Hatteras Island, N.C. - Amanda Halladay opened up the tax assessment on her house. It's rare to find someone disappointed in paying less in taxes.
"It seems a little bit lower than what I could sell it for right now, it seems a lot lower," Halladay said.
Call it the taxpayer's sticker shock. It's the first time homes have been assessed in Dare County since the housing crisis. Property value have plummeted, especially on Hatteras Island, where the average home's price went down more than 40 percent, about a third more than the rest of Dare County.
"Living here is frustrating across the board," Halladay said.
Tina Outten saw her home's assessed value go down more than 40 percent, and she's a ways off the beach.
"Give me maybe five years and I'll be oceanfront," said Outten.
She's only half kidding. Hatteras Island didn't fare too well in Hurricane Sandy, which also dragged down property values.
Faces of meth |
Va. vanity plates |
Topless PTSD fight |
Way too tan |
Then there's the battered Route 12. Irene tore up a part of it, further isolating the island until a temporary bridge was put in weeks later.
"I don't understand why people live down here that don't have four-wheel drive," Outten said. "And why they get nice new fancy cars, cause they're gonna lose them."
The assessment doesn't faze Outten, she plans on passing the home down to her 4-year-old grandson.
She understands the frustration of people who worry about their beach front investment properties, and don't have generations of ties to the Outer Banks.
