Property Tax - 70% increase

Submitted by tennajane t3_zz7rtz in baltimore

I just got my property tax assessment and they have increased 70%. I purchased my house in June 2021, and the new assessment matches my sale price and is just under (2k) the appraisal amount at the time of sale. The previous assessment was at 126,900, new is 212,600, which will be phased in over three years.

I have been looking on SDAT and haven’t been able to find any other house in my neighborhood assesses that high (I haven’t searched EVERY house, but you get the idea).

Is this worth appealing? The comps and the appraisal of this house will support the new appraisal, but damn, that’s a 70% increase in three years!!

Yes, I have the Homestead Tax Credit and I understand that limits the increase, but this is still gonna hurt!

Any advice or experience would be appreciated!

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DiscoDeadhead t1_j2ah5fq wrote

If it appraised at the price you paid you can’t expect them to lower it and you should have been prepared for the increase. If the homestead credit has kicked in for you the bill only increases 4% every year.

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fredblockburn t1_j2b3x0v wrote

Actually the state property taxes can go up 10% and Baltimore city is capped at 4%. Luckily the state portion is a lot smaller.

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DiscoDeadhead t1_j2c22dk wrote

I forgot about state but the 4% is where the major savings come in. When I bought my house in 2000 the taxes were $1800 but with the homestead credit I’m only paying about 4K of a $7500 assessment

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fredblockburn t1_j2b3hgw wrote

I hope you applied for the homestead tax credit. You probably can’t win any appeal since they’re saying it’s basically worth what you paid and what it was appraised for.

You’re a property owner now and that means paying taxes on the value of your property.

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YorickTheCat t1_j2ad4ae wrote

You can appeal, but FYI homes are usually only get a "fresh" reassessment when they are purchased because based on current value (what you paid). This causes a lot of discrepancies between similar properties, because people that have had their homes for a very long time are often not subject to that and the Homestead Tax Credit keeps their taxes in check (as will yours also going forward). When I bought my house, it hadn't be re-assessed in over 20 years. I appealed because they assessed it over what I paid, the condition was a bit less good than the comps they used, and there were errors in the info they used to make the assessment. They get that info from a 3rd party provider I was told.

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good_fox_bad_wolf t1_j2bmhkv wrote

I think it's fairly standard to reassess the value up to the sale price in Baltimore - same happened to me when I bought my house as well.

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kelzbeano t1_j2bysmf wrote

I briefly worked as an assessor in the county and houses being assessed at sale price was uncommon. It won’t hurt to appeal. We used a computer system that increased the value based on updates entered into the system. For instance, adding a full bath would increase the value, but the computer calculated the increase. Perhaps the City is trying to generate revenue by matching assessments to sale prices.

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TMB190 t1_j2dfdru wrote

You bought the house for $200k. It should not be assessed as 100k.

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TerranceBaggz t1_j2e1y2x wrote

On the bright side, your assessment will help spur other investment in your area and improve the area which in turn improves your property value.

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orlitzky t1_j2awt7k wrote

You should always appeal. Cite the (temporarily) low interest rates that lead to your inflated purchase price, and document all of the comparable properties in your neighborhood that are assessed at less. You should expect to waste a day or two (8-16h) fighting it, but presumably a perpetual 70% increase to your tax bill is worth that. Get a court date if it comes down to it. You will probably be able to settle for a light fucking instead of the whole thing.

If no one fights, the city uses the assessment of house A to increase the assessment of house B one year, and then use the increased assessment of house B to increase the assessment of house A the next. The city wins eventually either way, it's only a matter of how quickly and arbitrarily we allow them to rip us off.

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DiscoDeadhead t1_j2c2i1d wrote

I appealed mine over the phone a few years ago and after presenting my case the lady asked my what I thought my home should be valued at, I told her 350k and got a notice it was lowered to 351k a few weeks later

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kermelie t1_j2bfaot wrote

It’s pretty trash the appeal process. How they appraise the land value of an adjacent lot higher than the other is crappy. I guess it’s suppose to be a progressive tax. Charge the gentries more.

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