Jeff Phillips, Republican Nominee, Guilford County Commissioners, District 5: "County budget sleight of hand"

"...I have become more aware of how the Guilford County Board of Commission operates,
discovering a good bit about their trickery as well.

...Fox and the BoCs initially proposed a budget that would require a 9.5 cent tax increase.

After one of the largest stealth tax increases in Guilford County history:

"County passes budget, slight tax decrease"

Then came the outcry of the public, along with a few commissioners,
who suddenly saw the light of fiscal conservatism in an election year.

Then came the puzzling announcement
of a $5.6 billion increase in Guilford County property values.

Bottom line: higher taxes for many property owners.

"Commercial Real Estate Prices Just Hit A New Post-Bubble Low"

How about that revaluation tax increase on everybody else, Greensboro and Guilford leaders?

Not long after the revaluation,
a revised budget was revealed that would only require a 4 cent property tax increase.

It seemed that the additional $15 million of revenue from existing property values
and new construction growth would more than make up for the now lower tax increase.

...The late-breaking news is announced that the commissioners
will now proudly present a slight “reduction” in the tax rate.

It would seem that our local economy is now on the mend,
as reflected by the much-improved property and sales tax revenue projections.

And the crowd goes wild!

Or so it would seem.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Guilford County Real Estate Revaluations:

What are the chances, and why did we get a tax decrease

after a projected big shortfall until revals?

First, the increase in property values resulted in a tax increase
to many Guilford County residents without anyone calling it a tax increase.

Also, to make the approved budget numbers work,
sales tax revenue projections needed to be increased by millions over last year
– a guesstimate, at best.

And then there is the revelation that you could have easily missed
if you had been looking “over there.”

The 2012-13 budget that passed on a unanimous vote by the Board of Commissioners
will spend at least $8 million more of our money than last year ($587 versus $579 million).

Could what happened to Charlotte's Real Estate Tax Revaluation

have happened in Guilford County,

which could explain the tax cut instead of a projected increase?

So why are the commissioners so proud of their recent win for Guilford County?

...It should be very concerning to all of us
that the families and hard-working taxpayers of Guilford County
are being told they got a great deal from our commissioners,
as county spending and taxes for many are going up significantly."

Jeff Phillips
Republican Nominee
Guilford County Commissioners, District 5

Guilford County Real Estate Revaluations: What are the chances, and why did we get a tax decrease after a projected big shortfall until revals?

What are the chances of 420 Guilford County homes worth more than $1,000,000
rising an average of $42,541 each
between 2004 and 2012?

What are the chances of 420 Guilford County homes worth more than $1,000,000
rising about 35 times as much as an average Guilford County home
between 2004 and 2012?

What are the chances of the values of 420 Guilford County homes
worth more than $1,000,000
rising by a total of $17,867,405 between 2004 and 2012?

http://www.uncg.edu/bae/cber/tbi/apr12/index.htm

Where is Guilford County? "Meck commissioners to review 2011 revaluation"

"Mecklenburg commissioners
...said they want an independent review of the 2011 property revaluation,
saying it could help bring answers to lingering concerns about the appraisal.

...The board also asked for estimates on the price for a new revaluation in 2014 or 2015,
though commissioners stopped short of ordering an appraisal by a specific date.

...The vote comes after months of growing criticism about the accuracy of last year’s revaluation,
the county’s first since 2003.

Residents had questioned, among other things, how the county set land values
and how it factored in the effect of foreclosures and still-falling home sales.

...The type of independent review the commissioners approved
...is believed to be unprecedented in the state.

[County Manager] Jones said there has been no statistical evidence
to show the revaluation was not conducted in accordance with state law or other guidelines.

...“Why are there so many people so upset about their revaluation
if there isn’t something wrong?” Pendergraph said.

“There’s just too much smoke not to have some fire somewhere.”

...Before commissioners began their debate, they heard from 17 speakers
– nearly all in favor of an outside review of the revaluation.

They spoke before a packed chamber,
with some in the audience carrying signs that said “Fix It.”

WCNC

Independent firm expected to review Mecklenburg revaluation process

"The Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners voted 6 to 3

to have an independent firm review the 2011 property revaluation process.

Homeowners packed the Mecklenburg County government center Tuesday night.

...The independent firm will review the process,

to make sure no laws were broken in the 2011 revaluation.

Two weeks ago commissioners told residents

that the power lies with the state legislature and the tax assessor's office.

...Homeowners have argued for months that they paid too much

for faulty property evaluations by the Mecklenburg County Tax Assessor's Office.

...A county spokesman says there are still thousands of appeals outstanding."

WBTV

Commissioners Want Outside Auditor For Revaluation

"The staff is saying it's all OK, but it's not OK,"
said former Cornelius Town Commissioner Jim Bensman.

He and a group of residents say they have documented how the county tax assessor's office
violated several state statutes in its latest revaluation.

..."They've refused to provide information to the homeowners who need in order to appeal."

Property owners complain about having to appeal the 2011 revaluations
that they say were appraised either too high...

..."Until you understand what the issues are," said Bensman,

"you can't begin to fix them."

FOX

Commissioners Call For Revaluation Audit

Commissioner Karen Bentley is one of the commissioners calling for the audit.

She’s been flooded with complaints from upset homeowners.

They say not only that their property was valued too high,

but that the appeals process was also flawed.

...Emily Zuyus, a Myers Park homeowner,

argues that the county’s false information kept property owners from appealing.

“And I feel confident that an audit will show that the process just didn’t work,” she says.

...She believes her property is overvalued, especially the lot her house is on.

It jumped from $936,800 to almost $1.2 million,

increasing her property taxes by close to $3,000.

...The proposal sets aside $50,000 for the audit

and also calls for another mass appraisal in 2014.

WFAE

“No change,” said Cornelius resident Paul McMellon...

That’s a phrase he didn't want to see
after he appealed a revaluation on two pieces of property.

“No change in value.

That's the lot right here,” he said.

“It went from $20,000 to $47,500.”

He said it was a similar story for his other property on Main Street.

"I don't know if abuse is the right word,
but there are clearly some things that are almost impossible to explain,"...

WSOTV

"...a lot of concerns are clumped in Cornelius,

where some waterfront land has skyrocketed.

...Cornelius Mayor Jeff Tarte...says the current process

is not establishing true market value for homeowners.

Another problem, he says, is this:

"It's a little bit backwards that the burden of proof is on the property owner

to prove that the value isn't set correctly by the tax assessor's office.

So they end up then hiring professionals or certified appraisers to value their property,

and then depending on technicalities,

often times that information is not being accepted by the tax assessor's office."

...property owners feel like they're in the dark.

"If their appeal was rejected,

county officials must give a detailed explanation," Tarte says.

"I don't know one person who's had that information shared.

They're just told no, sorry."

WBTV

A few notable Guilford County property revaluation assessments

Mike Winstead

Old - $168,500
New - $134,800

About 20% less

Yvonne Johnson

Old - $127,300

New - $119,700

About 6% less

George Hartzman recieved Guilofd County Real Estate Revaluation Data on Friday Afternoon, April 6, 2012: Last Day for appeals is Monday, April 9, 2012

Less than $100,000

Count - 47,549

Share of Homes - 34.8%

Average Property Value Change -6.5% or -$4,581
.
.
.
Between $100,000-$199,999

Count - 56,637

Share of Homes - 41.5%

Average Property Value Change + 1.3% or $1,866
.
.
.
$200,000+

Count - 32,422

Share of Homes - 23.7%

Average Property Value Change +2.6% or $8,443

This doesn't seem to make much sense.

The highest priced homes took the biggest hit after 2007,

yet they went up in value more than homes worth less than $100,000?

Were forclosures taken into account for the bottom

but not the top?

If anyone would like to play with the data,

let us know.

This outcome seems to contradict what many thought occured

after 2007.

I have spoken to more than several

about how the assessed value Guilford County came up with,

is not close to what some homes could be sold for.

Guilford County said:

"In regards to your requests for 1) data broken down by neighborhoods

and 2) properties not included in the revaluation

that were not between an willing and financially able buyer and willing seller,

the county does not currently have use for the referenced data

structured in the requested fashion

and your request would necessitate extensive programming and/or cost to the county

in order to retrieve the information.

As a result, the County is not able to provide these records at this time."

Guilford County Attorney's Office

"Page 3 of the Guilford County “Schedule of Values,”

which covers data behind this year’s real-estate tax revaluation,

cites a statute that says market value is defined as

“the price estimated in terms of money at which the property would sell

between a willing and financially able buyer and a willing seller,

neither being under any compulsion to buy or to sell.”

But on page 7, under “Distressed and Forced Sales,” it says,

“Both foreclosure and short sales have been largely responsible

for a 20 percent decline in the average selling price of existing homes

over the last three years.”

And “staff appraisers will consider all sales that have occurred

in each appraisal neighborhood over the last several years

but a greater weight will be given to comparable sales

that have happened without duress.”

If computer model-based “mass appraisals” were the main tool,

how did the county know which sales were distressed or forced?

If these two sets of measures contradict each other,

how can anyone know what actually happened to whom in the revaluation

if Guilford County won't release the data?

George Hartzman

Unanswered Guilford County Information Request on Real Estate Revaluation Assessments: Sent March 12, 2012

Guilford County Information Request on Real Estate Revaluation Assessments

Please provide data for all Guilford County revaluation assessements
including before and after values of all properties in a comma delimited format
with before and after values seperated, which can be measured in different ways.

Please include a "neighborhood-by-neighborhood" data set.

Please also include a separate data set
of properties not included in the revaluation
that were not "between a willing and financially able buyer and a willing seller,
neither being under any compulsion to buy or to sell"
due to distressed sales, short sales, foreclosure or other reason.

George Hartzman

George Hartzman Linkfest of Real Estate Revaluation info to be covered Tuesday, March 13, from at 6pm to 8pm, at the Old Guilford County Courthouse, at 301 West Market Street, in the Blue Room

George Hartzman on Guilford County
and Greensboro Property Revaluation and Real Estate Assessments

A few notable Guilford County property revaluation assessments

We recieved our 2012 Revaluation Assessed Value Today

City of Greensboro and Guilford County Information Request
on Real Estate Revaluation Assessments

Search Directions to Compare Greensboro and Guilford County
Real Estate Revaluation Assessment Outcomes

Updated with Search Directions: A Comparison of Four Greensboro and Guilford County Real Estate Revaluation Assessment Outcomes: Guess Who?

People can foresee the future

only when it coincides with their own wishes,

and the most grossly obvious facts

can be ignored when they are unwelcome.

George Orwell

Old Value: $198,400

New Value: $192,000 - About 3% less?

Liberty cannot be preserved

without a general knowledge among the people.

John Adams

Old Value: $269,300

New Value: $226,400 - 15% less?

People are usually more convinced by reasons they discovered themselves

than by those found by others.

Blaise Pascal

Old Value: $6,258,500

New Value: $4,090,500 - About 35% off?

About Six $190,000 houses?

All animals are equal,

but some animals are more equal than others.

George Orwell

Old Value: $6,637,600

New Value: $5,704,800 - Down about 14%?

The great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearance

as though they were realities,

and are often more influenced by the things that seem than those that are.

Niccolo Machiavelli

If most commercial real estate

depreciated more than most residential real estate,

who will make up the difference?

If some higher valued residential real estate

lost more than some lower priced real estate,

who gets to make up the difference?

Guilford County GIS Data Viewer

Click on Parcel Search in the upper right hand side of the page linked above.

Enter number and street, without "drive" or "court" after
and then click search.

Click on Tax Appraisal Information on the right hand side
and a new window will come up.

The new tax value is in the bottom right corner.

Click on Tax bill in the upper right area,
which should open a new window.

Clicking on the top link with lots of numbers under the headings on the left
should bring up another window with the old value in the middle on the left.

Divide.

Subtract.

Compare.

We recieved our 2012 Revaluation Assessed Value Today.

http://www.uncg.edu/bae/cber/tbi/dec11/


December 2011 Real Estate Foreclosures:  234

Unemployment Rate (%): 10.1

STOP HB 554: Don't let North Carolina's legislature increase the death toll in for-profit rentals: How can anyone who believes in state's rights vote for this?

A mom with three young daughters found a house with a RUCO
(Rental Unit Certificate of Occupancy,

showing that it passed city inspection) and can breathe easily now.

She moved from an apartment which was rented unlawfully without a RUCO,

where the mold from leaking plumbing resulted in respiratory problems;

she and the girls had to go to the doctor so much she lost her job.

The employer lost a good worker,

health insurance paid thousands for medical care,

the city inspector has to spend hours trying to get the apartment manager
to comply with repair orders,

and the apartments have expensive repairs

(plus a fine for renting without a RUCO).

All this could have been avoided by the manager fixing a small leak

and scheduling a RUCO inspection.

Because the apartments look OK from the outside

and the other tenants are afraid to complain,

this dangerous housing unit would not have been inspected at all
under proposed state legislation

that would only allow inspections when there is “probable cause”.

"HB 554 prohibits local jurisdictions from inspecting residential properties
unless there is “probable cause”
—eliminating effective proactive systematic inspection programs
that promote preventive maintenance before conditions deteriorate
to the point that tenants complain or inspectors see problems from the street.

The City of Greensboro approved a local ordinance in 2003
requiring that all rental properties be inspected and certified
as meeting minimal safety standards.

Since the creation of “RUCO” (Rental Unit Certificate of Occupancy),
the number of substandard housing units has dropped
from over 2000 to 500 because the inspections:

• Award certificates to properties kept in good condition
• Prompt attention to small issues before they become dangerous
• Turn around long-neglected properties
.
.
Benefits of proactive inspection programs:

• Reduce complaints and expedite compliance with repair orders,
saving inspector time and enforcement cost.
• Reduce health and safety risks, saving medical expenses and human suffering;
substandard housing results in over $100,000,000
in health and related costs for North Carolina children each year.

If many of the costs of healthcare for residents of substandard housing

are picked up by taxpayers through Medicaid,

how is this not privitizing the gains and socializing the losses?

• Promote justice and fair housing by requiring all rentals to meet minimum safety standards;
too often what may be considered “good enough”
for persons with disabilities, families with children, immigrants, and minorities
is actually below standard.
.
.
Tell your legislators to STOP HB 554
so that local governments can choose to adopt the proactive inspection program
that best fits its community.

HB 554 was referred to the NC House Committee
on Commerce and Job Development on 3/31/2011.

Why does who want to overide Greensboro ordinances

that limits taxpayer liability via increased healthcare costs?

Visit www.ncga.state.nc.us to read the bill,
see who is on the committee and find contact information for your legislators.

For more information about “RUCO”,
contact beth@GreensboroHousingCoalition.com, 336-691-9521."