A single mother from Nebraska, whose family was already suffering from hefty medical bills, is on the verge of losing her home due to rising property taxes that have taken an unexpected additional toll on her finances.
The mother, Connie Vogt, has to pay for the college of her two sons, alongside looking after her own mother, who is suffering from dementia.
On top of this, she had to go through her own mastectomy surgery as she developed risks of breast cancer. The surgery later developed complications, which pushed her into another surgery that was not covered under her insurance. As a result of all of this, she had to take medical loans and suffer from wage cuts for taking time off from her job as a nurse.
In the meantime, the value of her property nearly doubled, which means that her mortgage payment rose by nearly $700 per month and took nearly 50% of her monthly salary.
According to Vogt, she always thinks about taking good care of her family, but she is reaching a point where doing all of this will not be possible for her. The continuous financial strain urged Vogt’s son Franklyn to start a GoFundMe fundraiser as a “last resort” that has collected more than $24,000 so far.
Franklyn stated that he and his younger brother try to help their mother with their part-time jobs, but they are still in college, and asking for donations is extremely difficult for them.
While there is no federal tax on properties in the United States, local authorities like cities and counties impose these taxes. In recent years, home levies have been rising at a dramatic pace, sometimes even when housing prices are declining.
Just last year, the property taxes on single-family homes increased by almost 6.9% compared to the year before, which helped the nationwide governments raise over $363 billion.
Generally, the tax is estimated based on the current valuation of the houses, and the continuous rise of housing prices means that residents are forced to pay more money every month. Some governors like Jim Pillen of Nebraska, where Vogt lives, called this continuous tax hike a “crisis” as he pushed the state lawmakers to introduce $185 million in tax reliefs.
Meanwhile, financial experts suggest that residents who face increased property taxes and are skeptical of their home valuations can file a complaint with local authorities to get a revised estimate of the property value, which can also bring their taxes down.
