The victory for REALTOR® and real estate consumers was short lived as Governor Ed Rendell vetoed legislation aimed at protecting consumers from spot reassessments.  Despite the overwhelming bipartisan support in both houses of the legislature.  LVAR (Lehigh Valley Association of Realtors) issued a press release expressing our disappointment with the Governor’s decision.  LVAR will continue to follow this issue closely and work with our legislators to address this issue when they reconvene in the fall. 

source: Lehigh Valley Association of Realtors

Original Article:

Spot Assessments will cease
In a huge victory for Lehigh Valley REALTORS® and home buyers, the General Assembly approved legislation on July 4 to stop school districts from appealing property tax assessments on homes that recently sold. Current law has created a loop hole for school districts to legally appeal assessments without technically conducting spot reassessment. Once enacted, Senate Bill 1247 (Rhoades, R-Schuylkill) and House Bill 1438 (Seip, D-Schuylkill) will close this loop hole. LVAR and PAR offered support for the legislation, which was opposed by the PA School Boards Association. Senate Bill 1247 passed with only two negative votes in the Senate and seven in the House; House Bill 1438 passed with three negative votes in the House and four in the Senate. The legislation is pending a signature by the Governor before it becomes law.

Be Sure To Let The Governor Know How You Feel!