Unstable houses see tax assessment increase
Kent Rathwell has watched the assessed value of his impressive home near the South Saskatchewan River rise precipitously over the last five years.
For Rathwell, though, it only means higher property taxes. Three and a half years ago, he moved his family out of the dream home that has become a nightmare. Rathwell decided to vacate rather than risk disaster or wait for another evacuation order due to the unstable slope behind his Saskatchewan Crescent home.
Saskatoon city council opted two years ago to keep monitoring the situation with homes on 11th Street East and Saskatchewan Crescent, but to take no other action.
“It’s one thing to put up with it, right? But to see the taxes go up?” Rathwell said. “This is nuts.”
Rathwell, bought the house about 10 years ago for about $900,000. Its assessed value was $599,900 in the 2009 assessment, then $1.07 million in 2013 and $1.75 million in this year’s reassessment. The property tax bill last year was $9,904.93.
The assessed values of four of the seven homes along 11th Street that are considered threatened by the unstable slope have risen above the $1-million mark. Prior to the 2013 reassessment, none of them was valued at more than $500,000.
Property value assessment, which is conducted by the City of Saskatoon but governed by provincial rules, is based on multiple factors, but its rise is linked to sales of properties in the same area. Rathwell figures that standard should be considered irrelevant for the homes affected by the slope failure.
“In our case, you couldn’t sell because you can’t get a mortgage on the property,” he said.
One three-bedroom home on 11th Street near the ones affected by the unstable slope is currently for sale for $864,900. A two-bedroom condominium in a building that lies beneath the unstable slope is listed for sale for $549,900.
The city is maintaining its approach of two years ago — continuing to monitor the situation and report the results to residents, according to Jeff Jorgenson, general manager of transportation and utilities. The city’s efforts include geotechnical monitoring as well as visual inspections, he said in an email. The city also advises property owners to consult their own geotechnical experts.
City assessor Darcy Huisman said he could not grant an interview request on the issue because Ward 6 Coun. Cynthia Block has indicated her intention to try to address the issue of assessment for homes with extraordinary circumstances.
Rathwell said he appealed his 2013 reassessment and arrived at the appeal hearing with a six-inch binder of materials, but was still rejected.
“We seem to lack the tools to apply taxes fairly,” Block said.
She knows the city does not control the assessment rules, but city council does have the right to abate or reduce property taxes, she noted, adding she realizes any move in that direction would have to be “very narrowly defined.”
She heard a lot of compassion from other Ward 6 residents about the plight of the homeowners affected by the slope failure during the October election campaign.
“I desperately wish we would find a way to alleviate that situation for them. I think this is a unique situation.”
Block said she does not think the city’s current approach represents a long-term solution. Rathwell agrees.
Slides were first noticed in the area in 2012, but the last known evacuation notice for nearby homes was two years ago.
Rathwell said he thinks his home is acting like a retaining wall for the failing slope.
“The slope has slowed down, but it’s still putting pressure on,” he said. “If we don’t deal with the problem, it will only get worse. The slope failure is growing.”
He said the homeowners originally tried to work co-operatively with the city, even hiring their own engineers to look at the issue.
“At the end of the day, it did nothing,” he said. “It was a total waste of money to pay for engineers. We should have paid for lawyers.”