Lee Home Appraiser Ken Wilkinson is used to fielding complaints from people who think their home assessments are too high.
After all, a increased assessment translates into greater taxes.
But what a difference the housing crash makes.
Now some individuals have a new complaint: “My assessment is too low.”
“Before two years ago, I never got a call,” Wilkinson said. “This year I got two calls. They wanted higher value since they needed to sell it.”
The News-Press also received calls from individuals upset about low assessments since Truth in Millage Notices were sent out with house values and tax rates last month.
Things changed when property values fell sharply right after the residential real estate boom ended in 2006 and commercial house followed suit two years later.
On this year’s county tax roll, as an example, of properties the use of which hasn’t changed, 459,226 went down in value (compared to 2009); only 36,716 went up; and 22,525 stayed the same.
But those who wish to promote or refinance aren’t all happy about the declining values.
“Our lot is appraised at $18,000? That’s insane,” mentioned certified public accountant Leslie D’Alessandro, who with her husband, Peter, has owned a three-bedroom, two-bath house in Caloosa Yacht & Racquet Club along the Caloosahatchee since 1999.
The value of their property on the notice sent out by Wilkinson’s office last week was $169,279, which Leslie D’Alessandro also considers a lowball figure. It’s down from $282,020 in 2009 and $390,730 in 2008.
“It concerns me as far as homeowners insurance,” she said. “How much is the replacement value?”
Refinancing the home also would be more difficult due to the fact of the low assessed value, D’Alessandro stated, and selling would be even harder.
“I’m just glad we don’t have to sell our house,” she mentioned.
Wilkinson mentioned his hands are tied. Even though house owners would pay more taxes if their home were adjusted up in worth, state law requires he assess everything equally.
The notices sent out by the home appraiser every August also are not intended to reflect current worth, he stated; they’re based on comparable sales no later than the end of the previous year.
They’re also more conservative than a private appraiser’s estimate, Wilkinson said. Sales costs are deducted from the total figure, for instance.
Mike Hagen, an attorney who handles home tax value appeals, stated he hasn’t been asked to get anyone’s home value higher. But he said that typically he’d advise someone making the request to leave well enough alone.
Insurance companies and banks deciding whether to refinance don’t rely on the property appraiser’s figures to make their calculations, Hagen mentioned.
A larger assessed worth would help only when trying to sell a house.
“There’s no question a potential buyer may look at the house appraiser system, see what their opinion is,” he said.
Bill Davis thinks his house value is too low but doesn’t blame the home appraiser.
Davis, a retired banker who lives in Marietta, Ga., owns a unit in the Renaissance condominium on Winkler Avenue.
Over the past three years his assessment has fallen from $133,000 in 2008 to $76,430 in 2009 and $22,200 this year.
His unit is worth more than that, Davis stated, but lenders who are dragging their feet on foreclosures keep the complex in limbo.
Dominic Calabro, president of the Tallahassee-based taxation watchdog group Florida Taxwatch, stated there’s some concern about overly low assessed worth by commercial property owners.
“They have a myriad of different loans to support the activity and they’re often leveraged,” he said. “It does (cause problems) in the sense that it can affect whether you have a net loss of worth: whether the banks will continue to renew loans for the appraised value.”
But generally, Calabro said, it’s a perfect storm of low house values and a difficult lending environment that has some people today in denial.
“Florida’s seen some house tax declines once every 30 or 40 years,” he said. “It’s just we haven’t seen the decline in value at the same time as tight money.”
One thing remains constant, he said.
“Property taxes are a lot like the weather: Men and women are never happy with them,” he stated.
If you need more info about Lee County properties, feel free to check the Cape Coral Real Estate website
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Sep 07 2010
