Broken Bridge Tenant Union

Why did the home values go up so much?

As you know by now, the Town of Brunswick recently did a whole-town property revaluation recently. The news for us is...not good.Why did the values go up so much?
State law requires the tax assessor to look at recent sales data to determine what current “market value” is for every property. All home prices have skyrocketed in recent years but one category has gone up by a higher rate than any other: mobile homes. The cost of site-built homes has been climbing for a long time but mobile home prices (particularly for older homes) stayed relatively low. It has always been common wisdom that mobile homes depreciate in value, much like cars. A brand new one might cost a lot but the value mostly goes down. And then….the pandemic hit. For the first time ever, the price of used mobile homes didn’t just climb, they took off like a rocket.How is the value calculated?
Each property card shows the replacement value and the “percentage good”. If a home has a replacement value of $100,000 and is 50% good, the tax value would be $50,000.

Why didn’t our taxes jump before now?
Brunswick’s last full property tax revaluation was in 2017, before the pandemic. Some of you will remember the town trying a revaluation a few years ago but there was such a huge outcry from residents (not just us) that they decided not to finish it at the time. Unfortunately, this time they have to go forward.How bad is it for the residents of Bay Bridge?
Last year, 33% of our homes were valued at less than the amount of the homestead exemption, so most of those people paid no property tax at all. After the revaluation, only 5% of the homes are still below the $25,000 homestead exemption value.Homes also rose in value unevenly. The oldest homes went up by the highest percentage

How to Appeal Your Assessment

The Tenant Union has had several conversations with the tax assessor over the past months. We knew the new tax valuation was going to be a major shock for a lot of people, so we discussed ways we can work together to get people some help.In general, the tax assessor can ONLY lower a home’s value if they have incorrect data. Either the basic facts are wrong (the number of bedrooms, size of home, etc) OR the home is in worse condition than they are aware of.The first step is to make sure the town has the correct facts about your home, find your property card by searching your address at this site. If your home has 2 bedrooms but the property card says it’s a 3 bedroom, that’s a difference that could make a difference.

The next step is the one that is more likely to help. The tax assessor has agreed to send a town appraiser to do a site visit for anyone who is interested. During the revaluation, the town only looks at the outside to quickly verify that they have the basic facts right. The ‘percentage good’ is mostly based on the year the house was built. Anyone who has been inside several different homes in the park knows that the condition can vary A LOT. Some have been taken care of very well over the years. Others have had a much rougher life. If your home is in worse condition than it looks like from the outside- soft spots in the floor, major plumbing or electrical problems, a leaky roof that needs replacement, a furnace or water heater at the end of its life, etc- the town’s appraiser can lower your home’s ‘percentage good’.Usually, getting the town to change the value based on condition requires hiring a licensed appraiser. (see the town’s assessment appeals website) However, the tax assessor has heard the concerns brought to him by the Tenant Union and he has agreed to send a town appraiser to do a site visit for people who feel like it might help lower their property value. Since we expect a lot of people to want an appraiser to do a site visit, we agreed to help coordinate the process by gathering a list of homes so they can visit all of them on the same day. It would be much better for us to give them a list than to have everyone calling town hall on their own.To sign up, please fill out this short form. If you know anyone else who might want a visit, please share this website or help them fill it out.