The Fluvanna reassessments are out, and I can’t imagine that this is a fun week for the folks over at the Fluvanna County Commissioner of Revenue’s office. I talked about this twice before, and now that the time is here, our phones at the office has been ringing and I have been getting emails from clients past and present about the assessment. The most common question I am hearing from homeowners is, “can I really sell my house for that much?” The simple answer is, “probably not.” In just taking a quick glance at the December sales in Fluvanna and comparing them to the new assessments, it looks like about 95% of them sold for below their assessed value (in some cases, well below). More on that in upcoming posts. . .
I recognize that current residents and homeowners probably won’t experience a major increase, if any at all, in their tax bills. The county is going to have to hold a public hearing and publicize the “revenue-neutral” tax rate. That means that the rate will probably decrease enough to offset any increase in assessments. The problem is not necessarily for the current homeowners, but for the new buyers of a home. It could go something like this, “thanks for buying a home in beautiful Fluvanna County; if you don’t mind, you are going to pay taxes on an assessment that might be 20% above what you actually just paid for your home. Thanks again.” That is not cool at all.
So far, there are lots of questions, and not nearly enough answers. Many residents are shocked and upset, and I am sure that the first public meeting on the issue will be a lively one. Unanswered questions usually make people uneasy, so the faster county officials can address the issue, the better off everyone will be. I will do my best to find out what information I can and pass it along here.
Right now, we are just looking at the tip of the iceberg as far as the assessment issue is concerned. I think that most people, myself included, just want to make sure that the ship we are sailing doesn’t say “Titanic” on the stern.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Very informative! Thanks Daniel!
Hello, thank you for the comfort that your recent posts have offered. We bought our house in June for $200,000 and it has been reassessed at $229,000. I have contacted the Fluco office and scheduled a hearing for the end of next week.
My initial reaction was based upon a suspected large increase in the taxes that I would have to pay on this property…in your previous post, you indicated that this would most likely not be the case. What is belief based upon? As you can most likely tell, this process is foreign to me, but I am not adverse to learning.
I know that you cannot offer me specific guidance, but if I am not planning on selling my home in the near future and my taxes will not increase significantly, is it a waste of time to protest? (Please keep in mind that I do not necessary trust ALL of my public servants to not significantly raise taxes).
Thank you very much, Concerned Citizen