STEVENS COUNTY, Wash. —
Gary Witherspoon has lived in Stevens County for over two decades.
He said he's seen his property values grow every year, but now that it's gone up over $100,000 in just one year, he's concerned about his future as a local homeowner.
“As you can see we went from $161,000 to $267,000," Witherspoon shared as he pointed to his '2023 Notice of Value.' "There was no changes, absolutely no changes in my structures. I just don’t get it.”
Witherspoon lives 10 miles outside of Springdale, Washington.
He said he and his neighbors are seeing large increases in their home valuations, but he some of the valuations don’t make sense.
Witherspoon said he took his concerns to a Stevens County Facebook group and received an overwhelming response from other frustrated homeowners.
“One of the guys on Facebook, he has a barn that’s fallen down and they raised the tax $10,000," Witherspoon explained. "So, this is very arbitrary. I can’t see any rhyme or reason.”
Witherspoon said he recently gave 10 acres of land to his sister with a partially-constructed home.
Witherspoon said she received a property valuation notice that her home value went from $24,000 to $192,000, an increase of 700%.
In a letter to the Stevens County assessor, she said "this increase in value is unethical, probably illegal and is derived from an unfounded basis so it's absolutely inaccurate."
According to the assessor, property valuations are still on the rise from pandemic population booms.
He says during the pandemic, people moved to the county from neighboring states and towns.
Witherspoon said his home value went up 66% in the last year.
He worries taxes will go up alongside valuations.
"There's a lot of people in Stevens County that are fixed income, elderly, retired people and they have no idea how they're going to pay for this because obvious paychecks aren't going up," Witherspoon said.
The assessor said an increase in valuations can have an effect on taxes, but it doesn’t mean it will taxes will increase.
Still, Witherspoon said he hopes valuations don’t force his neighbors out.
“This will affect a lot of people not just me and that’s what I’m more interested in," Witherspoon said. "I like my neighbors and I'd like to keep my neighbors in their homes.”
According to the Washington State Department of Revenue, you can appeal your property valuation.
To do this, certain market evidence must show the property is incorrect, saying your valuation is too high isn't enough for an appeal request.
In an email to the county assessor, Witherspoon said he does plan on filing an appeal and anticipates "there will be a LARGE amount of these filed."
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