By Taylor Boyd
More than 50 Henry County residents attended the second real estate reassessment community information session on January 20 to learn what the assessment is, how it’s done, and any potential impacts it could have.
What is a Reassessment
Commissioner of Revenue Tiffany Hairston said the property reassessment is the formal review of property values conducted to ensure each property is taxed fairly based on its current market value.
“It’s conducted by our office. Local governing bodies, we do it every four years. It’s been five years since our last one due to getting an extension,” she said.
Hairston’s office uses arm’s length sales to determine the property’s value, or market value.
“Arm’s length sales are sales that are good sales. If a relative sold a parcel to another relative, that is not considered a good sale. All the sales that went on through the county since January 1, 2022, we didn’t use because it wasn’t considered a good sale,” she said.
The reassessment doesn’t mean taxes will increase, Hairston said.
“Tax rates are set separate from their value, and it’s always set after reassessments, so that will be sometime in the spring. We can’t tell you what that’s going to look like on your bill. It’s just simply we’re talking about assessed values here,” he said.
All homeowners and business owners of both industrial and commercial properties are directly affected by the reassessment. Hairston said tenants may be indirectly impacted if their landlords adjust rent based on tax changes.
Hairston said reassessments are made to fairly distribute the tax burden and redistribute everything to a fair market value.
Reassessments are also required by law at regular intervals to maintain transparency and equity.
If localities don’t hold regularly scheduled reassessments, Hairston said the county could lose its state funding.
A locality could also lose funding if the sales study ratio isn’t between 70 to 130, as it’s considered proof that the reassessment failed to meet the burden of fair market value.
Misconceptions
Hairston said the reassessments are not driven by a county’s need to generate revenue.
“We do not do these to have a big revenue boom. The state doesn’t even allow it. They have certain stipulations on what can happen based on these, so you’re not going to see a big windfall of revenue coming through based off reassessments,” she said.
Hairston’s office also doesn’t create reassessed numbers, but relies on methodologies.
“We contacted local contractors for the cost of building new. We made sure we got everything for this reassessment from Henry County,” she said.
Hairston said her office is also out looking at properties in the county every day.
“We have a lot of parcels. We do the best we can to get to as many of them as we can. We’re out all the time looking at commercial properties. People call up to come out to their property to see something specific, we’re doing it all the time,” she said.
In addition to the reassessment not being the tax residents pay, Hairston said they could also see a change in the value of their property even if they haven’t made any improvements since the last reassessment.
“It’s due to a market shift,” she said.
Residential Methodology
For residential properties, Hairston said there are models set up with all the same base rates, so everyone starts off the same.
The condition and location of the home and other issues beyond residents’ control, like nearby solar farms, impact differences in reassessments between neighbors.
“So, your square foot might be bigger, their house might be built 10 years, 20 years after yours, I mean, all of these things go into creating the residential model,” she said.
Hairston said her office applies adjustments depending on factors like the size of the dwelling, if it has heat and air conditioners, depreciation, extra features, like open porches, decks, basements, garages, and others.
“All of those things factor into us getting the value for your property,” she said, adding her office can’t come inside someone’s home unless they’re invited by the homeowner.
Hairston also discussed the methodologies for commercial/industrial properties and income-based apartments.
The entire two-hour information session can be viewed by going to YouTube.com/HenryCountyVirginia.
