An Increase in Property Value isn't always Beneficial for the Home Owner.

I wasn't aware that you had such an impressive win-loss ratio yourself :) I hope this will be a great debate! To clarify, although this debate is split-BOP, Con has a much larger burden to uphold, as his position is that an increase in property value is always beneficial to the homeowner. If I can show one case where it isn't always beneficial, then I rightfully win the debate. ArgumentsI. An increase in property value increases the amount of property taxes that the homeowner has to pay. Often times, we hear people say that they'd love for the value of their house to increase, that way, if they ever desire to move or sell the house, they'll make a profit on the sale considering their original purchase price was less than its current value. For a long time, I thought that was a great thing. I mean, if I owned a house, I'd love for the property value to rise. However, a rise in property value is a double-edged sword. This is due solely to the fact that when your property value increases, your property taxes increase as well. This can be verified through multiple sources which all share the same warning as myself, for instance, an article titled 'What Increases Property Taxes' published by SFGate under their Home Guides section has this to say: "One of the most significant causes of property tax increases, which is also among the most controllable, is a rise in the value of a property due to home improvements. Adding a home office, finished basement, or addition to your home will undoubtedly increase its value at the time of the next assessment. Since assessments determine the value of the home, and property taxes are based on this value, a higher assessment means a higher tax bill. Other improvements, including adding a garage or shed or improving fences may also result in a higher assessed value. To combat higher assessments, taxpayers can file an appeal to request a lower assessment amount. " [1]As we can see, making improvements to your home, while increasing the value of the property itself, also results in the increase of property taxes during the next assessment. Furthermore, going through the appeal process can take a toll on your personal time and money as well in the form of legal guidance and lawyer fee's during the appeal process, all of which might not even result in the lowering of fee's if the appeal fails to be recognized. In fact, making improvements to your home has so much potential to increase property values that some sources actually recommend not making any improvements whatsoever. For instance, an investopedia article titled '5 tricks for lowering property taxes' has their #2 trick titled "Don't Build". .. in specific, it states:"2. Don't Build - Any structural changes to a home or property will increase your tax bill. A deck, a pool, a large shed, or any other permanent fixture that is added to your home will increase your tax burden. " [2] So, now you're probably thinking, "Okay, so I won't build any additions to my home, now what? "Well, unfortunately, it's not that simple. There are several other ways that an increase in property value can happen, and in some cases they don't serve to benefit the homeowner whatsoever. If we return back to my original source [1] we can see that the article goes on to list another way in which property values can increase:"Homeowners may see a rise in property taxes when the neighborhood, community or region experiences a general rise in property value. This can happen for economic reasons, such as an influx of new residents seeking jobs. Neighborhood improvements or new construction of luxury homes can also have a major effect on the assessed value of nearby property. " [1]This brings into our debate the very real scenarios that countless people have had to deal with in developing areas. I'm sure we've all heard the story of the old hermit living on a lake only to be pushed out by a development firm that wishes to build a residential neighborhood around the lake. Well, this is somewhat similar, except it is disguised by an increase in property value for the old hermit. See, the problem is that this hermit has been paying a solid $200 a month in property taxes for as long as he can remember, and after refusing to move from the lake the developers went ahead and built around him, still developing around parts of the lake where the hermits house isn't located. A small community of nice houses pops up around him, and suddenly he gets a property tax bill of $2,000 instead of $200. This is due to the new homes and sudden increase in property value brought about by this new development going on all around him. So what is he to do? Pay the additional increase of property taxes? If he doesn't have the means to do so, then there is only one option - relocate to a place that he can afford. Even if the argument can be made that he'll at-least make a profit on his house during the sale, the fact remains that this hermit has to uproot himself from a house that he's lived in for a majority of his life. This brings about emotional distress, unneccesary moving fee's, and ultimately serves as an example of how an increase of property value, not caused by the home-owner, is far from being beneficial. While this example is hypothetical, there are countless real-life tales of such a thing happening. For instance, in Arlingtonmagazine there is an article titled, 'Caught in the Middle', which expands on the fact that middle-class residents are being forced to move from their neighborhoods due to the rising cost of property taxes as the neighborhoods steadily increase in value. Several excerpts from the article reflect this unfortunate truth:"Some have already made the decision to leave, for financial and philo-sophical reasons. “I don’t miss the traffic or the high property taxes, but I do miss things about Arlington—the diversity, the culture, the ethnic restaurants,” says Jay Lo Monaco, 34, a York-town High grad who now commutes 60 miles from Berryville, leaving his wife and three kids at 4:30 a. m. daily. .. " [3] “I think this is one of those things that cannot be sugarcoated,” says Walter Tejada, who chairs the Arlington County Board. “This is a very high-priced area, and over time, we have become the victims of our own success. " [3]Notice the language used in that last quote - "we have become the victims of our own success". It's a true-to-form double-edged sword. Unfortunately, while they loved seeing the property values increase, they just simply couldn't keep up with the increase in property taxes that necessarily followed. I believe that it is now apparent that an increase in property values is not always beneficial for the home-owners, the fact that with an increase in property value comes an increase in property taxes is often overlooked by many people, including myself. However, it is clear that such an increase might actually harm the home-owner if they are not capable of keeping up with the increase in property taxes as well. Thus, it is not always beneficial for property values to increase for home-owners. Sources[1] . http://homeguides.sfgate.com...[2] . http://www.investopedia.com...[3] . http://www.arlingtonmagazine.com...