Lucas County property owners see 12 percent decline in latest values

7/13/2012
BLADE STAFF
According to the most recent home evaluation, Chris Puckett's home seen here in Toledo, Ohio on Friday lost about $22,000 of its value.
According to the most recent home evaluation, Chris Puckett's home seen here in Toledo, Ohio on Friday lost about $22,000 of its value.

Lucas County property owners are in the process of receiving proposed property revaluations in the mail, some of which have already caused shock to area residents as their values have plummeted.

Across the county, the total value of all of Lucas County’s approximately 200,000 parcels is down about 12 percent compared to 2009, according to the Lucas County Auditor’s Office.

State law requires the county auditor revalue all real property every six years. In a revaluation, the auditor must revalue each individual parcel using property characteristics and sales data from the last three years — 2009, 2010, and 2011. Unlike a triennial update — which was conducted in 2009 — the change from neighbor to neighbor and house to house may vary during a revaluation.

One of the Toledoans who was angered by a mailing he received this week as Chris Puckett, who has had his family home on Harvard Boulevard in South Toledo on the market for two years. During that time, they’ve been unable able to sell the property.

“The value of the home dropped 22,000 — what kind of reaction can you have?” Mr. Puckett said of the mailed revalue he received. “I’m shocked. It’s huge — it’s hard to recover and it’s not going to recover anytime soon.”

Lucas County Auditor Anita Lopez emphasized the numbers people will see on the value change notice they receive in the mail are proposed values — and are still subject to citizen input. They also can be challenged through the auditor’s office by calling 419-213-4406.

“We want people to review their letter,” Ms. Lopez said Friday. “If the information is inaccurate about the property description, we need that feedback.”

The values should be finalized by October. The 2012 value will go into effect on January 2013 tax bills.