Residents of Bettendorf will soon find out if the value of their property has gone up, and if their tax bills will increase. A re-appraisal of all 14,000 homes in the city has just been completed and new assessment notices are in the mail.
Scott County Assessor, Tom McManus, says a it took a year and-a-half to complete the project for a Cedar Rapids company, Vanguard Appraisals, that specializes in this type of work. And it concluded residential property values increased an average of 10 per cent.
"Some people are going to take a significant jump - it's just because we feel that's what the property is worth now. And if they were to put up a "for sale" sign on their property, that's what they could reasonably expect to get in the market today if they were to sell it."
Some values increased more than 10 per cent and some less, and some properties even lost value.
McManus says the increases reflect a variety of possible home improvements such as decks and room additions.
"But also all the new construction for all the new houses in Bettendorf are also included in this . So you've got a whole bunch of 3, 4, 5, and 600,000 dollar houses captured in this value."
Anyone with questions should call the Scott County Assessor's office. Protests can be filed in April and will be heard by the board of review in May.
But he emphasizes the updated assessments will not be included in the property tax bills for Bettendorf home owners until next year (Sept. 2018).
