Property tax bills a shocker
Rising house values hit home
By ROB GRANATSTEIN
Toronto Sun
October 19, 2005
Dagma Buchanan loves her little South Etobicoke house overlooking Lake Ontario.
"I just really get pleasure out of my property, looking out the window at the lake," she said.
The house was built as a cottage in 1929. It's a small three-bedroom waterfront place she's lived in for 29 years.
She doesn't want to move, but after her latest assessment she fears her bank book will give her no choice.
According to MPAC, this house is worth $855,000.
That's 46.91% more than 18 months ago when it was valued at $582,000. She's appealed her assessment a number of times before, and she'll likely be appealing again.
"This one is so outrageous I thought I'd scream,"she said. "I swear they're picking the numbers like they pick the numbers for the lottery."
Her neighbourhood is changing and there have been a number of monster houses built nearby, but her home is still small and in need of some repairs.
"I patched my leaky roof for $3,000," she said. "That doesn't equate into a $300,000 increase in house value."
With a 47% increase in her assessment, Buchanan is fearing the day the property tax bill comes. It won't be 47%, but it won't be good, either.
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Robert McBean opened up his property assessment and immediately started thinking about whether he'd need a part-time job.
McBean, who has lived in his Riverdale house for more than 15 years and has retired from his job as a supervisor at Canada Post, saw his property's value jump 35.32%.
"I guess they think if you can afford the house you can afford the taxes," McBean said. "If I was going out shopping for a house, I wouldn't be able to afford to buy my own house."
"I bet there are hundreds of retired people like me in the same fix," he said.
McBean said his pension will likely not be able to keep up with his rising tax bill, on top of the rising price of gas for his car and natural gas to heat his house.
So when he sees his city tax bill he might have to start looking for a little part-time work.
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A waterfront cottage is like gold. This has not slipped past MPAC at all.
The cottage Harold Wetmore bought 40 years ago in the Township of Limerick, about 80 km north of Belleville, has nine metres of shoreline.
The last assessment pegged the value at $53,000. This time MPAC believes it's worth $100,000.
That's up 88%. The average increase in Limerick is a whopping 36.36%
"I was quite amazed," Wetmore said.
Last year his taxes on the property came in at $773. He can't wait to see what the bill will be this year.
Still, he's not too worried. Last year the taxes on his cottage went up $8. While he expects an increase, he doesn't figure the damage will be too bad.
He doesn't think the small-town council has the stomach for big hikes.
Harold Wetmore holds up tax bills for his cottage north of Belleville. Last year, the assessed value of the property was up a whopping 88%.