New County Property Values

[Michael Deneen]

County property reassessments went out a couple weeks ago.
I don't think it's been mentioned here yet...perhaps overshadowed by the hospital story.

I've heard more complaints about this one than in previous years.
I was lucky to only get a minor increase.
However, many folks (along the lake) got HUGE double digit hits.

How do we feel about it, Lakewood?
Do we think property taxation is fair method of funding government and schools?
Will this affect your support for future school levies?

[Bridget Conant]

Actually, Mike, those increases were not across the board. There are several areas of Lakewood that saw DECREASES. What will surprise you is WHERE the decreases in value occurred.

Can we assume that an area of declining property values is "troubled?"

[Bridget Conant]

The mayor and planning director all touted the fact that property values went UP in Lakewood as a positive sign - rising prices mean a healthy area, right? So then, areas with declining property values would be considered "troubled," or at least, undesirable.

So then, I discovered that there is an area in Lakewood where property values WENT DOWN! And I mean, double digit reductions! Twelve percent (12%) reductions in value! Pretty significant considering that most Lakewoodites saw INCREASES in their value, which translates to INCREASES in their property tax.

So while most of us will see higher rates and pay higher taxes, there is one little part of Lakewood where they will pay less taxes because their property values went down - a little "ghetto" in Lakewood, if you will. Can you guess where that troubled, declining area of Lakewood is located?

It may surprise you that it is in an area of Clifton Park- Captain's Cove, to be exact. All of the properties located there received reductions. Surprisingly, even one property that recently sold for $470,000! It's value was reduced from an already low value of 285,600, to a paltry $251,300.

Property valuations are to reflect the market value of the property - that is, the price one would expect to obtain if the home was offered on the open market. In general, when you purchase a home, you are establishing the value of that home. If you paid, 260,000, your value should be brought up to 260,000 at the next re-appraisal (or down if it was valued higher.)

All of the information here is public record, and it is all obtainable online. I direct you to here for information on the property- recent sales, ownership, and taxes:
http://fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us/AuditorApps/real-property/REPI/default.asp

If you would like to check for yourself the new proposed values, search here:
http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2015/09/how_much_cuyahoga_county_think_1.html?appSession=162522994355400&RecordID=185676&PageID=8&PrevPageID=2&cpipage=1&CPIsortType=&CPIorderBy=&cbCurrentRecordPosition=43

Here are the parcel numbers that received reductions, and the old and new values:

311-03-301 285,600 to 251,300
311-03-302 277,700 to 244,400
311-03-303 260,400 to 229,200
311-03-304 292,400 to 257,300
311-03-305 321,400 to 282,800
311-03-306 308,700 to 271,700

Are these values in line with the rest of Lakewood? Are they indicative of the market value of the Clifton Park properties? Recent sales and Zillow and other sites indicate these are worth far more than the mid 200's. Each is from 2700 to 3700 square feet with a minimum of 2.5 bathrooms, some have 4 or more, so these are not insignificant properties.

Gosh, even Birdtown didn't get these hefty reductions!

[Lori Allen _]

I just spoke to Ken & Joe Micciulla at the fiscal office. According to Joe, the people who made the determination to higher or lower values were Dennis Kennedy, the Fiscal Officer and Armond Budish. Here is what I was told:

I was told that:

1. No banks will give loans to people who want to buy condominiums.
2. Condominium sales are down.

When I told him that a loan is based on your credit, he then told me that sales are down. I also told him that it should be determined by each individual house and its condition, not by whether it sells or not. I said that this didn't seem right. I will do some more investigating to find out what we can do. I do have some suggestions. If anyone that I know needs help, please send me a private message.

[Bridget Conant]

Wait, there's more! If you live in the Clifton Lagoons, your property was only reassessed a measly 2-3 percent higher! Which is funny considering many of the properties sold for MUCH higher prices than they are valued at and have never been brought up to actual values.

What a shame! Riverfront property just isn't what it used to be! They'll be giving them away soon!

I guess the rest of us should be thankful our assessments went up in the double digits, because somebody has to pay those taxes!

Here is a list of Clifton Lagoon properties and old and new values. If it doesn't show up as a list, just search for BEACH under street name and you'll see the list.

http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2015/09/how_much_cuyahoga_county_think_1.html?appSession=560523006699510

And here is the map from Cuyahoga County clearly showing the lagoon area, in yellow, as an area with lower reappraisal increase. Click on Lakewood to see a PDF map:

http://fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/2015-Triennial-Market-Area-Maps.aspx

[Bridget Conant]

Lori- those properties are not "distressed condos." They are riverfront, Clifton Park properties of generous square footage and amenities.

The most recent sales were in 2007, parcel ending in 304 sold for $300,000. In 2011, two sold, parcel 306 for $355,000 and parcel 301 for $470,000.

There is no justification for appraisals that low when they HAVE sold and for far more than the average county appraisal.

The condos in The Carlyle, The Winton, The Meridien, and the Waterford all went UP 15% Why didn't THOSE condos see a reduction?

[Jim O'Bryan]

For the record, Captain's Cove are not Condos, they used that to slide them in, when the
developers destroyed the last great mansion "the Dearborn Mansion" in Lakewood to build them.

County property went up 8% as well this was not due to anything here.

For the Mayor to take credit is more hyperbole.

I hear we are about to go from a two college town to a no college town...

I suppose he will not take credit for that.

.

[Bridget Conant]

The appeal form has a place to check "too low" if you feel your appraisal is too low.

Wonder if any of these people with vastly undervalued property will ask for an increase to a more realistic value? I mean, it's for the schools and the kids!

[Leo Wetula]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we all review our new 2015 proposed property tax values, I bring to your attention the issue of the situation at 1482 W. 117th Street and 1486 W. 117th Street (my former neighbors) as an illustration of the incompetence and/or corruption of our city’s leaders (that includes the school board). Below is a summary only (I have records documenting most of this nonsense if anyone is interested).

The City of Lakewood acquired a building at 1482 W. 117th Street in February 2010. Per the county, that building (including land) was valued at $184,900 and the owner paid $6,000+ in property taxes per year. The city paid $55,000 for the building. The city used federal government dollars (“economic stimulus” money I believe) to tear down the building. I was told by the city at the time that the building was deemed to be obsolete because it contained one bedroom apartments, which apparently (per the city) no one wants. I was also told that the building was so well constructed that they had a hard time even taking it down

Since 2010 the parcel where that building stood has become a derelict mud pit (and the city is allowing people to illegally park there) and has not generated one dime in tax revenue for Lakewood City Schools or the City of Lakewood. Let’s see, no property taxes (about $30,000 so far), no income taxes on building residents, no ancillary revenue from other economic activity. Gee, what a great investment for the city (and federal government)!

Immediately south of 1482 is 1486 W. 117th Street. The owner of this building acquired the property in 2009, has not paid property taxes in about five years, and currently has an unpaid property tax balance of $84,126.04. Those of you who are property owners in Lakewood are probably wondering how can that be? Certainly the school board, city, or county would take some enforcement action! Nope. So I asked Mary Louise Madigan, my council person at the time, about it (via email). Here I am thinking, as a citizen, “the schools and city need this revenue, right?” Well, wrong I guess. In fairness to Mary Louise, she did report it to our crack Law Director, Kevin Butler, where the issue died.

Now the link between the two properties. The City-owned property (1482 W. 117th) and 1486 117th share a drive called Nelson Court. Until a few years ago, this drive was actually a city street maintained by the City of Lakewood. It is on maps as a street and is recognized by the postal service as a street. The city suddenly pasted a yellow sticker over the street sign and designated it a private drive (another “funny” City of Lakewood story). So, now the drive is owned half by the city (which owns 1482 W. 117th) and half by the owner of 1486 W. 117th. This drive (which used to be a street) was basically rubble and was dangerous. So, of course, again I notify Mary Louise Madigan.

What happens? The city originally tries to charge me and the owner of 1486 W. 117th for repairing the drive, even though I do not own the drive (and, remember, I am the one who reported it to the city) and the city does own it. OK, that got sorted out in a couple weeks. Finally, on May 20, 2014, the city issued a correction notice to the owner of 1486 W. 117th Street requiring him to repair or replace the drive (Nelson Court) due to its poor condition. Inexplicably, rather than forcing the owner of 1486 W. 117th to make the repair, the city itself repaves the driveway* for the building owner (the same one who owes $84k in property taxes) for absolutely no charge. Surely the city planned to charge the owner after the fact? Nope. Surely the city would place a lien on the property for the cost of the repair? Nope. Nice! No taxes, no maintenance costs, no having to comply with city laws. I want to be this property owner (not really…I pay my taxes).

There are many more details to this story and much more lunacy, but I hope I have made my point. How much of this nonsense is going on in our city? No wonder property taxes are so high. How dare the school board ask for levies when they cannot be bothered to even collect taxes that are already rightfully owed. Lakewood citizens should be outraged at this mismanagement and special treatment of some residents and/or property owners.

More importantly, our Mayor, city department heads (Dru Siley-community development, Jennifer Pae-finance, etc.), and school board members (Linda “Bulldozer” Beebe-running for her ninth term on the board), are spending all their time fighting a battle against Lakewood citizens on the hospital issue when they should be taking care of the business in the city. There are huge development opportunities across the city. Just drive up and down Detroit and Madison (or Berea Road) where there are buildings and large parcels that are actually vacant and/or for sale. There are areas that could be redeveloped that truly need to be redeveloped. What we have in city hall right now is truly madness. I personally have had enough with these dullards who are more interested in politics and loyalty to each other than what is good for the City of Lakewood and its residents.

*Note: I fully expect to be harassed by the city to no end for this post. In fact, I have no problem with the Building Department. They probably did the right thing in repairing the drive immediately. That being said, why the special treatment for the owner of 1486 W. 117th Street? I will probably never know.

[Lori Allen _]

Great post Leo. A few other points to consider:

1. North Clifton Drive that runs between West Clifton and Webb (an elite, supposedly private street) appears to have had a partial re-paving job done recently (the eastern half of the street). Does anyone know who paid to have this paved? Did the residents of this street or the rest of Lakewood taxpayers?

2. The city owns many properties throughout the city that would be called "derelict" by most. 1589 Newman is the address of a vacant lot that the city acquired from the county back in August 2014. I cannot comment about the condition of this lot at this moment. However, last time I walked by this property (about two weeks ago), there were old, dead tree branches laying all over it and litter scattered over the lot, not to mention the grass was overgrown. The city also owns that blue house on the corner of Dowd and Plover. The city acquired this property in August of 2013 and supposedly had great plans to make it a viable, attractive house again. As of last week, the house is still boarded-up and little progress appears to have been made on it. Why is the city not repairing this property? Having a house sitting there in that condition is detrimental to the values of surrounding properties, not to mention such a house is a magnet for squatters. If the city is not going to rehabilitate this property,then it should sell the property to a professional that can make it viable again. Allowing this house to sit and fall apart is far from acceptable.

3. There are so many tax-delinquent properties (many being businesses) around the city that it is appalling. Travelodge on Edgewater currently has a balance of $32,970.25. The building that houses Angelo's is delinquent by $4,634.32. Whether or not anyone affiliated with Angelo's owns this, I cannot confirm. Bottom line is, someone is not paying their taxes. The kicker is: The landlord that owns Avenue Taphouse has a tax balance of $33,887.82. Again, I cannot confirm whether or not anyone with the Taphouse actually owns the building. The landlord apparently lives in Westlake.

I ran into an older lady yesterday. She mentioned that she has mobility problems and is physically disabled, essentially. She also mentioned to me that the city has come down hard on her for her weeds being slightly long in the backyard. Why is the city picking on an older, helpless citizen instead of helping? Meanwhile, there are apartment buildings near where this lady lives that have not been inspected in almost ten years. Who cares if the wiring is faulty or if there is mold growing in the building? What is almost ten years?

FWIW.