The property tax you pay to Mecklenburg County on your home is based on your home’s value. That value is determined by a lot of things: how well or poorly the real estate market is performing, how much comparable homes are selling for, whether you have made improvements to your home, and other factors. The state requires counties to reset the value of every property at least every eight years. The last time property was revalued in Mecklenburg County was in 2003. The County had planned to reappraise property in 2009 but postponed it because of the economy. Now revaluation must happen in 2011.
For the past year, the Assessor’s Office has been examining homes and neighborhoods throughout the county to determine a fair value for each piece of property. Staff has also analyzed commercial properties, considering values and trends both locally and in comparably sized counties and cities all over the United States. Fair market value is simply the most probable price that a property would bring in the open market between a typically motivated buyer and a typically motivated seller. Markets are dynamic and they change, as we have since 2007, but the assessed value hasn’t changed. The assessed value has been what it is since the last revaluation in 2003. That presents an inequity between the fair market value of your home and the value the county places on your home for tax purposes — thus the need to equalize the fair market and tax value of all properties.
It is believed that whatever leveling or loss was recorded since 2007, in the majority of neighborhoods, there has still been a net increase in market prices between 2003 and now. That means the average home will likely be valued higher in January than it is today. How much that increase will be isn’t known yet.
On September 21, the Board of County Commissioners took the first step to set the revaluation wheels into motion. It received what is called the Uniform Schedules of Values, Standards and Rules. This document contains the guidelines for determining the value of all personal and business property in the County — a total value of nearly $100 billion. State law requires that the public not only be notified about the Schedule of Values, but that it has a chance to review the documents and speak about them at a public hearing. The Board has set November 3 as the date for the public hearing and we encourage you to join in the conversation.
The intent of the hearing is not to voice an opinion about taxes or foreclosure, or the economy in general — all those things may affect the eventual value placed on your home, but they are not the purpose of the hearing. The hearing is only to talk about the Schedule of Values, Standards and Rules. There will be other opportunities for the public to connect with the County about the value of their homes.
Meantime, you can see the full timetable for adopting the Schedule of Values below and you can find answers to some of the most common questions about revaluation at our web site reval.charmeck.org.
Schedule of Values Adoption Timetable
-September 21, 2010 Submission of Schedules to Board of Commissioners
-October 20, 2010 Publication of Notice of Public Hearing in The Charlotte Observer and Mecklenburg Times
-November 3, 2010 Public hearings on proposed Schedules.
-November 16, 2010 Consideration of Adoption of final Uniform Schedules of Values, Standards and Rules.
-November 17, 2010 First day for publication in The Charlotte Observer and the Mecklenburg Times of the Order adopting the Schedules.
-November 24, 2010 Publish Second Notice of Adoption
-December 1, 2010 Publish Third Notice of Adoption
-December 8, 2010 Publish Fourth Notice of Adoption
-December 17, 2010 Last day for challenging the validity of Schedules by appeal to the Property Tax Commission.
-December 18, 2010 Date as of which the final Schedules become binding and effective.
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if property values are far below 2003 values doesn’t the county have a fiscal or legal requirement to adjust property tax bills accordingly? My home is Southeast Charlotte has dropped from a value (per realestate agents) of $1.3M to the high $800′s. This is $200k less than my building cost. What to do – I missed the appeal date because I travel and enjoy life.
Not to worry. The appeal process doesn’t begin until after you get your tax bill in January. The Assessor, Garrett Alexander has said that generally speaking, homes today are valued higher than 2003, the last revaluation. That doesn’t mean everyone’s property will be valued higher in the upcoming revaluation. A lot of research goes into each property and the appraisal takes into account all things that impact a property’s value. We encourage you to take a look at the FAQ’s at the Assessor’s website http://bit.ly/9Eff9o.