Decision in appeal is shock to owner

Lori Macarelli bought her two-bedroom, 952-square-foot home at Harveys Lake for $44,900 in 2006.

She followed Luzerne County’s advice and obtained a certified appraisal, which concluded that her Lakeside Drive property was worth around $85,000 on Jan. 1, 2008, the snapshot valuation date used for the reassessment.

That’s why she was floored to learn last week that a county assessment appeal board stuck with the reassessment company’s $477,100 assessment – $81,000 for the 1945 wood home and $396,000 for the underlying 0.31 acre.

“I cried for three hours and didn’t sleep that night. I really thought it was a mistake. It’s a very, very emotional experience,” Macarelli said.

Macarelli said her property does not include lake access. Instead, she said she shares a separate deed with three other families to use a small dock on the lake. She also noted that she must climb about 50 steps to reach her home, and the steep grade prevents her from building a driveway.

Harveys Lake property owner Michelle Boice, who has been battling the reassessment, offered another example of a recent sale at Harveys Lake to put Macarelli’s value in perspective.

A 9,800-square-foot, six-bedroom home on 1.14 acres with an in-ground swimming pool and 215 feet of lakefront sold last month for $500,000, or only $22,900 more than Macarelli’s assessed value.

This property was listed on the open market for a year and was not a forced foreclosure sale, Boice said.

Boice said the lake is buzzing about the $500,000 sale because this landmark 1909 home – known as “The Cottage” – was originally valued at $1.7 million by reassessment company 21st Century Appraisals Inc. The assessment was reduced to $867,300 after a formal appeal.

“That’s what people here are talking about – that this house sold for half a million dollars when it was originally valued at $1.7 million,” Boice said. “The Macarelli house certainly isn’t worth nearly half a million dollars.”

Tim Barr, of reassessment company 21st Century Appraisals Inc., said the use of current sales is misleading because the reassessment was based on property sales from 2004 through 2007.

Market decline or growth in Harveys Lake or other communities that has occurred since January 2008 can only be captured in the next reassessment, Barr said. Property owners who challenge their assessments before the next reassessment must focus on what their properties were worth on Jan. 1, 2008, he said.

Commissioners plan to perform reassessments every four years, which means new assessed values may be issued in 2012.

Barr said he’s also tired of the perception that appraisals were ignored. He said county assessment appeal boards reviewed appraisals along with multiple sales and other information about the values in each neighborhood before issuing rulings.

He also said Macarelli’s original purchase price wouldn’t have been considered because she bought the property in a mortgage foreclosure sale.

County officials continue urging property owners to file court challenges if they disagree with their county appeal board rulings.

Macarelli said she plans to challenge her appeal board ruling in court, seeking mediation, but it’s likely a mediation conference won’t be scheduled until spring 2010 due to the volume of cases. That means she will have to pay an additional $4,300 in taxes based on the new value and later receive a refund for any overpayment, if she obtains a reduction.

Her old assessed value was $5,300, or the equivalent of a property worth $106,000. Her school, county local taxes were about $2,011 per year.

Macarelli said her hands are tied because she can’t unload the property in a down market, and potential buyers would be put off by the $530-per-month tax bill. She said she may have to get a second job.

“If someone offered even half of what the county valued the property, I’d sell it on the spot,” Macarelli said. “I just don’t know what to do.”