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‘Booming’ real estate market in Greene Co. results in uptick in property taxes

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GREENE COUNTY — People in an area county have questions after they got notices telling them that their property taxes are going up.

Stephanie Via-Hagar has lived in Sugarcreek Township for more than 20 years.

“I like the small-town feeling of this community,” she said.

But she’s now planning to move.

“I’m selling this house and the property taxes are one of the reasons,” she said.

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She got a notice in the mail saying the county values her home at more than $730,000 — a bit more than the $505,000 in 2020.

“I’ve worked incredibly hard my entire life, and one of the things I did was put my money into paying for my house. To look at the fact that I’m basically being extorted to live in the home that I own, that I choose to invest in, is disgusting to me,” Via-Hagar said.

Every six years the county appraises 73,000 properties.

In between that time, it also does a triennial update which is what Greene County homeowners just got notices for.

That’s when the property values are adjusted to reflect market changes in each neighborhood since the reappraisal.

It doesn’t involve assessing the conditions of the home but rather just looking at what the sale prices of properties in a given neighborhood are versus the auditor’s appraised value, David Graham, Greene County Auditor said.

Graham said for the triennial update he has to look at property sales and see what they’re saying about property value.

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He described Greene County’s real estate market as “booming.”

Graham said countywide property values went up about 28 to 29 percent this time around.

“In most cases, probably roughly half of the percentage increase that you saw in your value will result and will be an increase in your taxes,” he said.

But some still say it’s not fair.

“I’m definitely going to appeal. Because this is ridiculous. It’s ridiculous,” Via-Hagar said.

In Greene County property owners can go to the auditor’s website to ask the auditor to review the math, and whether the increase is correct.

A calculator will also show how much your taxes will change.




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