[RP TownTalk] information

[Vernon Archer]

Hi Audrey and all others too,

This information is very interesting and useful. Thanks for sharing it.

A couple of relevant items I'd like to share:

1) next year is reassessment in our area, so all of our properties will be
recalculated between now and about March 2010.  I certainly expect to see
most residential property go down at least somewhat in assessed value.  One
thing to be aware of though is that the state supposedly uses a formula for
calculating values that smooths out both "bubbles" and "troughs"

2)One question I would definitely ask the assessors prior to asking for a
reassessment at this point in time, is "If I get reassessed now, will this
count as my reassessment for 2010?" Since it seems that prices have not
bottomed out, and are seasonally low in the winter under most circumstances,
one MIGHT be better off just waiting for reassessment.

3) Based on the averages that Audrey shares, many of us could likely get our
appraisal to go down right now, but if you are like me and bought your home
prior to the "bubble" my taxes would almost certainly not go down even with
a substantial reduction in my appraised value.  That is because the
homestead tax credit already keeps my taxes much lower than the raw current
assessed value would allow for.

If however, you bought from say 2003 to 2007 it is likely that you might
save some tax if you were reassessed.  One way to get a good idea would be
to look on your tax statement you should have recently received and see how
much your homestead tax credit is. If it is less than say
$500 then it is probably worth considering seeking a reappraisal.  Certainly
if your homestead credit is more than $1000 you are very unlikely to be able
to save any tax money this year.

4) I'm not sure if the question about the Solid Waste Service Charge got
answered (forgive me if I'm repeating). This is the charge for recycling
collection and "bulk trash" pickup both under the county.  I'm trying to
find out if we in municipalities with our own bulk trash pickup are given a
lower rate since we would almost certainly never use this county service.
So far I've not gotten an answer, but will keep after it.  If we do not get
a break, I will certainly work with Councilman Olson to get one.  In all
other areas of county service, we get reductions in our county property tax,
to at least partially compensate for services provided at the municipal
lever.

Best wishes,

Vern
-- 
Vernon Archer, Mayor
Town of Riverdale Park, Maryland

On Fri, Jul 24, 2009 at 11:46 AM, <ABragg7393 at aol.com> wrote:

>  Just wanted to share some information on Riverdale Park Home sales:
> As of today according to the Metropolitan Regional Information System,
> There are 18 properties available on the market in Riverdale Park.
> 10 of those properties are Short/Bank sales
> Average Price of Available properties is $262801
>
> There are 6 properties  under contract in Riverdale Park
> All 6 are Short/Bank Sales
> Average Price for Under Contract Homes is $172250
>
> There were 14 properties Sold in the past 6 months
> 8 properties were Short/Bank Sales
> The highest price for a home sold in Riverdale Park was $291,500
> The average price for a home sold  in Riverdale Park is $188,559
>
> In some cases our homes here in Riverdale Park are assessed for tax
> purposes more than $100000 over what we could expect to get  if we sold
> them. Therefore, we are not paying taxes on "Fair Market Value"
> I understand that assessments took place at a time when the market was
> booming but it seems unfair.
>
> Audrey Bragg
>
>
>
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