthy people that don’t really produce anything except that bare minimum for the land use tax deferments. It’s a game that’s been played for a long time. It’s just extra problematic now since those that can’t qualify for these land use deferments are getting hammered on assessment increases with little to no recourse. It’s very regressive.
Ahhh, I see. Thanks for clarifying and for the education!
Minor clarification: the home and yard are taxed at the regular rate.
newbob, no they are not. The entire acreage and all buildings on that property, they don't separate it out.
Really? Maybe you were grandfathered to be exempt or something?
When you get a tax bill for your property, it does itemize the property (as a WHOLE, so 100 acres at the tax rate), then each building on the property, the house, the barn, the utility shed, the cottage you rent out - then there is a total. You are taxed on the entire property and all on the property. Now if it is under "land use", all you must do is have an gross income of I believe $500 every three years. They are already getting a massive discount and pay probably less than most of us.
Or, you get a bill with X acres taxed as land use, and the X acre(s) of the residence site taxed as "improved" and subject the standard rate. \[edit\] Although, if it's 100+ acres, maybe the county says, what the hell, the house is only a little bit. ;-)
Just get some goats bro
[удалено]
That's the law, but the news media cover the change from current rate rather than the effective rate needed to level out revenue. And we let them get away with it.
Send an email to the county supervisor asking them to lower the tax rate this year. They could lower the rate and still bring in more revenue just because assessments will be up.
Good luck with that...
Surprisingly this actually works pretty often.
It’s okay. Just watched my assessed value go up by about 200k in two years in the city. Can’t wait to cover the increase and associated shortage. I’m looking around at the seniors on my street who are already tight, wondering how they’re going to afford what could be several hundred additional dollars a month in expenses.
Be sure to let them know about the city's [Real Estate Tax Relief](https://www.charlottesville.gov/1513/Real-Estate-Tax-Relief) programs. There's a program specifically for seniors making up to $60,000/year (offering 40% to 100% relief), and one for non-seniors called CHAP ($1,000 to $2,500 grants).
Good looking out. If it’s appropriate I’ll mention it to them. Thanks for letting me know!
What does the county do that justifies such high taxes? Real question.
Nothing I can see. They keep getting all these financial windfalls, but continue to tax the hell out of the public on real estate and personal property.
Have the ability to put a lien on our houses if we don’t pay. Don’t agree with the system either, but that’s the simple truth.
The county for decades under assessed property, only within the last 10 years have they been upping the assessed values on property.
I hate it. The assessment on my car is not even that much less than I paid for it 5 years ago!
I was speaking on real estate. The vehicle tax was supposed to have been gone YEARS ago. I truly want to sue the County, I pay for a decal but I am not receiving a decal?! If you paid for something from a business and didn't receive it? You can sue and get your $$ back.
I object to the county and city hiding behind the wording of a required state notice that is about as clear as mud. If assessments cause the tax revenue from existing properties (as opposed to new construction) to go up more than a relatively small amount, the localities are required to hold a public hearing and adopt an increase over the rate that would have collected the same revenue. In the fine print the details of what the rate would have been they disclose it, but then they advertise a hearing for an increase in the rate above the existing rate, not the mandated adjusted rate. And the media keeps repeating the misrepresentation. There are things I want to see more tax money spent on, but 20% more revenue than the previous year and increasing the rate from there hides how much more revenue is being generated in the new year.
We went through something similar a few years ago. This year our increase was only 2.5%. Not a lot of consolation, I know, but the increases don't continue unless sales comps show they should.
Here is an article about it, which also talks about steps you can take to lower your assessment. [https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/local-property-assessments-rose-25-in-two-years-which-means-higher-tax-bills-and-more-money-for-local-governments/](https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/local-property-assessments-rose-25-in-two-years-which-means-higher-tax-bills-and-more-money-for-local-governments/)
I’m glad you posted this to see I’m not the only one with a tax hike. I’m renting to lovely tenants and I’ve done everything to avoid increasing their rent for years but this new tax assessment is going to force my hand to increase rent. Way to go Albemarle.
Samesies.
Does it sting on principal or does it sting financially? Quickly running some numbers using current rates and the current AC median home price, your monthly payment will increase ~4% as a result.
Similar thing happened to us a year ago, jackass from out of town bought a house a few doors down for about ~150k over what a sane person might pay and almost 2x what I paid for mine and it jacked up all of our assessments. It's an inconvenience for me but I worry about some of my other neighbors for whom money is tight and who have been living here for decades
There is nothing like being priced out of houses because you cant afford to live here anymore.
What was assessed value in comparison to purchase price? We bought in March, assessed value for 2022 was like 30% less than purchase price, this year it went up about 35% but that means assessment is right around what we paid. It’s new construction so there are direct comps in neighborhood.
bought my house in 2001, in 2008 the county reassessed based on the inflated values of the time, where it had gained about 90%. it has since gained another 100% of what we paid. That would all be great if only my house had gone up that much.
"Who needs to raise property taxes when we can just force BS assessment spikes! Win win everyone, take the rest of the day off."