WS Chronicle

Property values are expected to increase from 2009

BY TODD LUCK

THE CHRONICLE

A public hearing will be held next week on the standards used for next year’s reappraisal of real estate property by the Forsyth County Tax Administration.

County Commissioners will hold a hearing on the reappraisal’s Schedule of Values (SOV) during its Monday, Oct. 10, meeting, at 2 p.m and will vote on the item on Oct. 24.

SOV includes appraisal standards and explanations of the process. It’s available at the Tax Administration office in the Forsyth County Government Building and on the department’s website.

The reappraisals of property values, which county staff has been working on for nearly two years, will be mailed to property owners in ear

The state requires counties to conduct reappraisals of real estate every eight years, but like many other counties, Forsyth does it every four years. This was controversial in 2013, when the downturn in the housing market resulted in 90 percent of county residents seeing a drop in property value.

During a briefing last week, county Tax Assessor John Burgiss told commissioners not every real estate transaction is counted in appraisals to avoid sales that may not accurately reflect a property’s market value, such as foreclosure auctions and transactions between family members or businesses. There are about 5,000 qualified sales every year, he said, and each property is visited by county staff.

“It’s a multifaceted way we make sure we have accuracy,” said Burgiss.

With many more unqualified sales than qualified ones and visits to properties that may not tell the appraiser what’s inside the house, Burgiss said that public input is welcome in the process.

He said that property owners have several avenues of appeal once they get their reappraisal, which will go out in January or February of next year. They’ll be able to file an informal appeal with the Tax Administration office as well as a formal appeal to the Board of Equalization and Review. Residents can also appeal to the state level.

With a stronger housing market, Burgiss anticipates the reappraisal to generally show an increase in property value.

The Forsyth County property tax base, which also includes personal property like cars, decreased by eight percent in 2013 after the last reappraisal. Burgiss said despite the property value losses, there were less informal appeals and about the same amount of formal appeals in 2013.