Home valuation takes a leap

WITH THE wave of a wand, the value of Ian Griffiths' Kensington property at 2777 Martha St. increased from $33,000 to $53,000 - a whopping 60 percent gain.

That was true for Linda Fortune at 2773 Martha and Bobby McDermott at 2775 Martha. In fact, all odd-numbered homes in the 2700 block jumped from $33,000 to $53,000.

That sounds like a blessing, except for the curse of higher real-estate taxes.

There's also this: Those homes are on the east side of Martha. The city's valuation of identical houses on the west, or even, side remained unchanged at $33,000, according to the 2016 evaluation provided by the Office of Property Assessment.

This is part of the lava flowing from the volcanic eruption known as AVI - Actual Valuation Initiative.

A citywide reassessment began in 2013. The evaluation was a blunt tool sparking 50,000 appeals in 2014. That reservoir has not yet been drained, and about 2,000 new appeals have been received so far this year.

Griffiths theorized that one side of his block had been assessed as being in Kensington, the other side as being in Port Richmond.

But assessments are made not by neighborhoods, but "by location, age, size or condition of [the] property," I am told by Michael Piper, chief assessment officer since last June. OPA doesn't use "neighborhoods" created by history or by Realtors. It uses GMAs - geographic market areas - "based on how similar properties are valued in the open market," says Piper.

I get to the 2700 block of Martha - a nicely kept, humble, isolated block - on Wednesday in time to witness a loud argument between the even and odd sides of the street that resulted in police being called. They arrived quickly, but missed the shouting match between Bobby McDermott, of 2775 Martha, and Andrew McDermott of the even side, who is the loudest.

Interviewed separately, Andrew says he and Bobby are cousins. When I later ask Bobby, 50, to confirm, he flips his hand in a side-to-side motion. I leave that family drama alone.

A mechanic, Andrew, 30, ardently believes higher valuation of your home is good, because it's worth more.

Even if your taxes go up, I ask?

"I would pay more taxes if it makes my neighborhood better," Andrew says. (He rents 2756 Martha, but is buying two blocks away.)

I explain that the odd-side neighbors are hot because only their side of the block went up.

Andrew walks me around the corner and shows me his house has a one-story, one-room add-on in the back, while the higher-valued house directly across the street has a two-story addition.

Appearances are deceiving, says Ian Griffiths, 54, the Australian-born landlord of 2777.

The city website shows houses on the odd side are actually smaller - about 840 square feet as opposed to 906 square feet on the even side, Griffiths says, adding that houses in the surrounding blocks mostly are valued in the 30s. Raise the value on the odd side of 2700 Martha, he says, and the city will have a lot more changes to make.

"There are other changes we are going to implement," says Piper, not in a threatening way. He seems eager to fix mistakes that might have been made.

Griffiths says he bought 2777 five years ago for $17,000 and spent $15,000 on repairs, adding that OPA previously overvalued other properties he owns in Kensington, which he got reduced to the 30s through appeals.

Since Griffiths has done this before, why didn't he just mail in the appeal, which is included with the new evaluation notice?

That might get it fixed for him but not his neighbors, he said, so he notified them, including Bobby McDermott.

A retired roofer, McDermott was "surprised" when he found his property was evaluated at $53,000 and even more surprised the even side of the block wasn't. He will join Griffiths and other neighbors in appealing to OPA.

Back at OPA, after Piper hears the story of the 2700 block of Martha, he agrees something seems out of whack. He will send an evaluator early next month to eyeball the properties and see if a re-evaluation is required.

There are three possible outcomes: No change, or the odd side will be reduced, or the even side will be increased. The last might please Andrew McDermott, but probably no one else.

Phone: 215-854-5977

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