Property owners all over New Orleans are receiving new tax assessments, and in some cases home values have soared. That's creating a real dilemma for some. What if you can't afford your taxes, what do you do?
At a community meeting Monday night one woman said her house value went up threefold and she said "I wanted to cry."
Not every neighborhood is seeing the higher assessments and real estate consultant Wade Ragas says the assessors job in New Orleans is difficult and complex.
"There's so much diversity in the designs and the richness of the housing stock in Orleans, that you can go just a couple of blocks in any direction and often see shifts in values," Ragas said.
Ragas says the Assessor seems to understand the problem but notes it's not just happening here.
"The assessor has the job of trying to come up with current values for all of those diverse properties," said Ragas.
Ragas sees why some homeowners are complaining and many are expected to appeal to the Assessor the deadline for an appeal is August 19.
Click here to find out how to dispute your property tax assessment.