Politics & Government

How Low Did Those Caledonia Property Values Go?

Property owners in Caledonia saw their property values decrease an average of 14 percent. But if yours increased, you can do a little research and make your case to the assessor.

The Village Assessor sent out the revaluations last week and a number of residents saw the value of their homes drop significantly.

Village Administrator Mark Janiuk told the Village Board last week that, on average, property values dropped by 14 percent.

"We used to argue that they were too high, but now we complain that they are too low," said Ray Leffler, owner of Newport Development.

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State law requires the village to assess properties between 90 and 110 percent of market value, but the village’s most recent ratio was at 112 percent and was out of compliance for the fourth year. If the village is out of compliance by the fifth year, the state will assess the properties.

What impact does your property value have on your tax bill?

Even though property values fell, it won't necessarily mean a drop in your taxes. That is determined by the levy from the village, school district and other taxing bodies. If the change in your property assessment was in line with the village average and the tax levy remains the same, you’ll be paying about the same in taxes.

Find out what's happening in Caledoniawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Caledonia Patch readers speak out about their property values

Knowing that the average drop in property values was 14 percent, we wanted to see what other Caledonia residents experienced. So we posed the question on Facebook, here's what they said:

Sarah Brogni Ours went down 19 percent. Frustrating because we were talking about moving in the next few years. But the value was assessed a year ago. Nowhere near what the village states.

Heather Riley Shaffer Ours went up 10 percent... I find that hard to believe since we met with the assessor only 3 years ago to determine the proper assessment...

Susan Jones Lemut Ours is down 23 percent.

Gordon Roberts Mine went down 25 percent.

So what happens if your property value was too high?

Then you’ll need to do some research and make the case to the assessor that your assessment was too high. The village has all the property assessments open for inspection from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Sept. 10 at the Village Hall, 6922 Nicholson Road. You can also check out the Racine County property transfers on Patch to see what the home sales were like in your area or you can hire an appraiser.

After doing the research, you’ll need to file a written objection with the Village Clerk and a hearing time will be set. You’ll need to bring that research with you and present your case. Property owners wishing to file an objection to their assessment and appear before the Board of Review shall do so prior to 9 a.m., Sept. 24.

"The Board of Review (BOR) shall grant a waiver of the 48-hour notice of intent to file if property owner does not meet the requirements and appears before the BOR during the first 2 hours of the meeting," said Karie Torkilsen, the Village Clerk.  "That person is to show good cause as to while he/she failed to meet the required timeline and files a written objection.  The BOR decides if the case will be heard or not."

Leffler said you would also need to search for recently sold homes online within about a mile of your home.

“You’ll want to find similar homes in your neighborhood that have sold within the last year, but you’ll want to make sure to avoid homes that were sold through foreclosures or bank-owned short sales,” he said.

But if the assessor isn’t open to reducing the property value, you can also make your case to the Board of Review. And if they still don’t buy in to your argument, you can also file a lawsuit in circuit court.

“To reduce your property assessment though, I’ve found the assessors quite reasonable as long as you provide a list of comparables,” Leffler said.


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