ROANOKE, Va. – Monday we introduced you to Randy Pohlman, a Roanoke resident whose property valuation has jumped to 34% in two years, making his real estate taxes go up too.
“It’s gotten to a place where we’re not going to be able to afford to live,” Pohlman said.
10 News brought his concerns to K.C. Bratton, Director of the Office of Real Estate Valuation.
“The key is if you feel like your property won’t sell for what we have it assessed for, that’s the time to take action and call us,” Bratton said.
Roanoke City code requires assessments every year.
Bratton said valuations are largely based on the sale of other houses in your neighborhood.
“The sales are determining what’s going on in the market - it’s not anything, there’s no magic. We look at data and that’s how we determine what the market is doing, and then we implement that in our assessments,” Bratton said.
Roanoke has a staff of nine appraisers.
“Typically we look at the condition of the property and then also we do field inspections. So, our appraisers go out and do field inspections. They’ll knock on the door, you can answer it or not - we typically don’t always get answers. They’ll go through a battery of questions for you to answer relative to your house,” Bratton said.
If you want to appeal your assessment, you can find the form here. The last day to appeal is February 2.
Tax rates themselves are controlled by the Roanoke City Council.
You can compare Roanoke’s real estate tax rate to others in our area, per every $100 worth of property.
- Roanoke City: $1.22
- Salem: $1.20
- Roanoke County: $1.06
- Lynchburg: $0.89
- Danville: $0.84
- Montgomery County: $0.70
- Bedford County: $0.41