Fitzgerald tosses reassessment...? (Pittsburgh, Media: real estate market, 2014, to rent)

[Copanut]

I know enough people working on the assessment to know that the numbers are good, we're only hearing about the extremes that would have been corrected during the informal appeals.

[h_curtis]

Originally Posted by Copanut

I know enough people working on the assessment to know that the numbers are good, we're only hearing about the extremes that would have been corrected during the informal appeals.

Oh that is great. What about the people that have their home triple or even worse in taxes? Do you just expect them to move and all is great for you?

What about the casino? Wasn't that supposed to be good for us? What about the drink tax? That did a lot. What about Marcellus Shale? Wasn't that supposed to be huge for us all? Where is all this new money? 7% drink tax and PAT cutting tons of routes? Marcellus means nothing I guess. All a bunch of silliness.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

What does that have to do with what I said.

I tried (and apparently failed) to explain this to you already in another thread.

It is a good bet that if the reassessment goes through this year, the Allegheny County millage increase will get challenged in court. The County has got an argument about why they weren't violating the anti-windfall laws, but it is by no means a slam dunk and they could lose.

However, if Fitzgerald succeeds in at least delaying the reassessment another year, then this isn't a reassessment year anymore, and the County's tax increase is perfectly safe.

Now if you didn't understand that, keep re-reading this post until you do.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Copanut

I know enough people working on the assessment to know that the numbers are good, we're only hearing about the extremes that would have been corrected during the informal appeals.

That sounds more than plausible to me, but I'd still like to see a formal report on the error rate, and possibly some lessons learned, come out of all this.

[h_curtis]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I tried (and apparently failed) to explain this to you already in another thread.

It is a good bet that if the reassessment goes through this year, the Allegheny County millage increase will get challenged in court. The County has got an argument about why they weren't violating the anti-windfall laws, but it is by no means a slam dunk and they could lose.

However, if Fitzgerald succeeds in at least delaying the reassessment another year, then this isn't a reassessment year anymore, and the County's tax increase is perfectly safe.

Now if you didn't understand that, keep re-reading this post until you do.

All I am saying is we already had a massive county tax increase this past year! No one seems to even talk about it, yet the percentage of that tax was HUGE! Everyone in our region has a few mill laying around I guess, so all is well.

[ML North]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

All I am saying is we already had a massive county tax increase this past year! No one seems to even talk about it, yet the percentage of that tax was HUGE! Everyone in our region has a few mill laying around I guess, so all is well.

Dude, the 1 mil hike is probably going to cost you like $100 bucks. For someone that buys houses with cash, that should be pretty affordable. Let it go. And, if the reassessment goes through, your taxes will probably be lowered enough to offset that increase.

[Garvdog]

My local school district is still trying to challenge my 2011 assessment (based on a recent purchase) at the Board of Viewers. This tells me that either their system is completely automated or they are hedging their bets that there may not be a 2012 reassessment at all, and any success they have at raising my 2011 numbers will carry into future tax years.

This is all such nonsense- I used to own property in CA and there, they understand how to implement a reasonable property tax system. The day you buy your house, it is immediately reassessed at your purchase price, PERIOD. If you cant afford to pay it you know that ahead of time and you don't buy the house. No histrionics, no court challenges, no problem. Once the taxes are established they cannot touch your tax amount- unless you pull a permit to improve the property, then they can assess the "improvement value".

[Lobick]

The plot thickens:

Judge reaffirms order to use 2012 reassessment figures - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

[BrianTH]

Interesting Chris Briem post:

Nullspace: Ni!

Of course that is "interesting" as in "May you live in interesting times."

[PreservationPioneer]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Yes, the assessed value should be equivalent to a base-year market value. If there are properties where that isn't true, they should be corrected.

What neighborhoods are you looking in?

Just random neighborhoods where I see cheap houses for sale. I have a tendency to watch real estate like a hawk. Then I research the homes on the assessment site. When I find some more examples I will post them here. Suffice to say, I have seen abandoned and derelict homes assessed for more in 2012 than in 2002, when they were occupied!

One example was 1810 Walz Street in Spring Hill. It's an abandoned apartment building currently on the market now (and not selling) for $15k (not a foreclosure), yet the new assessment value went up to more than $50k (from around $40k in 2002). I don't have exact numbers, or more examples, because the 2012 assessment values have been removed from the site. Spring Hill is a stagnant neighborhood at best.