Their homes were downed by Sandy, but their taxes are still going up.
At least 69 homes severely damaged by the super-storm are going to receive higher property tax bills next week despite losing an average of more than 25 percent of their value, officials said yesterday.
It sounds nuts, but officials said that’s how the convoluted tax systems works.
Assessments can’t go up more than 6 percent a year, or 20 percent over 5 years, no matter how much the value of a home soars in the Class 1 category that covers 1-, 2- and 3-family properties.
Soaring market values that can’t be captured in one year are carried over to the next year.
So 69 homeowners hammered by Sandy are going to get the shock of their lives when their preliminary 2013-2014 property tax bills arrive and they notice their assessed values have gone up an average of 4.3 percent, while their market values were reduced by 26.4 percent. Since tax bills are based on assessed value, they’ll be forking out more for taxes.
“That happens all the time,” noted one city official.
Thirty-eight of the homes are on Staten Island, 19 in Queens, 10 in Brooklyn and 2 in The Bronx.
Citywide, assessed values for Class 1 properties jumped 3.63 percent. For a typical one-family home, that will result in a tax bill of $4,324, up $154 from last year.
Assessed values for Class 2 properties, which include co-ops and condos, were up 6.6 percent.
The bottom line: the average co-op owner will pay $5,960 in taxes this year, an increase of $237, and the average condo $7,449, or $412 more than in 2012.
The Finance Department valued all city properties at $874 billion, a jump of 4.26 percent.
The agency is sending teams of assessors to 538 Class 1 properties that were red-tagged by the Buildings Department as uninhabitable after Sandy.
Using satellite photos, assessors have already reduced the values of 222 of the 538 properties by at least 50 percent. Forty-five percent saw a reduction of 90 percent or more. Assessed values on those 222 came down by about 11 percent.
“Finance is determined to make sure value lost due to Sandy is accurately reflected on our assessment roll,” said Finance Commissioner David Frankel.
He said owners of red-tagged properties would be contacted in the next few weeks to schedule inspections, which should be completed by mid-February.
A letter will follow with the results.
The agency also plans to conduct “Sandy-specific outreach events” at the end of this month so affected homeowners can speak directly with assessors.
But there’s not much Frankel can do about the improbable higher bills, since the property tax system operates under state law.