- Tamra Ransom bought her Polk County home last May
- She was forced to sell it less than a year later after her property taxes increased.
A Florida woman felt like she was “baited and switched” after a property tax hike forced her to sell her dream home just a year after buying it.
Tamra Ransom told WFLA-TV she purchased the perfect home in Polk County in May of last year.
Then her property tax was increased 174 percent, from $2,700 a year to $4,700, making it too expensive for her to continue living there and forcing her to put her house back on the market .
She told the outlet: “It’s very upsetting because I put most of my savings into the house.”
Property taxes are assessed based on a home’s value and a city’s tax rates. If the value of the property increases, so do the property taxes.
Tamra Ransom told WFLA-TV she purchased the perfect home in Polk County in May of last year.
Then the property tax was increased by 174 percent, making it too expensive for her to continue living there and forcing her to put the house back on the market.
Ransom said when she bought her house, the property tax was about $2,700.
She expected it “to vary quite a bit, (maybe) from a few hundred (to) a thousand dollars.”
But when she received her new assessment, she was shocked to find that it had jumped 174 percent, meaning the annual property tax would be $4,700.
She told WFLA-TV, “I felt like I was bait and switched.”
In Florida, homeowners are subject to a property tax each year based on the market value of the home as of January 1 of each year.
They are valued based on their size, location and condition, as well as market conditions.
Property values have skyrocketed after the pandemic, which means property taxes have also increased, but with their money locked up in the house, homeowners may struggle to pay their bills.
Ransom had no choice but to sell his house.
Attorney Michael Finn told WFLA-TV, “This is definitely a buyer beware type situation.”
Ransom said when she bought her house (pictured), the property tax was about $2,700.
She said: “It’s very upsetting because I put most of my savings into the house – the deposit, the alarm systems and things like that.
“And I’m losing all of that because I have to sell the house – and I’m really not going to get anything back.”
Attorney Michael Finn told WFLA-TV, “This is definitely a buyer beware type situation.” (Property) values have skyrocketed, especially anywhere near water.
“Someone who bought a house five years ago can realize a two- to three-fold increase in value.”
Finn added, “You can contest it, but you won’t get a significant reduction because the land assessor’s office is very competent in their assessments.”
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