Be sure to get the name of the Norfolk assessor who comes to your home and post them on line!
Workers coming inside to assess a home's worth? That's troubling. | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com
The Virginian-Pilot
© May 19, 2009
Knock, knock.
Don't look now, but that could be the Norfolk real estate assessor at your door.
Not
content with merely taking a gander at the exterior of your abode, and
factoring in building permits and sales of comparable houses, Deborah
Bunn and her lieutenants want to snoop around inside to determine your
castle's worth.
Wait. What's that? You just lost your job and spent the week building cabinets and painting your living room?
Well aren't you the lucky one. You may have just hiked your own taxes.
I learned about this astonishing effort by Norfolk to raise assessments
(they wouldn't be going to all this trouble to lower them, would they?)
from http://blog.vivianpaige.com, a local blog managed by the Norfolk
CPA of the same name.
One of Paige's readers wrote that she was
"seriously troubled" that government workers would want to come onto
her property. My first instinct was that Paige - or her irate
correspondent - had to be mistaken.
But they were right.
A news release, posted last month on the city's Web site, explained that
the city workers, driving city vehicles, would fan out around the city:
"Beginning April 20, the Norfolk Real Estate Assessor's office will begin a five
year field review program that will include a physical inspection of
every residential and commercial property in the City of Norfolk.
"Field reviews will be conducted Monday thru Friday from 9:00 am - 5 pm. The
neighborhood inspections will take place from April through July for
the next five years. Prior to initiating the inspection of a particular
property, the appraiser will make the appropriate introduction at the
door. If the owner/occupant is not home, an exterior review will be
conducted and a notice will be left informing the owner of the
visit...."
Hmmm. This could be an interesting social experiment.
When we find out how many residents rolled out the welcome mat, we'll also
know how many Norfolkians were asleep during high school civics class.
Reminder for the snoozers: This is America. Except in very few cases, you do not
have to allow government agents - without search warrants - in your
home.
Still, as one blog commenter noted, many folks will be too cowed by a city badge and a clipboard to assert their rights.
Troubling, indeed.
When I spoke to her Monday, Bunn said 15 workers from her office had begun
canvassing the 56,396 private dwellings in the city. The assessor
acknowledged that residents "have the right to say no" to the
inspectors.
If they're turned away, the workers will take a picture of the house and walk around the exterior.
"We won't push the matter," she assured me.
But Bunn noted that the city attorney's office had told her she had the
authority to go onto private property and even wander around a fenced
yard, provided the gate is unlatched.
Memo to Norfolk homeowners: Buy locks. Now.
Curiously, Norfolk City Attorney Bernard Pishko said Monday that he hadn't heard
about the assessor's grand plan and had no comment about city workers
trying to gain entry to private homes.
When asked about the power of the city to traipse around private property, including
fenced-in yards, Pishko said that wouldn't be trespassing. Property
needs to be posted.
Oooh. I smell a cottage industry in tasteful "Keep Out" signs.
I asked the assessor if it was fair that those accommodating types with
tidy houses and fresh paint might see their assessments raised, while
their more slovenly neighbors might not.
Not going to happen, Bunn said. Her employees are looking for structural improvements.
Such as?
Mahogany trim or granite countertops.
Oh, I see. In Norfolk, it's not enough that you paid income taxes on the
money you used to buy the granite. Or that you paid a sales tax on the
stone itself. And the installation.
The city is now itching to slap you with a countertop tax.
If that sounds reasonable, by all means, invite the assessor in.
Me, I'd ask to see a search warrant.
Absent that, I'd tell the city to get off my property and enjoy the view from the street.
Kerry Dougherty, (757) 446-2306, kerry.dougherty@cox.net
Workers coming inside to assess a home's worth? That's troubling. | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com
The Virginian-Pilot
© May 19, 2009
Knock, knock.
Don't look now, but that could be the Norfolk real estate assessor at your door.
Not
content with merely taking a gander at the exterior of your abode, and
factoring in building permits and sales of comparable houses, Deborah
Bunn and her lieutenants want to snoop around inside to determine your
castle's worth.
Wait. What's that? You just lost your job and spent the week building cabinets and painting your living room?
Well aren't you the lucky one. You may have just hiked your own taxes.
I learned about this astonishing effort by Norfolk to raise assessments
(they wouldn't be going to all this trouble to lower them, would they?)
from http://blog.vivianpaige.com, a local blog managed by the Norfolk
CPA of the same name.
One of Paige's readers wrote that she was
"seriously troubled" that government workers would want to come onto
her property. My first instinct was that Paige - or her irate
correspondent - had to be mistaken.
But they were right.
A news release, posted last month on the city's Web site, explained that
the city workers, driving city vehicles, would fan out around the city:
"Beginning April 20, the Norfolk Real Estate Assessor's office will begin a five
year field review program that will include a physical inspection of
every residential and commercial property in the City of Norfolk.
"Field reviews will be conducted Monday thru Friday from 9:00 am - 5 pm. The
neighborhood inspections will take place from April through July for
the next five years. Prior to initiating the inspection of a particular
property, the appraiser will make the appropriate introduction at the
door. If the owner/occupant is not home, an exterior review will be
conducted and a notice will be left informing the owner of the
visit...."
Hmmm. This could be an interesting social experiment.
When we find out how many residents rolled out the welcome mat, we'll also
know how many Norfolkians were asleep during high school civics class.
Reminder for the snoozers: This is America. Except in very few cases, you do not
have to allow government agents - without search warrants - in your
home.
Still, as one blog commenter noted, many folks will be too cowed by a city badge and a clipboard to assert their rights.
Troubling, indeed.
When I spoke to her Monday, Bunn said 15 workers from her office had begun
canvassing the 56,396 private dwellings in the city. The assessor
acknowledged that residents "have the right to say no" to the
inspectors.
If they're turned away, the workers will take a picture of the house and walk around the exterior.
"We won't push the matter," she assured me.
But Bunn noted that the city attorney's office had told her she had the
authority to go onto private property and even wander around a fenced
yard, provided the gate is unlatched.
Memo to Norfolk homeowners: Buy locks. Now.
Curiously, Norfolk City Attorney Bernard Pishko said Monday that he hadn't heard
about the assessor's grand plan and had no comment about city workers
trying to gain entry to private homes.
When asked about the power of the city to traipse around private property, including
fenced-in yards, Pishko said that wouldn't be trespassing. Property
needs to be posted.
Oooh. I smell a cottage industry in tasteful "Keep Out" signs.
I asked the assessor if it was fair that those accommodating types with
tidy houses and fresh paint might see their assessments raised, while
their more slovenly neighbors might not.
Not going to happen, Bunn said. Her employees are looking for structural improvements.
Such as?
Mahogany trim or granite countertops.
Oh, I see. In Norfolk, it's not enough that you paid income taxes on the
money you used to buy the granite. Or that you paid a sales tax on the
stone itself. And the installation.
The city is now itching to slap you with a countertop tax.
If that sounds reasonable, by all means, invite the assessor in.
Me, I'd ask to see a search warrant.
Absent that, I'd tell the city to get off my property and enjoy the view from the street.
Kerry Dougherty, (757) 446-2306, kerry.dougherty@cox.net
No comments:
Post a Comment