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ktxhopem3276 t1_j6i4pp6 wrote

The last time there was a county wide reassessment was 2012. When you buy a house, it can trigger a new reassessment. It is informally called a “newcomers tax” The new value is usually a lot higher than your neighbors who haven’t moved since 2012 because the math they use is questionable and the subject of ongoing lawsuits. If you bought a house that has a lot of updates, they will try to use the sale price to justify a lofty assessment value. You should look into how to argue for a lower assessment using facts and data.

https://www.pghfirm.com/blog/secrets-to-winning-your-allegheny-county-tax-appeal

https://www.reedsmith.com/en/perspectives/2022/11/allegheny-county-in-legal-limbo

https://www.publicsource.org/allegheny-county-property-tax-appeal-assessment-lawsuit-unbalanced/

https://www.wesa.fm/politics-government/2023-01-25/county-council-gives-some-taxpayers-second-shot-at-challenging-property-assessments

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Cutter70 t1_j6je8lk wrote

I have seen and heard about new assessments happening after a purchase when the purchase price was a certain value over existing assessment. I had heard the flag was $60-70k higher and has no bearing on whether there were improvements or not. Might matter on neighborhood too.

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ktxhopem3276 t1_j6jflk5 wrote

The threshold for appeal is dependent on the locality. By improvements, I don’t mean additions or major modifications, I just mean the sale price was a lot higher than buying a fixer upper so more likely to get flagged.

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burritoace t1_j6kof5d wrote

The assessment is supposed to be based on changes in value since 2012, it's not intended to pretend time stopped a decade ago.

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ktxhopem3276 t1_j6kponm wrote

Yes the math gets fuzzy how much to attribute to inflation 63% or 81% and that’s what the lawsuit is over

Edit another way is 2.1% versus 4.7% compound annual growth rate

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burritoace t1_j6kq6ma wrote

I think people assume that improvements etc should not count towards their reassessment but they absolutely should

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ktxhopem3276 t1_j6kqd1q wrote

if the common level ratio is artificially low that will exaggerate the value of improvements and minimize the effect of inflation. And if you make improvement s and don’t sell your house you get an advantage over people who make improvements but do sell

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burritoace t1_j6kvzng wrote

Right, which is why I question the motives of the people seeking to adjust the ratio way down

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ktxhopem3276 t1_j6kw7i9 wrote

Do you think the 2.1% or 4.7% growth rate is correct?

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burritoace t1_j6kyhqm wrote

I think it varies too much to set one number for the whole county, so the current system is stupid and should be replaced.

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ktxhopem3276 t1_j6kzo6f wrote

Reassessing every 3-5 years would be a good middle ground. ten years is the absolute limit based on the current frequency of posts on Reddit. Every one or two years is a lot of effort for little benefit.

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