Southern Suburbs Receive New Property Assessments
MT. LEBANON (KDKA) -- Property owners in the southern suburbs of Allegheny County are getting an early look at their 2012 assessment numbers online.
So far, many of them are not happy.
"How can three identical houses have different assessments?" a Mt. Lebanon homeowner asked. "There's no rhyme or reason!"
The homeowner did not want to be identified, but described the new assessment on his mother's house.
"A house on our street that's the nicest house - had a new addition - was sold two years ago for $300,000 – their assessment went from $324,000 to $230,000," he said. "My mother's house went up 50 percent is the worst house on the street."
And he's not the only one that found huge increases in new assessment values.
"The total value went from $350,300 to $523,800," Valerie Scenna, a realtor, said.
Scenna, with Coldwell Banker, manages about 90 properties for homeowners overseas.
"Nobody knew what to expect," she said. "And after the shell shock of the city, everybody's just sitting back waiting."
Now the wait is over.
"Appeal, appeal, appeal," the Mt. Lebanon man said. "We're going to flood the courthouse!"
It's estimated that about 200,000 homeowners will challenge the new assessments before the new values take effect in 2013.
The next batch of assessments is expected to go to the North Hills in March.
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