There is a nationwide slump in the real estate market, most will agree. But try telling that to property owners along the shores of Lost Lake.
In a sharp contrast to falling home prices in Greater Boston and across much of the country, the values of waterfront properties are still commanding top dollar. And that has not escaped notice of the town's assessors, who have raised valuations as much as 70 percent.
The resulting high tax bills have roiled many property owners, who say they are prepared to take action against the town if necessary.
"This is outrageous," said Alexander Woodle, who said his house valuation skyrocketed 53 percent for the current fiscal year following the townwide tri-annual revaluation. "We think the system is flawed."
Woodle and a number of other shore residents plan to attend a meeting with the local Board of Assessors on Wednesday at Town Hall, when they hope to find out what triggered the spike in values. A 63-year-old retired librarian, Woodle plans to file for an abatement in hopes of alleviating the pressure on his fixed income.
It's not the first time in the past year that Groton's assessment process has sparked furor.
Bruce Clements, a former Planning Board member, prevailed in the state Appellate Tax Board last fall, after the Board of Assessors denied his request for a property tax abatement. Clements said his quarterly tax bill jumped 53 percent last year as a result of a $157,000 spike in his assessment. Town Assessor Rena Swezey argued that the town had been using an outdated classification table for Clements's home for years and that his property was undervalued. Selectman Joshua Degen said Clements was "deeply disenchanted" with the Board of Assessors and has since moved out of town.
Sylvia Sangiolo, a member of the Board of Assessors, said the lakefront revaluations reflect some extraordinarily high-priced property sales during 2006, the year used for the revaluation. The town is required by the state to track home sales along the lake during the revaluation and align the new valuations in accordance with any spikes or drops, she said.
"The state has a set of standards, and we have to obey them," said Sangiolo. "It is all highly regulated."
Annual adjustments will reflect the housing downturn in coming years, she said, but she doubted that the lakefront properties would see a decrease, given their high desirability.
A lakefront owner herself, Sangiolo said her own bill has climbed drastically as a result of the revaluation, though she didn't have the information immediately available. She does not plan to file for an abatement, saying she believes the system is equitable.
"I don't think it's fair" to file for an abatement, she said. "When you go in for an abatement, you are going against all the other taxpayers in the town."
That is no relief to residents like Woodle. His property valuation went from $255,000 last fiscal year to $390,900, he said. A neighbor saw a 70 percent increase in revaluation, he added.
"It's a shock," said Woodle, who said he's not laying blame on any particular party at this point. "Land values went crazy this year."
Houses along the lake have traditionally been passed from family to family, which has kept the properties historically undervalued, Sangiolo said. A few houses that sell for high profit set a new standard for valuation.
"Lakefront is lakefront, and all of a sudden it's a hot item," Sangiolo said.
The spike in valuations rubs real estate appraiser Richard Aubin the wrong way, however. Aubin said something is dysfunctional with a system when it doesn't take into consideration various types of properties and their potential resale value.
Aubin, who said Woodle is one of his clients, said that some properties on the lake saw significant rises in valuation even though the land itself is virtually useless.
Some of the properties are on such a steep incline that their value to a developer is nil, he said.
"The land has zero value because you will fall down and kill yourself," he said.
But Sangiolo said the Board of Assessors is legally bound by the state Department of Revenue to have valuations reflect market values, regardless of how extreme they might be.
She said the house next to hers sold for approximately $390,000, a price she thought didn't seem right.
"It's got a bog," she said. "It's not worth it, but someone got that much money for it."
At the meeting Wednesday, Sangiolo said, the Board of Assessors will explain the rationale for the increases and begin the abatement process for any resident who sustained an error in the valuation process.
