Death and taxes...
You've heard that one before. How's this for adding insult to injury?
Alexandria Virginia homeowners are still trying to digest the news that their homes have slipped in value. Well, unless you've been ignoring the national, regional, and local news, or haven't crawled out of your shell in a while, you were well aware that home values in Alexandria which had skyrocketed over the past 5 or 6 years took a little hit over the last year. It's just that it's different when you see the reality printed on a little piece of paper you received in the mail about a month ago -- the annual tax assessment.
Read about it here: You've Got Bad News & Good News -- Which Do You Want to Hear First?
Seeing it in writing somehow makes it official. Unless you are trying to sell your home or refinance to access your equity for home renovations, this small slip in value of Alexandria properties will not affect you greatly.
Now, word is out that the City of Alexandria has proposed to increase the real estate property tax by up to 3 cents to 86 cents per $100 of assessed value. The City Council just voted on this the other day and the news was released.
Judging by the number and tone of the comments on the WTOP News website which reports this story, Alexandria residents are none too happy to hear that their tax rate on their depreciated property is increasing.
Click here for more information on appealing tax assessments
Of course, reduced tax assessments provide an opportunity for buyers looking for a home in Northern Virginia to find a well-priced home.
CLICK HERE TO START YOUR SEARCH.
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Brian Block is proud to serve the Northern Virginia real estate market. View his website for the latest listings and homes for sale in Northern Virginia and search all active homes.
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Oh, but I am sure you will get many more services from the government due to the "small" increase. Man, politicians just don't get it. Well, election time is here. Lets all figure out which candidates will actually lower our taxes. Good luck.
Brian, now the feds need more money to pay on the all the loans to the investment banks, so they will make the states share smaller, the state will make the counties share smaller and the county will make the cities share smaller..So, they will make the home owners share larger. At least you may be paying with inflated dollars. Inflation seems to be rising. And the word I heard is that the Feds may lower the discount rate a point tomorrow.... This may spur the economy, but I personally believe the rate discount will spur inflation just as much. AJ
Brian,
The majority of tax dollars on real estate property taxes go to funding education...declare a motatorium on those taxes, and teachers salaries will not increase...then watch how fast the economy turns around!!! Thanks, Fran
All you have to do is talk to a few school teachers to ask them what difference the property taxes are making on education? Hrumph, I have a sister teaching in the inner city of Chicago, plus know other teachers in less "challenged" areas. Somehow, I am a doubter.
Plus the fact that I have school aged children. They go to public school, but don't kid yourself, education is no longer free.
Cities, counties and municipalities do not want to believe the boom is over. Declining home values and sales is a direct impact to their bottom line. The real insult to injury will be that many local governments are also laying off. So that translates to higher taxes and less services.
Brian - the Tax Man is someone nobody likes - down here in Florida property taxes have gone over the edge in the last few years - sure not the state my folks brought me to in the mid 50's -
Bummer.
Of course, in Southern California that's typically $1 to $1.80...yikes!
Stop Alexandria, before there's no turning back!
KEVIN: Thanks for your comment. Do I detect some sarcasm?
AJ: Thanks for adding your two cents to the discussion.
FRAN: Thanks for your comments.
REBECCA: With all this money, is education really getting better? I think that I knew a lot more when I graduated high school than many of the graduates these days. Maybe that was because I thought I knew everything when I was 18.
JIM: Agreed. Thanks for your comment.
BARBARA JO & BILL: I know what you mean. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
JOEY: Wow, that's some high taxes out your way!
It's all Bush's fault, man!
It would be interesting to run a graph of home prices since, say 1999 incorporating the slip backwards. I am working on that for Lancaster County, to show the relative prices in the "big picture".
Tax increases stink no matter how you slice it, though. As a local politician I have voted in favor of one recently, and we didn't like it much either. However, the costs to run the borough weren't going to magically drop...
What is the process for challenging over assessments in Virginia? This might provide some excellent work since everyone follows what media says and accept the market as down. That reminds me of a truth from a little book I read and hear stories from every now and again, “When some one closes a door on you, he opens a window for you” This may be an opportunity for an energetic person who understands property valuation. I would think most realty professionals should qualify.
JEFF: Thanks for your comments and adding your opinion. While prices have come down somewhat in some areas, the bigger story is the dropoff in number of sales. Nobody likes a tax increase.