'More than double?!' Shock and confusion as new property assessments are delivered throughout the area

WEST ALLIS, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Many homeowners throughout Southeast Wisconsin tell us they’re stunned by what they’re finding in the mailbox this week.

Cities are sending out new property assessments, and many people are finding the value of their homes has skyrocketed, despite them not doing a single thing to improve them.

This year, one apartment building is up 59%, a home is up more than $100,000, and another has more than doubled.

As this year’s property assessments are sent out, many homeowners do not agree with the higher valuations, putting some in a position to argue against their own homes.

We met Linda Ferguson at her West Allis home, where she told us, "I could see it going up 15-20,000, but to more than double? No, uh-uh."

Ferguson and her husband have made few improvements to their home since they put a new roof on about 15 years ago.

So the letter they got from the West Allis assessor came as a shock.

When we asked how much it had gone up, she replied, "$112,600. Which is more than double what the previous assessment was."

Linda is worried about higher taxes, and she's not alone.

At Tuesday night's West Allis Common Council meeting, resident Gordon Voltz said during public comment, "Unless you know of improvements someone else somehow did to my house, I haven't done any improvements."

Mike Cody said, "I'm absolutely in total shock when I get this thing."

And Matt Keup asked the council, "Why does mine go up $80,000, why does somebody else's go up $30,000?"

Assessor Jason Williams tried to answer some of the community's questions at the council meeting during a 30-minute presentation.

He explained with the real estate market improving over the past few years, West Allis's previous assessment is no longer as accurate as state law requires.

And he said higher assessments do not automatically mean higher taxes.

But it's impossible to know right now how tax bills will be impacted because jurisdictions are still drawing up their budgets. Once they know how much money they'll need to operate, they'll know how much to tax people.

That comes at the end of the year.

Williams said, "Because we don't have all the numbers to make these calculations, we cannot give an accurate answer."

Property owners can talk with the assessor about the changes between May 6 and May 10. They can also file a formal appeal with the city's board of review.

Linda Ferguson was able to book a meeting, but for now, she's left with a lot of uncertainty over a major part of her family's financial future.

She and her husband want to sell their home eventually, but the assessment could complicate their timeline.

She said, "The amount the assessment went up, it's like nobody wants to pay that on a busy street, all the traffic, all the accidents."

High assessments are catching people off guard not just in West Allis, but throughout the viewing area, including Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Assessor’s Office was unavailable Tuesday but told us they'd try to answer our questions by as early as Thursday.