Tax

By Terry Harris

 

Information concerning reassessment notices to Surry County property owners is now available on the county’s website, addressing how the reassessments have been formulated.

 

Also provided are several related documents as well as an exhaustive list of qualified real estate sales occurring in 2022 within Surry County with the corresponding price detail showing value benchmarks in the various County neighborhoods.  The indication is that the listed property sales were given the most weight by the assessor, but that other older County sales with appropriate trending could be considered as well.  

 

Below is an excerpt including the bulk of the explanation offered by the accessors, which is available in its entirety on the county website at https://www.surrycountyva.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=366 , along with a phone number for contacting the assessors for questions or to make appointments.

 

“2023 PROPERTY REASSESSMENT IN PERSPECTIVE

 

Soon, new reassessment notices will be mailed to Surry County property owners. 

 

As the notice f reassessment states, the new tax rate for 2023 has not yet been established by the Board of Supervisors so the amount of real estate tax for the new proposed values cannot be determined at this time. However, real estate taxes based on this new assessment will be effective for the 2023 tax year. 

 

Property owners should be aware that current market value and equalization of assessments with similar properties are the basic requirements of a reassessment.  

 

Percentage of increase or decrease is not, of itself, indicative of an erroneous assessment. 

 

Virginia law requires periodic reassessments of real estate in every taxing jurisdiction. In Surry County the last reassessment was effective January 1, 2022. The purpose for a reassessment is to meet the Code of Virginia requirements that the real estate tax be levied at 100% of market value and that similar properties be assessed uniformly with each other so that the tax levy is equitably borne by the property owners of the County.   

 

Understandably, property owners often ask what factors lead to the decision to have reassessments in subsequent years, and what data do the assessors use in establishing market value benchmarks?  In all localities across the State, the assessment and tax levied to the public service properties changes as assessments drift away from market value.  

In Surry County it is especially important that assessments are at market value due to the high amount of assessment associated with public utility properties.  While the real estate market continued to escalate throughout much of last year, the assessments certified for January 1, 2022, fell farther away from market value necessitating another reassessment effective January 1, 2023.  

When the reassessment notices are mailed, listings showing proposed assessed values will be available to the public at assessor’s hearings. Owners may also access property data at https://www.surrycountyva.gov. 

The reassessment process began in the fall of 2022, with a study of real estate sales for 2021 and 2022. As the work continued, sales for the rest of 2022 were also examined and considered, as market value was estimated on all County properties.

In collecting sales information and in the assessments, the assessment staff considers location, construction cost, quality of construction, condition of the buildings, marketability, topography, etc., in order for the sales data to be compared, for assessment purposes, with the various properties in different neighborhoods throughout Surry County. 

Not all property transfers occur at market value and care is taken to differentiate between market value sales and those that are not at market value. Consequently, sales which were higher or lower than typical sales were not considered in the assessments. These could include family transactions, short sales and sales which took place through the foreclosure process or because of pressure on the part of the buyer or seller. 

This sometimes happens when there is an immediate need to raise money and time will not allow for the property to be properly exposed to the open market. This may result in a sale for less than market value. It is also possible that an adjoining owner may pay more than market value in order to protect his existing property and/or control how the property is going to be used. 

 As properties were assessed, factors such as location, including access to highways, shopping centers, schools, availability of utilities, etc., as well as condition and type of buildings, were considered. In applying replacement cost to a new building and/or replacement cost less depreciation for an older building, typical contract cost is used. This may or may not agree with the actual cost to the present owner.

In land comparisons, tracts of similar size, use, etc., must be used when comparing assessments.   For example, a small acreage house site will reflect a higher value per acre than a larger acreage property, even though the two may adjoin.

We encourage property owners to compare their assessments with similar properties in order to determine if the assessments are fair and equitable. If you have evidence to suggest your assessment is not market value, or out of line with similar properties, you should bring it to the Assessor's attention along with supporting facts which can be used in reconsidering your assessment.

 

If you wish to discuss your assessment you may telephone (757)294-5207 for an appointment during the times shown on the schedule below, or you may choose to fill out the online appeal form found at  https://www.surrycountyva.gov.   

 

Percentage of value change above or below the old assessed value is not, by itself, grounds for an appeal. 

Again, we must keep in mind that Reassessments are not conducted to raise taxes, but rather are required by State Law to bring all assessments to current market value and to assure uniformity of assessments.

 Phone (757)294-5207 for an appointment to speak with an assessor