New Washington County, Tennessee, property appraisals arrived in taxpayers' mailboxes Monday and many are not happy with the news. Among those people, Melinda and Tim Riner, who love their house in Fall Branch, but are also realistic.
"The 24 by 24 farmhouse, it's not going to sell for $72,000 in this market," Tim Riner said.
Washington County assessors think the house is worth that much. The appraisal mailed to the Riner's this week lists the property's value at nearly $73,000; a far cry from 2004's appraisal.
"It took 21 years for it to go from $20,000 to $44,000," Melinda Riner said. "Within one year, the appraisal went from $44,000 to $73,000."
Of the 57,000 appraisals received this week in Washington County, the vast majority included similar jumps in value. In fact, according to Washington County Property Assessor Monty Treadway, on average, property values increased by somewhere around 30% across the board.
"This is what the state says we have to do every five years and we don't like it any more than the people do," Treadway said.
Treadway could easily be the least popular man in the county right now, but he says the increases in home values since the last appraisal are justified.
"With the economic times that we've had, a lot of people say property values have gone down, but this is over the last five years, not over the last one," Treadway said. "From 2003 to 2007, property values increased by a big margin."
Despite the high property values, Treadway says 60% of property owners won't see a change when it comes to their taxes.
"It don't actually mean a tax increase, because the tax rate will come down," Treadway said.
This summer, the state will lower the county's tax rate to offset the increase in appraisal values. That means there's a chance some people will pay the same in taxes. County Mayor George Jaynes says the only people who will likely pay more in taxes are those whose values increased by "more" than 30%. He says those with increases "under" 30%, could pay less in taxes this year.
Still, if people are not happy with their appraisals, Treadway urges property owners to call or visit his office in Jonesborough. Those with disputes may be able to present their case to the County Board of Equalization this Summer.
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