Asheville – Buncombe County is striving for equity by postponing the 2025 revaluation. Interim Property Assessor Eric Cregger recounted a story familiar to Western North Carolinians. The 2025 reappraisal process was 70% complete when Helene struck.
Over 5,500 parcels and hundreds of businesses were damaged. In a recent county update, Community Development Analyst Jonathon Jones reported that, as of March 1, 1,565 Buncombe County residents remain in some form of FEMA-supported temporary living situation, down from a maximum of 1,877. To date, FEMA has received reports of 11,633 structures with habitability issues, 704 with major damage, and 360 destroyed beyond repair.
The reappraisal process was delayed, and assessors returned to the field to examine thousands of properties. While they are not allowed to enter homes, they reviewed county records for items such as pulled permits and analyzed sales of comparable properties.
Sticking to the rules as closely as possible and striving for fairness, the assessors reset the appraisal date to January 1, 2025. If Helene left a property owner with a pile of rubbish that they had not been able to clear by that date, they will pay taxes based on the fair market value of the rubbish and the land beneath it.
Conversely, those who met the demands to repair their damaged property by January 1 will not be eligible for any discounts. Instead, they can expect to pay significantly more. To maintain only a continuation budget while supporting ongoing massive reconstruction efforts, the tax rate can only increase. Additionally, the tax base has shrunk, and the burden will disproportionately fall on those with more or better property.
The county’s tax assessor’s office was recently audited following allegations of disproportionate overvaluations of minority-owned properties. While no intentional bias was found, the county has taken several actions to improve the property valuation process.
These actions began with enhancing communication with the community and responding to requests for simplified processes. More staff were hired, expanding the assessor’s department to seven divisions with about 35 employees. The department restructured its clusters for group valuations to better align with current patterns and is working on ongoing refinements. Cregger provided an overview of GIS capabilities and noted that the department outsources machine learning to eliminate bias in audits.
A reappraisal equity study resulted in a booklet of recommendations for the department. It now has dedicated staff appraising luxury and manufactured homes. With increased staff hours and a significant rise in luxury home sales, the department can now analyze luxury home values “more granularly.” Additionally, over 3,000 low-income properties whose owners meet criteria for race and income will receive site visits.
From a tax equity perspective, Helene was equitable and inclusive, causing significant damage to both Biltmore Forest estates and modest Swannanoa homes alike.
Having completed the first round of revaluations, the county announced that notices of value will be issued beginning March 10. These notices will inform property owners that the county is aware their property value has changed. This applies to real estate as well as business and rental personal property. While no payments are due at this time, the notices serve as more than just advance notice for the bills that will be mailed in August. Their receipt date also marks the beginning of a 30-day window for filing appeals. “Once the appeal period expires,” reads the notice, “the value will become final.”
If property owners agree with their assessments, no action is required. However, if they disagree, the notices contain information on how to file an appeal, which must be submitted in written form. Complicating matters, the assessor’s office will be relocating during the 30-day window.
Commissioner Terri Wells asked why, given all the hardship from Helene, the county was proceeding with the audit. Cregger explained that the county was following procedures established by the NC Department of Revenue. The county’s overall ratio of assessment values to market values is currently 62%. The law requires counties to aim for 100%, and Cregger estimated that most counties’ ratios range between 95% and 110%.
Prompted by County Manager Avril Pinder, he added that it is mandated by law that any county falling below 85% will receive a notice informing them that they have three years to correct their assessments. That notice was served to Buncombe County in 2023.