Dianne Gregoire

Here in Oregon we are going to get a lot of static when property tax statements come out in November. How can it be possible that property taxes will go up when house values have gone down? This is because in about 1996 Oregon voters passed a ballot measure that restricted property taxes to an increase of not more than 3% per year. (There are exceptions, which I will address below). Yet in the time since that annual restriction became law, we have had many years of double digit appreciation. It has only been in the last two years that property values have gone down. But prior to that, in the time since the law passed, values easily doubled. So when you get your property tax statement, you will see two valuations. One is the taxable value. That is the one with the 3% annual restriciton. The other is the estimated market value. That is the one that will have dropped. And until the market value drops below the taxable value, you won't see your taxes go down. We would have to have much more loss in property values, say in the range of 50%, to get anywhere near having property taxes go down. No, taxes are not affected by the sale of a house. The 3% restriction stays with the property and is transferred to the new owner. The exceptions? If you do significant remodeling that involves taking out permits. If you gut a house and remodel it with all new features, or put on a big addition, the local tax assessor can start from zero and totally reassess your home. The other exception is any special taxes that are passed by local voters such as initiatives to improve schools or parks. If your town elects to raise $80,000,000 to rebuild the two High Schools, like my town did about 8 years ago, that will have a direct impact on your taxes. It's a screwy system. It favors areas of town that had low values at the time that the initiative was passed in the mid 1990's. It also works against new homes who start their tax assessed basis at current values. But taxes are like that. Some benefit and some don't. I doubt that there is any such thing as perfect property taxes. I will be elaborating on this subject on my local blog, www.propertyblotter.com, the week on October 7th.

OK. This is very cool. I've been doing this all of one day and already I have received greetings and welcoming comments from other Realtors around the country. Checking my e-mail this morning and finding your kind greetings made for a very nice way to start the day. Thank you.

I am excited to be working and blogging via activerain. I have been a Realtor in the Portland area for 21 years. I work all over the metro area. I lived for 13 years in SE Portland and am now enjoying my 10th year as a resident of Lake Oswego.

I want to encourage you to visit my real estate blog: www.propertyblotter.com . It is a blog that is 100% devoted to real estate in Lake Oswego, Oregon. On it you will find weekly market activity reports of new listings, pending sales, and closed sales. You will also find extensive information about the community and an insiders guide to the area. There is a weekly report on Fridays that posts the open houses that are scheduled for Lake Oswego the following weekend.

I am looking forward to building my profile and meeting others who network through activerain.