As long as city leaders can keep the municipal budget in check, most homeowners won’t see an unusually large property tax hike next year, a new analysis of the city revaluation data showed.
“We will definitely try, to the best of our ability, to make things within reason,” said Mayor Art Ward.
Ward said that with the city as well as its residents facing soaring energy costs and rising prices, it’s crucial to hold spending down by setting priorities that allow taxes to remain in check.
He told a department head meeting at City Hall this week that administrators should keep taxpayers in mind when they’re preparing spending requests for the coming fiscal year, which begins in July.
City Assessor Rich Lasky said that his initial estimate that the average homeowner will face about a $400 property tax increase based on new assessments was off the mark.
Further review of the data, he said, leads him to the conclusion “that there will be little or no oval effect to the average single-family homeowner due to this revaluation.”
However, he said, he’s only making an estimate and cautioned that revaluation remains “a work in progress” and other factors will also influence tax bills.
Ward said he hasn’t asked department chiefs at City Hall to aim for a specific budget increase this time around, but may later. He said the budget preparation process hasn’t yet begun in earnest.
For now, the mayor said, he wanted underlings to have “a broad expectation of where the administration is going.”
Ward said he is concerned mainly with setting realistic priorities that focus on completing projects that are already underway.
He said it’s important to finish what’s been started before engaging in new projects.A memorandum that Lasky wrote to Ward, the City Council and Finance Chairman Rich Miecznikowski about revaluation is online here.
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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Showing posts with label Lasky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lasky. Show all posts
December 5, 2007
December 4, 2007
New analysis show reval impact on property taxes minimal
Good news for taxpayers! City Assessor Rich Lasky kept reviewing the numbers after he talked with me recently and realized that the impact of revaluation should be minimal for most homeowners. Here's his memo to city leaders about the issue:
Date: November 30, 2007
To: Art Ward, Mayor, Councilmen and Chairman of the Board of Finance
From: Richard Lasky, Assessor
Re: 2007 Revaluation
I am writing to inform you that the Revaluation notices have been sent and give you a brief overview of the impact.
The article appearing in the Bristol Press on November 16th stating average single family homeowner taxes increasing by $400.00 was inaccurate and based on old information. The 2007 grand list estimate and budget was derived over a year ago to predict the impact of the revaluation at that time. The grand list estimate was derived from 2005 grand list and the 2005-2006 budget year.
I have since received and have analyzed the actual figures from Vision, and have also asked the Controllers Office for their opinion of the anticipated budget. At this time I have concluded that there will be little or no overall effect to the average single family homeowner due to this revaluation. I must express that this is only an estimate and that the revaluation process is still a work in progress and the State revenues are still not known.
Overview
Many factors have influenced housing values since the last revaluation. Historically low interest rates have made the cost of money less expensive and allowed more individuals and households to secure mortgages with very low down payments and closing costs. These forces have resulted in increased values for existing homes and land for new construction
While national markets are down and new home sales have fallen nationwide, the local real estate market remains sluggish but stable. A recent study of sales activity in Bristol for the period from January 2006 to October 1, 2007 showed only a slight increase not significant enough to measure. The average single family house sold at a sale price that represented an appreciation rate of 50% since the revaluation in 2002. Although using averages can be misleading as few properties are average and all properties are unique, these numbers clearly show that there has been a widespread appreciation in the residential market. This revaluation represented a 47% increase of the median value. The median multi-family property appreciated at a rate of 75% and residential condominiums increased an average of 66% for this period. Commercial properties showed an overall average of 44% appreciation by comparison during the same period. Commercial properties include properties with uses such as office, retail and industrial properties. These increases are also similar to other towns that are undergoing revaluation today.
To assist taxpayers Vision will have information available on their website at visionappraisal.com The Vision website will provide inquiry access to the assessor’s database allowing property owners to review the property characteristics used to determine values. Property owners will find helpful guides on how to prepare for a hearing and answers too many of the commonly asked questions. They can also search for comparable sales, watch appraisal instruction videos, find current market condition charts and other pertinent information to help guide the home owner in understanding how the assessment was derived. For those property owners without web access we will make available new value listings at the Assessor’s office, Library and Senior Center.
Let me add, too, that residents who want some of the personal information removed from the reval website can request it through the assessor's office. City Councilor Mike Rimcoski said a number of people are worried that burglars or others might misuse the data.
*******
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Date: November 30, 2007
To: Art Ward, Mayor, Councilmen and Chairman of the Board of Finance
From: Richard Lasky, Assessor
Re: 2007 Revaluation
I am writing to inform you that the Revaluation notices have been sent and give you a brief overview of the impact.
The article appearing in the Bristol Press on November 16th stating average single family homeowner taxes increasing by $400.00 was inaccurate and based on old information. The 2007 grand list estimate and budget was derived over a year ago to predict the impact of the revaluation at that time. The grand list estimate was derived from 2005 grand list and the 2005-2006 budget year.
I have since received and have analyzed the actual figures from Vision, and have also asked the Controllers Office for their opinion of the anticipated budget. At this time I have concluded that there will be little or no overall effect to the average single family homeowner due to this revaluation. I must express that this is only an estimate and that the revaluation process is still a work in progress and the State revenues are still not known.
Overview
Many factors have influenced housing values since the last revaluation. Historically low interest rates have made the cost of money less expensive and allowed more individuals and households to secure mortgages with very low down payments and closing costs. These forces have resulted in increased values for existing homes and land for new construction
While national markets are down and new home sales have fallen nationwide, the local real estate market remains sluggish but stable. A recent study of sales activity in Bristol for the period from January 2006 to October 1, 2007 showed only a slight increase not significant enough to measure. The average single family house sold at a sale price that represented an appreciation rate of 50% since the revaluation in 2002. Although using averages can be misleading as few properties are average and all properties are unique, these numbers clearly show that there has been a widespread appreciation in the residential market. This revaluation represented a 47% increase of the median value. The median multi-family property appreciated at a rate of 75% and residential condominiums increased an average of 66% for this period. Commercial properties showed an overall average of 44% appreciation by comparison during the same period. Commercial properties include properties with uses such as office, retail and industrial properties. These increases are also similar to other towns that are undergoing revaluation today.
To assist taxpayers Vision will have information available on their website at visionappraisal.com The Vision website will provide inquiry access to the assessor’s database allowing property owners to review the property characteristics used to determine values. Property owners will find helpful guides on how to prepare for a hearing and answers too many of the commonly asked questions. They can also search for comparable sales, watch appraisal instruction videos, find current market condition charts and other pertinent information to help guide the home owner in understanding how the assessment was derived. For those property owners without web access we will make available new value listings at the Assessor’s office, Library and Senior Center.
Let me add, too, that residents who want some of the personal information removed from the reval website can request it through the assessor's office. City Councilor Mike Rimcoski said a number of people are worried that burglars or others might misuse the data.
*******
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
November 20, 2007
Big money in old apartment buildings
A brick apartment building at 11 Summer St., which has 10 small units for rent, sold in 1996 for $100,000.
In 2003, the 107-year-old building changed hands for $206,000. Two years later, it was sold for $315,000.
In September, the building, which the city has long targeted as a problem, sold for $535,000.
Though the new assessments are not yet available, that’s about the number the city used for to set its value for tax purposes.
City Assessor Rich Lasky said it’s a typical example of the way apartment buildings have soared in value during the past decade, often getting snapped up by out-of-state investors.
Another example exists just behind City Hall, where an 18-unit apartment building at 27 Meadow St. sold this year for $930,000. Five years ago, someone sold it for $345,000.
*******
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
In 2003, the 107-year-old building changed hands for $206,000. Two years later, it was sold for $315,000.
In September, the building, which the city has long targeted as a problem, sold for $535,000.
Though the new assessments are not yet available, that’s about the number the city used for to set its value for tax purposes.
City Assessor Rich Lasky said it’s a typical example of the way apartment buildings have soared in value during the past decade, often getting snapped up by out-of-state investors.
Another example exists just behind City Hall, where an 18-unit apartment building at 27 Meadow St. sold this year for $930,000. Five years ago, someone sold it for $345,000.
*******
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Revaluation will push tax bills higher for most
Many homeowners in Bristol will face about a $400 increase in their property tax bills next year because of a recently completed revaluation, officials said Tuesday.
But an expected decline in the mill rate should lower motor vehicle tax bills enough to ease the pain for at least some property owners.
Revaluation notices will begin to go out on Monday, city Assessor Rich Lasky said, and nearly everyone will see a large increase in property values since the 2002 figures that have been used to figure municipal taxes for the past five years.
Though Lasky is still putting the final touches on the figures for the Oct. 1 Grand List values, it appears the average single-family home climbed 47 percent in value since 2002, slightly more than the 44 percent average increase in all property value.
Condominium owners will see values up an average of 67 percent while the owners of multi-family homes experienced an 81 percent average hike in assessments, Lasky said.
That means that condo owners and rental property owners are the most likely to see property tax bills shoot up in the coming year.
Commercial property generally rose a little less than residential, but retail space and apartments also saw rapid increases in value, Lasky said.
Industrial property "did a little bit less," Lasky said, as did smaller commercial buildings.
Overall, however, commercial property "really held its own" since 2002, which means that the shift in the tax burden toward homeowners won’t be nearly as severe as it was the last time Bristol did a revaluation.
The assessment for the average Bristol single-family house rose from $103,250 in 2002 to $151,300 this year. Assessments are pegged at no more than 70 percent of market value and typically closer to 67 percent in order to allow for error.
That means the market value of the average Bristol house, as of October 1, was $215,900.
The overall value of property in Bristol won’t be available until the Grand List is finished, probably in late February, but it appears the tally amounts to about $4.5 billion based on preliminary numbers.
The first round of taxes using the new values will be in July 2008.
Massachusetts-based Vision Appraisal is getting nearly $800,000 to handle much of the revaluation work in Bristol. It earned $37 for each property it inspects in town, a crucial step in determining how much every building, store, factory and more is worth.
Revaluation itself doesn't raise or lower property taxes, but updates frequently shift the tax burden between commercial and residential property taxpayers depending on whose property has risen most in value.
Though the shift in 2002 put a greater burden on homeowners, it isn't always that way.
In 1998, for example, most city homeowners saw their taxes shrink because values had gone down relative to commercial property during the previous decade.
Property owners should have their revaluation notices by the middle of next week. But they’ll be able to look up the information online by Tuesday, Lasky said.
Check out your neighbors
For the first time, Bristol property taxpayers will be able to check their assessments against the city’s entire database.
City Assessor Rich Lasky said that when the revaluation notices are printed early next week, the database containing assessment information for every property in town will be made available online for free.
From any computer, people will be able to check their own assessment information as well as that of neighboring and comparable property across town.
To find out more, check out the revaluation contractor’s website at www.visionappraisal.com.
What if the information is wrong?
Informal hearings to review possible problems will begin on December 3 and last until December 20. Property owners will have the chance to go over their assessments on weekdays, including some evenings.
The revaluation information going out in the mail will include details on how to appeal.
Formal hearings before the Board of Assessment Appeals will begin next year.
*******
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
But an expected decline in the mill rate should lower motor vehicle tax bills enough to ease the pain for at least some property owners.
Revaluation notices will begin to go out on Monday, city Assessor Rich Lasky said, and nearly everyone will see a large increase in property values since the 2002 figures that have been used to figure municipal taxes for the past five years.
Though Lasky is still putting the final touches on the figures for the Oct. 1 Grand List values, it appears the average single-family home climbed 47 percent in value since 2002, slightly more than the 44 percent average increase in all property value.
Condominium owners will see values up an average of 67 percent while the owners of multi-family homes experienced an 81 percent average hike in assessments, Lasky said.
That means that condo owners and rental property owners are the most likely to see property tax bills shoot up in the coming year.
Commercial property generally rose a little less than residential, but retail space and apartments also saw rapid increases in value, Lasky said.
Industrial property "did a little bit less," Lasky said, as did smaller commercial buildings.
Overall, however, commercial property "really held its own" since 2002, which means that the shift in the tax burden toward homeowners won’t be nearly as severe as it was the last time Bristol did a revaluation.
The assessment for the average Bristol single-family house rose from $103,250 in 2002 to $151,300 this year. Assessments are pegged at no more than 70 percent of market value and typically closer to 67 percent in order to allow for error.
That means the market value of the average Bristol house, as of October 1, was $215,900.
The overall value of property in Bristol won’t be available until the Grand List is finished, probably in late February, but it appears the tally amounts to about $4.5 billion based on preliminary numbers.
The first round of taxes using the new values will be in July 2008.
Massachusetts-based Vision Appraisal is getting nearly $800,000 to handle much of the revaluation work in Bristol. It earned $37 for each property it inspects in town, a crucial step in determining how much every building, store, factory and more is worth.
Revaluation itself doesn't raise or lower property taxes, but updates frequently shift the tax burden between commercial and residential property taxpayers depending on whose property has risen most in value.
Though the shift in 2002 put a greater burden on homeowners, it isn't always that way.
In 1998, for example, most city homeowners saw their taxes shrink because values had gone down relative to commercial property during the previous decade.
Property owners should have their revaluation notices by the middle of next week. But they’ll be able to look up the information online by Tuesday, Lasky said.
Check out your neighbors
For the first time, Bristol property taxpayers will be able to check their assessments against the city’s entire database.
City Assessor Rich Lasky said that when the revaluation notices are printed early next week, the database containing assessment information for every property in town will be made available online for free.
From any computer, people will be able to check their own assessment information as well as that of neighboring and comparable property across town.
To find out more, check out the revaluation contractor’s website at www.visionappraisal.com.
What if the information is wrong?
Informal hearings to review possible problems will begin on December 3 and last until December 20. Property owners will have the chance to go over their assessments on weekdays, including some evenings.
The revaluation information going out in the mail will include details on how to appeal.
Formal hearings before the Board of Assessment Appeals will begin next year.
*******
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
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