Property owners await, receive news of value

Notices of changes in property value soon to arrive in Charleston County mailboxes The reality check is in the mail. Owners of more than 140,000 homes, stores and other parcels in Charleston County soon will receive a notice saying how their properties have changed in value during the past five years. Dorchester County residents found similar notices arriving in their mailboxes this weekend. Property owners in Berkeley and Colleton counties already have received theirs. John Braund, a commercial insurance salesman who lives off Bacons Bridge Road in Summerville, said he was not surprised to see his home's assessed value rise by 40 percent. He hopes local tax rates will drop enough to avoid any big increase in his bill.  "We're waiting to see what the rollback millage (tax rate) is going to be," said Braund, a member of the Dorchester County Taxpayers Association. "When that other shoe drops, we'll see if growth pays for itself."  These reassessment notices are not tax bills, but the new values will be used to calculate tax bills going out this fall. Today's mailing marks Charleston County's first reassessment since 2001, and County Administrator Roland Windham is expecting a hue and cry.  "The old adage, 'A man's home is his castle until the tax assessor comes along' is going to come into play shortly," Windham recently told County Council members.  Figures show those who own properties in McClellanville, Awendaw, Sullivan's Island, Folly Beach and Edisto Island can expect to see some of the highest increases, while those on Kiawah and Seabrook islands, hard hit in the past, might benefit this time around.   Owners have 90 days to file an appeal , and Charleston County Assessor Mike Huggins said he expects thousands will.  In 1993, about 10 percent of Charleston County property owners appealed. That dropped to only 7 percent during the 2001 reassessment, a drop most attribute to a special cap that limited increases on owner-occupied homes to 15 percent. The courts later threw out that cap.  Huggins said his office hopes to see fewer than 14,500 appeals this time but added, "It's just impossible to tell." It's also unclear how many appeals other counties will see. Jeff Bowers, a Summerville real-estate agent, wasn't surprised to see Dorchester County assessment values increase quite a bit in the last five years.  "The notices I saw did not shock me," said Bowers, a former president of the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors. "I thought they were fair. The market has really jumped in the last five years."  Some residents of King's Grant, a subdivision off Dorchester Road, saw their home's assessed value rise by 60 percent, but resident Dick Kopfmueller said, "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."  Dorchester County Assessor Greg Thacker noted that one house in Ridgeville jumped from $46,600 in 1999 to $122,100, a 162 percent increase. More typical increases included an Ashborough East home that rose 29 percent and is now valued at $214,700, and a Coosaw Creek home that rose 54 percent and is now valued at $507,800. State law requires counties to bring assessed values in line with market values, Thacker said. In some cases, properties were assessed too low in 1999, but in most cases, the higher assessed values reflect market trends, he said. Huggins said Charleston County's reassessment might not create the kind of shock felt in previous years because different parts of the county saw less dramatic differences in how much their property values changed. Still, sharp differences remain in housing costs between communities such as Kiawah and Sullivan's islands, where the average home is appraised at more than $1 million, and communities such as North Charleston and Lincolnville, where the average home is appraised at less than $100,000. While most Charleston County property owners can expect to receive their notices this week, owners of about 10,000 manufactured houses are expected to receive theirs later this month. Also, about 4,900 parcels that have had new construction activity might not be included in today's mailing. Charleston Council Chairman Leon Stavrinakis said less affluent homeowners might feel a bigger bite this time. "It's the poor people who are going to get hammered and have to move out of their communities unless state legislators act on this," he said. "The Legislature really needs to do something to change this system." State law requires local governments to roll back tax rates so they don't reap windfalls from the higher tax base, but school districts, cities and public service districts still can raise additional revenue from property taxes to pay for new or expanded services. It's unclear how many local governments will raise their tax rates. Reassessment also covers only real property. The state Department of Revenue attaches values to personal property such as cars and boats. HOW CAN I APPEAL?    Dorchester County   You have 90 days to file an appeal to the assessment notice. The easiest way for Dorchester County residents to appeal is to fill out the Informal Appeal Form at the bottom of the assessment notice, cut it off, and mail it to the address on the form (Dorchester County Assessor's Office, 201 Johnston St., St. George, SC 29477).  If you file an appeal, a hearing will be set within 30 days. You will get a letter telling you the results of the hearing and how to continue your appeal if you're not satisfied.     Charleston County  Reassessment notices include an explanation of how a reassessment is done, how property is taxed, and what to do if you disagree. Owners who disagree with their value have 90 days to appeal; in Charleston County's case, appeals must be filed with the county assessor's office by Sept. 12. Charleston County property owners with questions may call the office at 958-4144 or visit the county's Web site, www.charlestoncounty.org, and select the "2005 Reassessment" link.

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