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The S.C. House last month gleefully passed a bill that defers property reassessments for up to five years AFTER a property changes hands.
Let's think about this for a moment. Thousands of people are losing their homes because the fine print on their loans rose up and bit them. In one fell swoop, their payments doubled or worse because the real cost of their debt kicked in.
Under HB 4942, the market value of a house wouldn't kick in until the next countywide assessment, which could be up to five years later.
It sounds frighteningly familiar to me. Isn't that just what banks did to hapless homeowners?
Wouldn't it be more fair and upfront for a new homeowner to find out immediately what he or she will owe each month, if escrowed, or annually for taxes? How is the community further ahead if the homeowner realizes five years AFTER moving here that they cannot afford the taxes?
The Realtors are all for this bill because they argue that it will be one less deterrent to someone considering a home purchase. Gee, I think the ability to pay the true taxes on a house is an essential hurdle they must clear.
Rep. Erickson voted for the bill. I hope Sen. Ceips looks at the real cost of the bill -- it sets up a homeowner for a nasty surprise five years down the road. I hope Sen. Ceips, like savvy homebuyers, reads the fine print on this bill and votes against it.
- lallen's blog
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This proposed regulation would allow the purchaser of a newly constructed house to only pay for the next five years the amount of the previous year's tax that had been paid by its builder?
That sounds very unfair to their neighbors and all other taxpayers of Beaufort County. Right now the County loses money because new homes are not reassessed in value until the next county-wide assessment - this proposed law worsens that now existing situation.
This proposed regulation would allow the purchaser of a newly constructed house to only pay for the next five years the amount of the previous year's tax that had been paid by its builder?
I am surprised they are even considering this. It only helps the home builders sell more houses, why should people who own older homes have to pay for that?
The present assessments were made in 2005. The next is 2010. So if someone buys or builds a house now they will be paying the assessment that everybody else is based on that in 2005. The assessment uses homes of similar value to establish a value. So how can that be unfair?
The bill may leave more money in the country treasury by not paying county employees to spend time and assess the house on the current sale value. In fact, with the market now, if the sale value is less than the assessed 2005 value, the county could lose some tax dollars because of the lower value.
If I'm missing something, tell me.
If the county adjusts the assessment at the time of the sale, they do not have to send out an assessor -- it's based on the market value. The market value is what someone is willing to pay. Also, it's very unlikely a home's value dropped below the amount that the previous owner paid. The county will still see a tax revenue increase. After all, this is not Michigan, thankfully.
One reason comparable values are used is to find the average value. For instance if someone like a relative, sells to another for "10.00 and love and affection and other considerations", the county still has to determine a value for taxing. The actual sales price may be above or below the typical comparable values used. But the comparable values are already in the database for 2005. The county employee would have to rework the numbers to use the selling price as compared to finding the new values of comparable homes. That would require changing the system everytime a new home is built. When the 2010 assessment is done, the whole database will be reworked including the new homes. So if the average home value increases, everybody's will. Depends on the market in 2010.
In my case, the value placed by the county is below the appraised value by a private company. No, I haven't said a thing!!. But, I don't plan to sell it. However, if the value is too high, a homeowner can get a private appraisal and they use that.
It is similar to the vehicle values used. They have your make and model and year. They have average values based on many sales. Your may have one in super premo condition or it may have two scraped fenders, but both cars are taxed the same.