Town Tax Revaluations – Here they Come Again!
Well the sweet little
Tax Revaluation
town of Charlestown RI has just gone through a tax revaluation and the new values are in hand with the Charlestown homeowners. And I am getting calls for help!
Understanding why towns do tax revaluations in RI real estate is important. First, in Rhode Island, the state requires that towns perform a revaluation to bring properties to current market value. Towns have municipal services (fire, police, schools,waste disposal and snow removal) which are paid for by the tax dollars that homeowners contribute to on their property as a town grows in population.
The idea is to determine a property’s fair market value based upon sold
Waterfront at its Best- Charlestown RI
properties in the previous two years. It doesn’t always come out to a homeowner’s benefit but sometimes it does. I usually hear from the people who feel there is no way their Charlestown property could sell for the tax revaluation price the town sets. However, until you look at the comparable sold properties based upon amenities, condition, location, square footage, etc. you really can’t come up with a good hysterical response. By the way, I never hear from the homeowners who say they are taxed too low – quite rightly they stay mum! Who can blame them.
But one of my Charlestown clients had a lot to say about the current tax revaluation– it was unfair. Well it was a 35 year old home with 4 bedrooms, 2 baths & 2 kitchens…okay…but it has a salt water dock on highly desirable and pricey Ninigret Pond in the ultimate area of Quononchontaug. I smell dollars for the town here. However, in looking at this waterfront property as well as similar properties as well as the other ones on the waterfront, I find that they have all gone down in tax revaluation pricing. In fact, the million dollar properties have dropped by around 30% and the majority of this drop was the land valuation. In 2007, during the last tax revaluation, Charlestown waterfront homes were still commanding a premium price and thereby it was reflected in the prior two years of market sales which were high dollar sold home prices.
So the current Charlestown tax revaluation on this particular home was really priced quite well for the homeowner, I am sorry to say to her disappointment. Perhaps a $10,000 reduction might be possible to justify on the land side since it is Charlestown waterfront property and honestly they are not making any more of it. The several properties reviewed seem realistically assessed based upon comparable home sales. So when the tax rate is finally settled on by summer, perhaps these Charlestown waterfront homeowners in Quonochontaug will be getting some tax relief….yes, it might be possible but really never seems to turn out that way does it. Town Tax Revaluations – Here they Come Again!
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Ginny Lacey Gorman is your go to Charlestown RI real estate agent for homes for sale in Charlestown RI and beyond…knowing the geographic area, schools, happenings, important tidbits of local information and businesses well. She’s the RI agent with the Sparkly Red Shoes.
Waterfront, oceanfront and coastal RI homes for sale are her specialty but all of RI is her backyard. So feel free to search for RI homes for sale. Work with an internet savvy marketer who sells RI houses in this real estate market, call Ginny at 401.529.7849.
