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JCC Offers Chinese Drywall 'Victims' Some ReliefBy Matt Poms Friday, June 18, 2010 James City County residents who have fallen victim to the Chinese drywall scam can now gain some relief in the form of reduced property taxes. Homeowners who have the defective drywall installed in their homes will see their home values reduced to $100 plus the value of the land, retroactive to Jan. 1.Certain types of Chinese drywall have been found to release hydrogen sulfide fumes that can sicken residents and corrode metals and electronics. It’s a topic of national study. Many homeowners with Chinese drywall have seen their homes become practically worthless, needing to replace the drywall, which can often cost more than the price of the house itself. John McDonald, a manager for financial and management services with the James City County Real Estate Assessment Office, said the county needed to take action to help affected residents. “We’ve gotten letters documenting Chinese drywall in 42 homes,” McDonald said. “We know that there are other homes who have either not contacted us or have not yet gotten documentation. We suspect that we’ll get a few more contacts.” Homeowners can get the tax break after providing proper documentation to the County Real Estate Assessment Office. McDonald said that his office referred the issue to the Board of Equalization after they weren’t sure quite what to do with it. The Board then issued the order reducing the property values June 3, making the change retroactive to the beginning of the year. “These assessments are in place for a minimum of two years or until the homeowner eliminates the drywall and replaces it with a material that meets code,” McDonald said. The possibility of the change, which was previously adopted by Virginia Beach, was first raised at an April meeting of the James City County Board of Supervisors. McDonald said that he expected the county to lose about $84,000 this fiscal year on the 42 homes that have currently had their values reduced. “We knew we were going to lose money because the value of the home has diminished to the point where nobody can sell them,” he said. |
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Comments
The important point is that the homeowners get the tax break to wipe out most of their tax liability due to the drywall -- I suspect that's not necessarily happening in every jurisdiction.
And the real estate tax on a valuation of $100? If my recollection of my tax bill is right, the annual tax on 100 dollars is something less than a dollar. Hardly a windfall for the county. All in all, it seems to me that the county has done a good thing here.