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Skrepenak, Urban to reassess firm: Deduct open space in homes from value. 21st Century disagrees.
Property owners with floor-to-roof great rooms disagree with Luzerne County’s approach to valuing the open space inside their homes, and two county officials want the reassessment company to address their concerns.
Reassessment company representative Tim Barr said his company and the county agreed from the start of the project to count the nonexistent second-floor as part of the living space, mainly because interior inspections weren’t required in the project.
Commissioners Greg Skrepenak and Stephen A. Urban say they disagree with this plan and want the square footage deducted by 21st Century Appraisals Inc., the reassessment company.
Barr said he will await directions from the county. If the county omits the square footage, the county would have to figure out some other way to capture the increased value of homes with “great rooms” because the rooms are considered upgrades, he said.
Sugarloaf Township property owner Matt Mattioli said he is upset with the existing procedure because he has been charged for 496 square feet of nonexistent second-floor living space in his great room.
Barr said Mattioli’s living space was valued at about $161 per square foot, though lower amounts were used for an enclosed porch and attached garage.
That means the decision to count the second floor of the great room added about $80,000 in assessed value to his home.
Even if the county enacts another plan to charge him extra for the great room, Mattioli said it should not equate to that amount.
Mattioli said he is willing to pay his fair share, but his taxes are projected to increase from an estimated $6,400 to $14,017. His home, land not included, was valued at $859,100. He said he got nowhere in his informal review and is awaiting a formal appeal.
“I should not have to pay for square footage that does not exist,” he said.
His brother, Lou Mattioli, is in the same boat.
His Sugarloaf Township property, not including land and a pool, has been valued at $763,965.
Barr said the living space for his property was valued at $164 per square foot.
Lou Mattioli says his great room is 865 square feet, which means the nonexistent second floor added more than $141,000 to the value.
He doesn’t buy 21st Century’s argument that the value increase would have been about the same if the great room had been treated as an architectural upgrade.
“That’s asinine. That makes zero sense,” said Lou Mattioli, who has also scheduled a formal appeal.
Dallas Township property owner Dave Sebolka prompted the first public discussion about great rooms when he pointed out that he was charged for about 500 square feet of nonexistent second-floor space during his informal review in May.
The evaluator took off the great room square footage, but 21st Century officials reversed the decision because it went against the initial procedure.
Sebolka said he believes he and many others with great rooms have already paid the price for any perceived upgrades because they have received high rankings for style, condition and age – three of the top factors that played a role in the new values.
“Most homes that have great rooms are already at the high end of 21st Century’s value structure anyway, so all they’re doing by adding the square footage is double dipping,” Sebolka said. “To me, it’s like they’re charging us twice.”
Sebolka’s property was assessed at $493,500, and he has obtained a certified appraisal saying it is worth $319,000. He is awaiting the decision from his formal appeal.
Barr said county appeals boards have the power to adjust values based on information presented by property owners. He believes values will be too low if the county simply omits the square footage of great rooms without some other plan to calculate their value.
“If we just discount them all by taking that square footage away, then they will be underassessed until the next reassessment,” Barr said.