Richard Dansereau's home has been a labor of love thousands of dollars in the making. Since moving to their tree-lined street in Hyde Park, he and his wife have refinished floors, installed custom blinds, converted the fireplace to gas and made myriad other tweaks both large and small.
After all that, they don't know if they can stay as they head into retirement.
"I love Cincinnati, but the property taxes are just spiraling out of control," Dansereau said.
Like so many homeowners, he has been hit with a double whammy of new tax levies coupled with a sharp increase in his home's valuation. The result: soaring property tax bills.
Although he didn't want to discuss specific numbers, he said "in 2016, my tax bill went up 10 percent. In 2017, it jumped another 7 percent. There's no end in sight. There's no foreseeable tax relief."
Cincinnati homeowners hit hard
According to a recent Wallet Hub study,Ohio has the 13th highest property taxes in the nation, and Hamilton County has the highest rate in southern Ohio.
The pinch is especially tight in East Side Cincinnati neighborhoods like Hyde Park and Mt. Lookout, where home valuations keep hitting new records.
According to the office of Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes, the owners of a $345,000 home now pay over $9,000 a year in property taxes. A home valued at $430,000 (not uncommon on the East Side) sports a $14,000 tax bill.
Hamilton County Recorder, and former Common Pleas Judge, Norbert Nadel said Cincinnatians are generous people who historically support levies, but it may be time to rethink that stance.
"Our property taxes are out of control," Nadel said. "There have been umpteen levies, tax levies, that people have voted for, and many of them are duplications of other levies."
He ran some numbers to drive home his point. If you own a $200,000 home in Hamilton County (and many people live in more expensive homes):
- The recent Cincinnati Zoo levy costs you another $20 a year.
- The Public Library Levy costs $60 a year.
- The Hamilton County Children's Services levy costs another $150 a year.
Double those amounts if your home is valued at $400,000.
And don't get Nadel started on the recent rollback of the Hamilton County Stadium Tax Credit, approved late last year by County Commissioners to fix a budget shortfall.
It had been giving homeowners an annual $90 tax break per $100,000 of home valuation.
"But now we're getting a just a $20 rollback, so that went up, too," Nadel said.
Some new homebuyers run
Realtors with whom we spoke said they were not yet seeing a trend of homeowners forced to leave Hamilton County because of rising property taxes. Many people don't want to add a half hour to their daily commute by moving to Butler or Warren County just to lower their tax bill.
However, some real estate agents said when they bring new people to town to show them homes, many are getting a case of property tax sticker shock.
Lori Wellinghoff is president of DIGS Real Estate Design and Construction in Hyde Park.
"When we bring out-of-staters to Cincinnati, they get a whiff of our property taxes and they retreat to Warren County," she said.
Wellinghoff said one couple relocating from Massachusetts (sometimes nicknamed "Taxachusetts") found Cincinnati taxes higher than their home state.
Other homeowners tell her it is unfair that homes are constantly revalued now, even if you never move. She said the increase is hammering retirees struggling to stay in their homes on fixed incomes — often just Social Security and a small 401(k).
"'We are going to start ratcheting you up in value, even though you've been in your house 20 years,'" Wellinghoff said. "Is that what creates a fair, even-handed approach?"
Rhodes, the county auditor who sets home values, declined to comment for this report.
How to fight back
So what can you do? Of course, you could move to a smaller home, or cheaper county, but most people do not want to do that.
A recent CNBC reportsuggests three ways to fight property tax hikes.
- See if you qualify for a Homestead Exemption if you are age 65 or older, which can exempt taxes on $25,000 of your homes value (however, that exemption now has income limits in Ohio and Kentucky unless you are grandfathered in).
- Check your home's valuation carefully on your county's website. Make sure your home is listed with the correct number of bedrooms and baths, and lot size. If it's wrong (and, for example, shows you in a four-bedroom home when it is only three bedrooms) you have an instant case to have your tax value reduced.
- Challenge your new assessment by checking your neighbor's taxes and searching Zillowor checking with a Realtor for recent sales, called "comps."
If similar homes near you pay less, appeal to the county auditor or (in Kentucky) the Department of Revenue.
You can boost your chances of winning an appeal by hiring a professional assessor, for about $300. If you are contesting thousands of dollars in taxes, you may wish to hire an attorney.
Check your home on the Hamilton County Auditor's website here, if you live in Hamilton County.
What will the future bring?
At this point, it appears tax bills will continue to go higher until home values hit a plateau or drop as they did in 2009.
If you are considering an addition, remember that adding a new bathroom or bedroom will increase your home's value and correspondingly its tax bill.
Recorder Nadel says that some point homeowners may push a ballot issue for a property tax freeze, which has happened in other places with sky high tax bills.
"California did it years ago with Proposition 13. I think we need something like that," Nadel said.
Until that happens, Cincinnati homeowners such as Richard Dansereau worry if they can stay in their dream homes as they head into their golden years.
"I'd hate to leave," he said. "But I am going to if my home keeps going up in taxes."
As always, don't waste your money.
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