I recently called the city about this property, located at the intersection of Morse & Montello, because I noticed that the back door had been ripped off (so the vacant building was no longer secure). I also got curious and checked the real property tax database. I discovered that this building (that the database identifies as being owned by a Silver Spring resident)is not being taxed heavily enough. I know for a fact that this structure has been boarded-up for years, but the owner has been paying only the standard (non-homeowner occupied) tax rate for residential structures (currently $0.96 per $100 of assessed value). Because this particular structure is clearly vacant, he should have been paying the considerably higher rate of $5.00 per $100 of assessed value. Luckily the city hasn't done its 2006 inspections yet, so the office that I spoke to promised to add this address to the list of properties to be inspected. Still, I'm frustrated that I didn't notice this earlier. How long has this owner (who neighborhood rumor has it refuses to sell, or improve) been able to sit on a neighborhood eyesore without even paying that tax penalty legally required by the District?
10 comments:
Sounds similar to three properties on my street which have been vacant for years and not taxed as such. Who should I call to have them inspected?
To complain to DCRA, go to dcra.dc.gov and click on Vacant Property. (The real URL is just absurdly unreadable/unparseable.)
Unfortunately, DCRA also has to send the list of such properties over to Tax & Revenue, which seems to take forever.
That is pretty much the case. The first step is to check DCRA's list of vacant properties (I'm assuming you already checked the real property datbase, because how else would you know the tax status). If your property is on that list, but somehow still not listed as class 3, or class 3 exempt then you should just call the Office of Tax and Revenue. If your property is not on DCRA's list you either have to use their for (which you print & mail), or you can call them. If someone rips a board off a door or window you should call 202-442-4332 (or 727-1000 if that doesn't work).
My personal experience is that OTR won't change the tax class in response to a citizen call, *even if* you can show them that the property is on DCRA's published vacant/abandoned list. Maybe they've stopped being stupid, but when I went through this I was told quite clearly that they had to have DCRA formally transmit a listing.
I can't say for sure. When I called last week they said they would put the property on the list for when the inspectors next went out. My experience with calling local gov agencies is hit or miss. I was actually told the other day (by 727-1000 that the city couldn't do anything about removing graffiti from a privately owned building (the business owner hadn't refused, or anything, I was just reporting the graffiti).
This is something that each ANC commissioner could get involved in, working with other interested citizens, compiling a list of all such properties by ANC Single Member District, and forwarding this on to the appropriate city officials.
This property is listed mris for sell 295k. It has actually been on the market off and on for about a year.
I had heard that people did occasionally seem to be lookinng at the building. Frankly, I think that the owner is not really trying to sell it if he is listing it for $295k. This building is not all that large, it has no basement, & it is a complete gut job. Maybe he MIGHT be able to sell it for that if the place were completely fixed up with luxury extras, but there is no way he could currently sell that particular shell for anywhere near that price.
I;m not so sure whether $295k is such an unreasonable price. True, the property is a total gut job, but depending on how large it is, how much land it is on and the zoning, it actually sell for that amount.
The land area is 927 square feet. The "living area" is 1,113 (except there really isn't any upstairs any more, so the area inside the building is more like 550 square feet). All I know is that nearby nice houses on lots bigger that that going for very close to $295k.
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