Class action lawsuit filed over Jackson County assessments

[Hammock Parties]

https://www.kctv5.com/2023/06/25/cla...y-assessments/

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A new class action lawsuit challenges the quality of Jackson County’s property assessment. It calls into question if some increases are even legal considering some notices came in the mail after the June 15 deadline, as required by state statutes.

The filing asks a judge to step in and offer injunctive relief. It also calls for a jury trial.

The lawsuit was filed by attorney and developer Ken McClain on behalf of Trevor and Amanda Tilton of Odessa and two businesses.

The lawsuit is critical of the methodology used by Jackson County to reach new values. It argues the newly-built assessment system fails to include sufficient information and there’s a lack of physical inspections.

It points out assessments should consider current market conditions. It argues that didn’t happen when it came to commercial property.

The lawsuit claims Jackson County uniformly increased the value of every non-vacant commercial property with an improvement by 25%. And vacant commercial properties had an across-the-board increase of roughly 50%.

KCTV5 has heard from numerous homeowners who are shocked by the large increases in their assessments. Some question if they’ll be able to keep their homes. They also question if they can realistically sell when property tax assessments increase so much in one fell swoop.

READ MORE: Jackson County property assessment workshops kick off
There has been a 30% average increase in Jackson County. The Assessor’s Office argues homeowners are seeing large increases because Jackson County real estate has not been assessed with Fair Market Valuations (FMV) for a long time and building costs have increased.

The lawsuit is filed against Jackson County Executive Frank White, Assessor Gail McCann Beatty and other members of the Board of Equalization.

KCTV5 reached out to Jackson County’s public information officer for comment but we have not heard back yet.

Politicans exempt from insane take hikes



Legislation drawn to overturn insane tax hikes:



Protest scheduled at Jackson County Courthouse:



KC Town Hall scheduled July 15

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by stevieray

In some areas of my business, I still charge my rate from twenty years ago.

Why?

It's still enough to take care of my family.

WHY ARE YOU AGAINST CAPITALISM?!?!?!

DOES THAT MEAN YOU'RE A COMMU......

[Hammock Parties]

o **** yes

soggy shane's hood going to bat

Independence to consider suing Jackson County over property assessments

https://fox4kc.com/news/independence...y-assessments/

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — As frustrations continue to mount over Jackson County property assessments, one city is poised to take an unprecedented step: filing a lawsuit against the county.

The Jackson County Assessor’s Office said nearly 35,000 homeowners have filed appeals. Originally the deadline to appeal was set for Monday, but last week, the county extended that deadline to July 31.

“A municipality is saying to its county that it sits in this is not right,” Independence Councilman Mike Steinmeyer said.

People from every city in Jackson County have voiced concerns over how property assessment values have drastically increased. Some property owners have seen huge increases their assessments, which would lead to increases in property taxes as well.

“There have been delays. There’s been lots of excuses without a lot of communication,” Steinmeyer said.

He’s introduced a resolution, quoting from a class-action lawsuit already filed saying:

“The defendants actions have resulted in ‘illegal and unlawful increases in the assessed value of real property through Jackson County, thereby threatening class members with imminent harm in the form of unlawful and illegal tax increases.'”

FOX4 reached out to the Jackson County Assessor’s Office to ask more questions. The office directed us to a website that explains how the process works and addresses what they describe as misinformation about how the assessments are calculated and how much control they have.

“What I want the people of Independence to know is that we are hearing you and we are going to do what we can to stand with you,” Steinmeyer said.

The city of Independence will vote on this resolution next Monday night.

As for the assessment appeals process, that must be wrapped up by Aug. 31.

[LoneWolf]

Methdependence to the rescue!!!

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by stevieray

Yes, they are overpriced. Know one of the reasons why?

What percentage of homes being built are starter homes for young couples.? Next to nothing.

A buddy of mine was the Super on building a subdivision South of the city, for a company owned by Blackrock. They aren't for sale, they're for rent...at $2500 a pop.


Land doesn't go up in value, but greed does.

Yep...plenty of rental properties being built...and they're not going to be affordable housing by any means

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

Yeah, I turned down my last raise and told the company to donate my performance bonus to charity because my family and I don't need the money.

Originally Posted by stevieray

I suggest you get over it. I determine what my wage is.




Besides, more like my hourly rate is high enough.

I love giving people going into business for themselves for the first time a good deal. Always have. Always will.

My FIL dragged me to a seminar early in my marriage. ugh.

Bob Brown was there.

He said if getting rich is all you want, you'll make money, but won't last.
If you want to last in business, give people a great product at a fair price.

That stuck to my ribs. It's been 28 years this month. I have artwork in other states, my artwork hangs in people's homes, plus murals for major corporations. I've never spent a dime on advertising and have repeat clients. I haven't had to look for work for quite some time. I have nothing to prove to myself or to you.

In the end, being happy is all that matters.

You do it your way, and I'll do it mine.

Seems like this is apples & oranges.

The vast majority of people are working for retirement, and a good portion of those are working to pay for their kids.

Most people don't want to be in IT or managing people or whatever until they're 90... they want all the raises and all the money so they can get out of that shit and do stuff like, uh, learn to be an artist.

I could be totally wrong, but I'd imagine the closer you are to monetizing a true passion, the less concerned you are with a date and time to stop doing that thing... so, assuming they're focused on maximizing profits at all costs is probably off base by a fair amount.

[George Liquor]

My county is pulling this bullshit too.

Ok since my home is valued so high, can i remove the PMI from my loan?

Bank - haha no we only value your home at x amount of dollars, too low. But we can reappraise it for $500! I'm getting ****ed on both ends of this scam

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by bdj23

My county is pulling this bullshit too.

Ok since my home is valued so high, can i remove the PMI from my loan?

Bank - haha no we only value your home at x amount of dollars, too low. But we can reappraise it for $500! I'm getting ****ed on both ends of this scam

Oh yeah, your insurance rates go up as well, just in case it hasn't been mentioned yet

[George Liquor]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Oh yeah, your insurance rates go up as well, just in case it hasn't been mentioned yet

This country is a giant scam to screw the middle class out of their hard earned money.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by bdj23

This country is a giant scam to screw the middle class out of their hard earned money.

It's a tough problem. People who own homes gripe about taxes and insurance, but (at least in theory), those are driven by your wealth increasing from equity in your house. Again, in theory, all you have to do is sell your place, and you'd be WAY ahead of where you would have been had you never bought at all (even accounting for all the taxes and insurance).

Meanwhile, younger generations can't afford to buy homes at all because the prices have increased so much, so they aren't building wealth at all.

Overall, you're far better off owning than renting in times of rapid appreciation of real estate, but you have to be willing to sell to take advantage of it.

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

Seems like this is apples & oranges.

The vast majority of people are working for retirement, and a good portion of those are working to pay for their kids.

Most people don't want to be in IT or managing people or whatever until they're 90... they want all the raises and all the money so they can get out of that shit and do stuff like, uh, learn to be an artist.

I could be totally wrong, but I'd imagine the closer you are to monetizing a true passion, the less concerned you are with a date and time to stop doing that thing... so, assuming they're focused on maximizing profits at all costs is probably off base by a fair amount.

I seriously don’t care what Stevie charges his customers and I’m happy he has an occupation that he is passionate about and provides for his family. My comments were due to Stevie’s contention that land/real estate is overvalued because homes that cost 80k to build 20-30 years ago are now selling for 300k. I’m sure he has many talents and has always seemed like a genuinely good person, but understanding economics and how supply and demand works is not his strong suit.

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by DaFace

It's a tough problem. People who own homes gripe about taxes and insurance, but (at least in theory), those are driven by your wealth increasing from equity in your house. Again, in theory, all you have to do is sell your place, and you'd be WAY ahead of where you would have been had you never bought at all (even accounting for all the taxes and insurance).

Meanwhile, younger generations can't afford to buy homes at all because the prices have increased so much, so they aren't building wealth at all.

Overall, you're far better off owning than renting in times of rapid appreciation of real estate, but you have to be willing to sell to take advantage of it.

Younger generations can afford to buy homes, but for the most part they are unwilling to sacrifice to go it. They would never stoop so low as to not live in the same type of house their parents live in or they can’t fathom buying a fixer upper and putting sweat equity into it. They’d rather rent so they don’t have the responsibility to take care of anything and then bitch that the system is ****ing them over.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

I seriously don’t care what Stevie charges his customers and I’m happy he has an occupation that he is passionate about and provides for his family. My comments were due to Stevie’s contention that land/real estate is overvalued because homes that cost 80k to build 20-30 years ago are now selling for 300k. I’m sure he has many talents and has always seemed like a genuinely good person, but understanding economics and how supply and demand works is not his strong suit.

Yeah, stuff is worth only what people are willing to pay for it... and there's unfortunately other factors like stupid banks shoveling money at people and forced scarcity that **** with supply and demand.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

Younger generations can afford to buy homes, but for the most part they are unwilling to sacrifice to go it. They would never stoop so low as to not live in the same type of house their parents live in or they can’t fathom buying a fixer upper and putting sweat equity into it. They’d rather rent so they don’t have the responsibility to take care of anything and then bitch that the system is ****ing them over.

Eh, depends on where you live I guess. The median home price in Denver these days is about $600k. I can't imagine having to save up $150k just for a down payment. I'm fortunate to have been able to buy right before the climb began.

I paid just over $200k for our place in 2009. These days, that'll barely buy you a full strip it to the studs remodel project in a shitty neighborhood.

[George Liquor]

Originally Posted by DaFace

It's a tough problem. People who own homes gripe about taxes and insurance, but (at least in theory), those are driven by your wealth increasing from equity in your house. Again, in theory, all you have to do is sell your place, and you'd be WAY ahead of where you would have been had you never bought at all (even accounting for all the taxes and insurance).

Meanwhile, younger generations can't afford to buy homes at all because the prices have increased so much, so they aren't building wealth at all.

Overall, you're far better off owning than renting in times of rapid appreciation of real estate, but you have to be willing to sell to take advantage of it.

I keep getting emails about the 80k in equity in my house. Zillow says it's worth 275k, the county says 250k, the bank says 210k. I know a couple of those aren't the best indicators but i think something is lost in translation here.

I'm thinking about doing the reappraisal once my new roof, gutters and siding are done.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

Younger generations can afford to buy homes, but for the most part they are unwilling to sacrifice to go it. They would never stoop so low as to not live in the same type of house their parents live in or they can’t fathom buying a fixer upper and putting sweat equity into it. They’d rather rent so they don’t have the responsibility to take care of anything and then bitch that the system is ****ing them over.

I was shopping for rentals in AZ a couple years ago and there were gutted houses on the market for $250k.

I know easy solution is "well, don't live in AZ", but often not that simple for people with extended family, kids, etc.

The ~90k seventy year old starter house I bought in KC 10 years ago is now estimated at $175k, which is kind of nuts for first time buyers on a house that old and not in an amazing neighborhood.