Freeport Tax Increasing 79%??

[yippie]

This article was in the paper today. How do they justify a 70% increase in value for tax purposes in Freeport? I went round and round with the Tax Collectors office for the 2006 taxes.

Were are the comps for this type of Tax increase???? ----


Freeport’s valuation grows by 70 percent

Land appreciation not as great elsewhere in Walton

By HEATHER CIVIL heatherc@nwfdailynews.com



DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — Walton County will not see nearly as dramatic a jump in property values as last year because of the cool real estate market.
But Freeport will see another large increase in its valuation, according to preliminary tax roll figures.
The county Property Appraiser’s Office estimates Walton will have about $17.6 billion in taxable property value this year, an increase of 8.47 percent above last year.
Last year’s values increased 28.81 percent above 2005’s.
The percent increase is not nearly as impressive this year, but the numbers still show healthy appreciation, said county Property Appraiser Patrick Pilcher.
“It’s not what we’ve seen in the past five to six years, but it’s still an increase,” Pilcher said.
Freeport’s property tax values are expected to increase by 70 percent.
A good portion of the increase is attributed to almost $6 million in new construction.
The increasing property values are not necessarily an indicator that Freeport has escaped the effect of the real estate market, said Mayor Mickey Marse.
Property in Freeport was a hot commodity about two years ago, and a good part of the increased property values comes from projects that began then, he said.
“It’s in a slowdown right now,” he said.
Any increase in property values is a welcome one for cities and counties throughout the state as they face tax cuts.
Walton County must cut about $5.7 million from its budget to accommodate a state-mandated property tax reduction.
The county will have to roll back its millage rate to about 3.3 mills and will collect about $57 million in property taxes.
The county will take in about $2.5 million in taxes from an estimated $840 million in new construction.
Freeport will have to cut about $200,000 from its budget, maybe more.
The city has not yet figured out exactly what impact the tax cut will have.
New construction is the only area where cities and counties are allowed to increase property taxes based on projected growth.
Marse said the new construction will hopefully ease the pain of property tax cuts for Freeport. He still expects some belt-tightening, however.
“Maybe I’ll have something to do something with,” he said.
Daily News Staff Writer Heather Civil can be reached at 267-8300.

[Smiling JOe]

very good question, Yippie, especially since there were only 42 residential lot (=<1 acre) sales in Freeport (from ECAR statistics), for the entire year of 2006. Avg sales price for these lots is $136,371, but considering that many of the sales were in Hammock Bay, and Hammock Bay was offering rebates to the buyers of amounts as high as $25,000 per lot (maybe more in some cases), the actual sales amount reported to the Property Appraiser's office is exagerated by substantial amounts in some cases.

[yippie]

very good question, Yippie, especially since there were only 42 residential lot (=<1 acre) sales in Freeport (from ECAR statistics), for the entire year of 2006. Avg sales price for these lots is $136,371, but considering that many of the sales were in Hammock Bay, and Hammock Bay was offering rebates to the buyers of amounts as high as $25,000 per lot (maybe more in some cases), the actual sales amount reported to the Property Appraiser's office is exagerated by substantial amounts in some cases.

Actually, I own a lot in Hammock Bay and the 25,000.00 discount was a pre-construction deal and was not recorded at the Tax Collector's office. In other words, that 136,371.00 is the actual price paid after the 25,000.00 discount.

[Smiling JOe]

I'm not sure that I understand what you are stating. I know of a property in Hammock Bay which sold at $175,000 (I was not any part of the transaction), and that is the price listed in the MLS as the sold price. The rebate to the buyer was for $35,000, making the actual amount of money being exchanged for the property at $140,000. In the tax records, the sales price also shows at $175,000, even though the amount exchanged for the property was $140,000. (I'm not sure what the lenders think about those that $35,000 rebates, which might be used to pay the interest for a few years.) What I do know is that the assessed values of properties will be based on the sales prices shown in the Tax Appraiser's office.

[Paige]

Wow. In Arkansas, there is a provision in our constitution that allows for only up to a 10% increase in property taxes per year. If they raise it higher than that, it is an illegal exaction.

[yippie]

Wow. In Arkansas, there is a provision in our constitution that allows for only up to a 10% increase in property taxes per year. If they raise it higher than that, it is an illegal exaction.

Paige, there is a law in Florida for homesteded (sic) property that it can be raised only 3% per year, but investment property is open game.

[yippie]

I'm not sure that I understand what you are stating. I know of a property in Hammock Bay which sold at $175,000 (I was not any part of the transaction), and that is the price listed in the MLS as the sold price. The rebate to the buyer was for $35,000, making the actual amount of money being exchanged for the property at $140,000. In the tax records, the sales price also shows at $175,000, even though the amount exchanged for the property was $140,000. (I'm not sure what the lenders think about those that $35,000 rebates, which might be used to pay the interest for a few years.) What I do know is that the assessed values of properties will be based on the sales prices shown in the Tax Appraiser's office.

I didn't get a rebate. I had the (at the time I think it was 25000.00) money discount off the bottom line of the price of the property. Maybe I am thinking of something else.... I'll check, I could be wrong.

[raven]

it's not logical or moral or responsible govt. they do it for the reason they do everything here. because they feel like it and because nobody will stop them.

[Smiling JOe]

If the sales in Owls Head were recorded in 2006, that property shifted greatly, going from property assessed at agriculture rates (much cheaper) to residential property and I hear talk that the prices were fairly steep for Freeport.

[Busta Hustle]

it would be interesting to know if your comps are all from inside of Hammock Bay or not. Both Hammock Bay and The Plantations at Freeport are offering "pre" development lots for just over 60K now and you can get one for 75K in Windswept. of course that won't help you until 2008 taxes if ever.

[Smiling JOe]

it would be interesting to know if your comps are all from inside of Hammock Bay or not. Both Hammock Bay and The Plantations at Freeport are offering "pre" development lots for just over 60K now and you can get one for 75K in Windswept. of course that won't help you until 2008 taxes if ever.My sales comps were for all residential lots in area 20 (Freeport) =< 1acre. I didn't count the number, but I saw many of them having Hammock Bay addresses. Also, remember that the Tax Assessor works off of all sales, not just sales that go through ECAR (Realtor Assoc). Owl's Head reportedly had many sales in 2006, yet failed to report them to ECAR as required by ECAR's MLS Rules. However, the Property Appraiser would have seen them. Also, I believe all assessed values in Windswept Estates are now valued as residential lots and homes as opposed to agriculture, like they were in 2005. Changing classification and including the lot sales will change things greatly.

[Busta Hustle]

sorry about the confusion but i was referring to the comps that the appraisers office presented to yippie to justify his 2006 taxes that he mentioned having a problem with. Of course those comps were from 05 sales which were at an all time high in Freeport.
My question is: Would the appraiser use lot comps only from within the neighborhood (HB) since there were plenty to use in 2005? :idontno:

[Smiling JOe]

sorry about the confusion but i was referring to the comps that the appraisers office presented to yippie to justify his 2006 taxes that he mentioned having a problem with. Of course those comps were from 05 sales which were at an all time high in Freeport.
My question is: Would the appraiser use lot comps only from within the neighborhood (HB) since there were plenty to use in 2005? :idontno:According to our Property Appraiser, he might not use the sales only in that particular neighborhood. In order to get "fair" comps, the Prop. Appraiser may have to use sales in similar developments or neighborhoods. Basically, the Property Appraiser told me that he uses a computer program with mulitple varibles, which can be selected by the Prop. Appraiser, to calculate the assessed values. Depending on the outcome, they may go in and adjust individually, tweaking the numbers a bit.

[Busta Hustle]

plenty of comps for each year right in HB not to need to go outside to get a fair assessment on lot values.
Another bit verified by the appraisers office is the fact that the tax revenue collected by the City Of freeport has gone up about 286% since 2000. If the article is correct and there is another 70% increase in taxable values you would think they will collect enough to have fire hydrants in good working order.

[Busta Hustle]

on the subject of taxes, the Walton county Taxpayers association has info on the out of state property owners lawsuit against our property appraiser with the idea that "Save our homes" is unconstitutional...So lets see this suit makes 3 major issues to be decided by the courts, private vs public beach, Nature Walk, "Save Our Homes"...