Philadelphia City OPA Officials ReAssessing Home Values
Philadelphia City OPA Officials ReAssessing Home Values
According to Philly.com, Officials from the Philadelphia Office of Property Assessment (OPA) are finally hitting the streets to determine the market values of Philadelphia houses. Inevitably this will mean higher property taxes for owners of Philadelphia real estate.
“Chief Assessment Officer Richie McKeithen said that after a year of reviewing data and training staff, the office is heading into the field to examine the city’s 423,000 single-family homes. The OPA was created last year after a vote approving the abolishment of the Board of Revision of Taxes, which was exposed for its history of political patronage and inaccurate assessments. About 50 inspectors began several weeks ago with houses in Manayunk, Roxborough and East Mount Airy. Some inspections will just take in a property’s exterior, while in others inspectors will knock on your door and ask questions about the condition of the home. The reassessment process is part of moving to a system that uses market values as the basis for tax bills, rather than the current system, which is based on “fractional” assessments.”
The new assessments will value the property based on its current fair market value were it to be sold. All assessments should be complete by October 2012 and owners will receive a new tax bill, the assessed value of their property and a new tax rate (not yet determined).
Frank L. DeFazio, Esquire
Prudential Fox & Roach Realtors – Society Hill
530 Walnut Street, Suite 260
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215.521.1623 Direct
610.636.4364 Cellular
888.308.1148 Fax
[email protected]
www.CenterCityTeam.com
