real estate

The Board of Assessors has placed the town’s chief assessor, Karen Bertolino, on paid administrative leave while an independent firm hired by the board audits Marblehead’s property valuation process, Chair John Kelley told the Marblehead Current on Thursday. The move comes amid concerns from residents over the equity of recent property revaluations and significant hikes in their property tax bills. The Mary Alley Municipal Building houses the town assessor’s office, which will be undergoing an independent audit of its property valuation process. CURRENT PHOTO /…

The deadline to apply for a property assessment abatement is Thursday, Feb. 1. Realtor, market analyst and referral specialist Andrew Oliver posed several questions to Assessor Karen Bertolino. See her responses below. Q. How is my property assessed each year? All property is valued every year and is based on calendar year market sales in Marblehead. Fiscal year 2024 began July 1, 2023, and is based on what existed January 1, 2023, so the preceding calendar year 2022 primarily is used for the basis of…

When Brenda Kelley Kim opened the mail this month, her jaw dropped in disbelief. The town had increased her home's assessed value by 29% from $649,500 to $836,800 – adding nearly $200,000 overnight. Even with accounting the tax rate decreasing from $10 in Fiscal Year 2023 to $8.96 in Fiscal Year 2024, her taxes shot up about 15 percent, the type of spike that Proposition 2 1/2 was designed to eliminate. Photo slugged taxes. CUTLINE: Marblehead resident Brenda Kelley Kim didn’t anticipate her home’s valuation…