Property Reassessment

August 9, 2008

Harveys Lake values test appraiser

21st Century official: Changing some reassessments expected due to volatility of market.

By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter
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Gene Porterfield was primarily responsible for developing the new assessed values at Harveys Lake, and says it was no easy task.

“It’s a tough area. The volatility of the market on the lake and around the lake is incredible,” said Porterfield, a certified general appraiser and certified Pennsylvania evaluator with reassessment company 21st Century Appraisals Inc.

Porterfield said the county assessment appeals board has asked him to set up a meeting to discuss the borough’s values due to the high volume of complaints.

Fine-tuning of some properties was expected, he said, because there are so many factors that play into the value of each parcel at the lake.

For example, Porterfield said, the assessment appeals board advised 21st Century to assign higher values to homes on the eastern side of the lake because they have a view of the sunset reflected on the water. Porterfield said sales figures showed that properties on the eastern side sold for more.

21st Century was supposed to use the county’s records on deeded acreage, but Porterfield said he researched many deeds on his own and found value-adding docks or lakefront access privileges that hadn’t been attributed to some parcels.

“Some of these boathouses and cabanas ended up belonging to people who own little cabins up on the hill,” Porterfield said.

21st Century carved out neighborhoods for its valuation formulas, but some of the parcels on the fringes may have been placed in the wrong ones, he said.

For example, Porterfield said he researched the property of Joan and Ed Kelly and believes their ranch home should be in a lower-valued lake neighborhood. The Kelly’s ranch home on 0.67 acre was valued at $572,800, but the couple has a certified appraisal from December saying the house and land were worth $149,000.

“We have seven or eight neighborhoods around the lake, and the boundary lines are tough to define,” he said. “Values are significantly different from one neighborhood to the next. You can go from one street to the next, and the value drops from $600,000 to $200,000.”

Porterfield said he’s confident problems like this will be identified and corrected through informal reviews or formal appeals. Some other problems may take longer to flush out, he said.

“They’re going to be working the next two years to get it right there,” he said. “I think some of the owners may need surveys to get it straightened out.”

Porterfield said his crews had to use paper maps when the data collection began because the county did not have computerized maps that capture all structures based on aerial photography. He said aerial maps with parcel lines became available in November 2005, but some of the parcel boundary lines are still off because the county must rely on property owners to come forward with corrections, Porterfield said. He blames boundary line problems on some pools and garages being placed on the wrong parcels.

“There are still some boundary line issues that are going to take two or three years for the county to clean up,” he said.

Porterfield also believes many don’t realize how much sales have increased. He said various sections have experienced 8-percent to 12-percent market increases over the last eight years.

Harveys Lake sales data released

Petition to delay

Luzerne County’s reassessment company released 22 examples of sales around or above $500,000 at Harveys Lake as evidence that the real estate market has changed in the borough:

• $620,000 (5/7/2008) Stephen Hannon, 1.19 acre, 1.5-story house on the back side of Lakeside Drive with a pool, pavilion and lakefront boathouse with a deck.

• $535,000 (9/5/2007) Daniel Meuser, 0.54 acre, 2-story house on the back side of Lakeside Drive with a canopy/deck on the lakefront.

• $649,000 (12/22/2005) John Klingerman, 1.49 acre, 2-story house on the back side of Lakeside Drive with a pool, boathouse, dock and sheds.

• $1 million (4/5/2005) Paul Mancia, 1.5 acre, 2-story house on lake with boathouse and dock.

• $515,000 (10/3/2007) James Serfass, 0.67 acre, A-line house on back side of Lakeside Drive with lake frontage, boathouse and dock.

• $675,000 (7/12/2007) Randall Mark, 0.31 acre, 2-story house on back side of Lakeside Drive with lake frontage, boathouse and dock.

• $497,500 (6/8/2006) Susan Collini, 0.25 acre, bi-level house on back side of Lakeside Drive with lake frontage and dock.

• $515,000 (5/8/2007) Edward Lindsay, 0.26 acre, 1.5-story house on back side of Lakeside Drive with lake frontage, boathouse and dock.

• $550,000 (7/29/2007) Harry Cardoni, 0.99 acre, 2-story house on back side of Lakeside Drive with lake frontage and dock.

• $625,000 (7/1/2005) Kenneth Pollock, 0.49 acre, split-level house on back side of Lakeside Drive with lake frontage, boathouse and dock.

• $1.275 million (6/27/2006) Douglas Coslett, 0.92 acre, 2-story house on back side of Lakeside Drive with lake frontage.

• $882,000 (5/19/2005) Robert Mericle, 0.7 acre, 1.5-story house on back side of Lakeside Drive with bathhouse and dock.

• $734,000 (6/5/2006) Daniel Silverstein, 1.31.acres, razed older structure to build new 2-story home. This sale was for the land and older structures.

• $615,000 (9/28/2006) Kevin Westra, 0.94 acre, 1-story home with attic on back side of Lakeside Drive with lake frontage, boathouse and dock.

• $633,700 (1/18/2005) Jack Limited Partnership, 0.41-acre, 2-story house on back side of Lakeside Drive with lake frontage, cabana, boathouse and dock.

• $625,000 (8/22/2007) Brian Harding, 0.43 acre, 2-story house on back side of Lakeside Drive with lake frontage, boathouse and dock.

• $510,000 (3/16/2004) John Kline, 1.65 acres, 1.5-story house on back side of Lakeside Drive with lake frontage, boathouse and dock.

• $825,000 (7/27/2005) Robert Roderick, 0.9 acre, 2-story house on back side of Lakeside Drive with lake frontage, boathouse and dock.

(The reassessment company provided these older sales to show that values have been increasing during the last 6 to 8 years)

• $600,000 (7/29/2002) Kevin Carty, 2.83 acres, 2.5-story house on back side of Lakeside Drive with lake frontage, boat house and dock.

• $900,000 (4/16/2001) Richard Haas, 1.24 acres, 2.5-story house on back side of Lakeside Drive with lake frontage, cabana, boathouse and dock.

• $650,000 (10/16/2002) Steven Hiscox, 1.83 acres, 2-story house on back side of Lakeside Drive with lake frontage, boathouse and dock.

•$500,000 (7/24/2002) Janet Guenther, 0.27 acre, 1-story house on lakeside with cabana, boathouse and dock.

Harveys Lake Councilman Clarence Hogan has rounded up more than 1,000 signatures on a petition urging Luzerne County Commissioners to postpone the reassessment.

Hogan said some borough taxpayers and officials have also started researching the possibility of breaking away from Luzerne County and joining Wyoming County. He said that plan is under research and will be publicly discussed in the near future.

He plans to present the reassessment petition to Luzerne County Commissioners at the 1 p.m. work session on Aug. 18 at the county courthouse. A busload of property owners are scheduled to attend a rally outside the courthouse.

Hogan said the petition urges commissioners to hold off due to “many inconsistencies and errors in all municipalities.” Property owners in Jackson and Dallas townships also have signed it, he said.

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