Holden Beach man takes property value appeal to Raleigh--and wins

A Holden Beach man, who appealed his property value and lost at the local level, has taken his appeal to the state and won.

John Lennon, who owns a second-row home on Holden Beach, said his property value, valued during the 2007 countywide revaluation at $842,950, was too high.

Lennon wrote an appeal letter to the Brunswick County Tax Department, arguing his property value was too high, but nothing changed. Then he went before the board of equalization and review, only to be denied a second time.

Lennon hired a certified appraiser who appraised his property at $606,000, but the county tax office would not budge, he said.

But the state agreed Lennon’s property value was too high.

The N.C. Property Tax Commission ordered Lennon’s property be valued at $625,290, effective Jan. 1, 2007.

Brunswick County Tax Administrator Tom Bagby recently announced a tax adjustment for other properties on Holden Beach, mainly for second-row properties.

But not all second-row property owners are set to receive a refund.

Only the property owners who appealed their property values to the state property tax commission, which is about 20 or 30 property owners, Bagby said, will receive a refund.

These property owners should receive refunds in six to eight weeks, he said.

For the roughly 300 properties owners whose second-row property values were reduced, Bagby says they will see this reduction in their upcoming tax bills, which will be sent out this August.

The changed values for the re-adjusted properties were effective Jan. 1, 2008, he said.

“We’ve changed the values as if the change was made Jan. 1, 2008. The bill they receive in August will reflect the values,” he explained.

Notices for the property owners whose property values were reduced were sent out two weeks ago, Bagby said.

But the reduction in the property values does not reflect any 2007 market changes, Bagby said.

“We’re not doing it because value is falling. We made a different interpretation from 2006 values,” he said.

Caroline Curran is a staff writer at the Beacon. Reach her at 754-6890 or at ccurran@brunswickbeacon.com