THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 16, 1996 TAG: 9606160004
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERRI WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 111 lines
When John and Violet Hankins moved from Lynchburg, Va., three years ago, they knew there would be some risks in buying a home in an unfamiliar city.
But they never figured their dream house would lose $18,300 in value in one year - at least according to the real estate assessor's office.
The Hankinses have company. Across Suffolk, assessments mailed out last month are varying wildly from former years. Most of those who have called to complain are worried about the extra tax burden.
The Hankinses are upset at what seems to be an erosion of their property value.
They've worked hard to improve their house. It's a three-story Victorian with a wrap-around porch sitting on two lots of tree-shaded land in the West End section of town.
It was a steal for $90,000, but they had to install a central air conditioning system, a heating system, as well as new guttering. They assumed those improvements would increase the value of the property. They didn't.
``It was a shock,'' said Violet Hankins. ``How does this happen? The neighborhood as a whole has improved.''
The Hankinses met with an official within the assessor's office who told them a mistake was made due to a computer error, but the assessor informed them that their assessment wouldn't increase to last year's $98,400 assessment.
Violet Hankins said she has mixed feelings about a lowered assessment. The Hankinses now will pay lower taxes, but if she and her husband ever decide to move, their house has a lower value.
``Lower assessments means lower taxes, but on the other hand they've cheated our neighborhood,'' said Violet Hankins. ``If you moved my house into (upscale) Riverview, I'd like to know how my house compares then.''
A preliminary report shows that Suffolk's total assessments increased 6.84 percent, up from last year's 1.33 percent.
Real Estate Assessor Maria R. Kattmann said she received 300 calls from residents complaining about inaccurate assessments in the first several days after the assessments were mailed out May 30.
Mayor S. Chris Jones said he also fielded numerous calls as well as talked with residents at his Bennett's Creek Pharmacy.
Now, the city wants to find out if residents have a legitimate beef.
On Wednesday, Kattmann will give a report to City Council at 7 p.m. at City Council chambers outlining what the office is doing to handle complaints. City officials also want to learn if some neighborhoods were inequitably assessed.
``There may be some trends that we don't know about,'' Jones said. ``We may have to go back into neighborhoods and make adjustments.''
Kattmann blames part of the problem on moving the city's records to a new automated computer system.
``With 30,000 houses, there's a chance there can be mistakes,'' Kattmann said. She said she and her office are making an effort to find and rectify them. Kattmann said she is meeting with residents, inspecting and taking measurements of houses to find out if there are problems.
Residents have until the fall to register complaints. The land book - the city's assessment roll - is published in September.
Citizens can appeal assessments before a three-member Board of Equalization in City Council Chambers starting July 26. Applications for the hearing are available in the assessor's office. If they are still unsatisfied, citizens may appeal the decision to the Circuit Court.
All taxable property is assessed the first of the year by computing 100 percent of the fair market value, Kattmann said. That value is determined by ``market and sales activity'' in the neighborhood, she said. A resident's tax bill is determined by multiplying the total assessment by the tax rate in a given area.
There are ways to determine if your assessment is fair, said Tom Morelli, senior property appraisal consultant for the State Tax Department in Richmond. If the assessment is close to 100 percent of the fair market value, the assessment is usually fairly accurate, he said. A comparison of the property's selling price and the assessment determines the fair market value.
In Hampton Roads, most cities are close to 100 percent. State Tax Department Statistics for 1994, the last year for which the information is available, show: Suffolk's assessments average 90.5 percent of real selling values, based on 400 sales; Norfolk, 93.7 percent, based on 674 sales; Chesapeake, 92.1 percent, based on 625 sales; Portsmouth, 94.3 percent, based on 526 sales; and Virginia Beach, 94.4 percent, based on 500 sales.
There are neighborhoods where the assessments will likely increase, such as new developments like Harbour View, Kattmann said.
``There are no two properties that are alike,'' Kattmann said. ``You couldn't compare a home near Pitch Kettle Road with one near Lake Kennedy. . .
The assessor's office did not have a record of assessments by neighborhood. However, the mayor said, the majority of resident complaints of steep reassessments have come from many of the waterfront and newer neighborhoods such as Sleepy Lake, Bennett's Harbour and Cedar Point.
George E. Gaddis lives in one of those lakefront properties in Bridge Point Farms between Chuckatuck and Driver. Gaddis said his assessment increased from $173,400 last year to $219,900 this year.
Gaddis, who said he moved away from Portsmouth to escape high taxation, said Suffolk officials are merely trying to find a ``slick way'' to tax existing residents to cover the cost of new development.
He plans to meet with the assessor later this month: ``I'd bring my shotgun with me if it would do any good.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
TAX QUESTIONS
Real Estate Assessor Maria R. Kattmann will speak before City
Council at 7 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the concerns of citizens.
City Council wants to find out if there are inequitable trends in
certain neighborhoods.
If residents aren't satisfied with an assessment, they're urged
to call the assessor's office at 925-6487.
If, after discussing the problem with an assessor, residents are
still not satisfied, they can appeal complaints to the Board of
Equalization beginning July 26 in City Council chambers.
KEYWORDS: SUFFOLK CITY COUNCIL SUFFOLK REAL ESTATE ASSESSMENTS
REAL ESTATE TAX by CNB