NE Ohio counties lower property values

CLEVELAND (AP) — Several northeast Ohio counties are lowering property values after thousands of homeowners complained that their appraisals, assigned in 2006 just before the beginning of a housing slump, do not reflect their homes’ true value.

In Cuyahoga County, nearly 30,000 of a total 600,000 residential property owners successfully lobbied to lower their home appraisals, erasing almost $1 billion in estimated property values. An additional 6,000 complaints have yet to be considered.

The region’s sagging economy, with job losses and stagnant property values, have made Cuyahoga the leading county in the most impacted state for home foreclosures. Without rising property values to boost their equity, homeowners don’t have a useful safety net.

Ohio law dictates that counties must adjust property rates every three years, and do a parcel-by-parcel appraisal once every six years.

In Lorain County, which did its sixth-year reappraisal last year, about 5,000 of the county’s 70,000 homeowners complained to the auditor about property values and about 2,500 received reductions.