Wake County tax officials are getting ready to handle appeals from people who think the county over-priced their property.
RALEIGH -- Wake County tax officials are getting ready to handle appeals from people who think the county over-priced their property. Officials with the county’s revenue department expect as many as 30,000 people will file appeals this year, and they've already received roughly 300 so far.
"Right now we're currently receiving about 30 calls every 10 minutes,” said Ken McArtor, a collection manager with the Wake County Revenue Department.
The county’s latest property revaluation process wrapped up last week, and it led to sticker shock for some who saw property values balloon since the county’s last property revaluation in 2001.
Jerry Blow, who lives in Raleigh, watched his home’s value jump from $168,000 when he bought it 14 years ago to more than $400,000 now.
"I’m very surprised the value has gone up over 70 percent,” Blow said. “Yes, very surprised."
Property owners who don't agree with the county's assessment of their property value can file an appeal. The form needed for an appeal is included with the revaluation letter property owners received in the mail.
McArtor said 30 percent to 40 percent of all appeals are successful, and several factors contribute to that.
"There could be data issues, maybe the square footage we show maybe is incorrect, that's part of the reason, or the number of baths we show is incorrect, or we're not aware of some physical deterioration of the structure,” he explained. "[There could be] some foundation problems or some rotting of some of the siding material.”
McArtor said property owners who want to appeal need documents, such as recent appraisals or surveys, which prove county appraisers over-priced their property.
"Our appraisers will review the information and make a determination whether we feel like a value adjustment is warranted," McArtor said. "They will get a results letter hopefully in about 60 days."
He added property owners who appeal usually wind up with a 5 percent to 10 percent adjustment on the value of their property, but those who want that option need to move quickly. McArtor said his office is encouraging people to file appeals before Jan. 1.
Property owners who lose their appeal to the county can file a formal appeal to the Board of Equalization and Review. That's a group of residents, appointed by county commissioners, who have expertise about real estate values.
Anyone dissatisfied with that group's decision can appeal to the North Carolina Property Tax Commission.