Yearly Valuation of Property

[Swally]

Hi Guys,

Was there a yearly valuation of property carried out in Philadelphia from the mid 1920s onwards, if so where would you go looking for it?

all the best from Scotland,

Swally

[JustJean]

Hi

I'll make a stab at this one.  Don't know anything about Philadelphia in particular but can speak from being a US citizen born and raised.  We enjoy many levels of taxation in this country .  Property is taxed at the local level or should I say town or city level.  Taxes are based on valuation but there are many factors involved in the calculation.  If you're trying to determine the value of assets of your ancestors then I would imagine armed with a street address there could be a way of tracking down a particular property at a particular point in time.  Property taxes are an annual event but these records would only be held at the town or city level.  Don't forget that census returns contain info as to whether the individual owned or rented their premises.  This question appears on each census from 1900 through 1930.  This info might help you determine if there would be property tax records in their name.  For example....I live in Maine.  My town holds a "town meeting" once a year and votes on various articles that will determine how much the town will pay for services (rubbish removal, road maintenance, fire protection, etc etc) and operating costs for the coming year.  Once this budget is approved then the tax rate gets set to make sure enough income is coming in to pay for it all.  The real estate is appraised and re-evaluated at regular intervals to coincide with current market values.  This makes us think we have  a say in how much our taxes will be each year 

Another possibility is to track down probate records (deeds) which will record the transference of ownership of real estate (land and buildings).  These court records are held at the county level in my part of the country.  Not sure if that is countrywide.  Some areas even have online access to records.  The trick is to identify the location of the county courthouse and to also make sure the county borders haven't changed over the years so that the particular citiy or town your looking for is in the county that you're looking in. 

I guess I'd go looking for the equivalent of the office of the tax collector for the city of Philadelphia and see what comes up.  There's usually no shortage of personnel in these areas....someone out there has got to have an email contact listed online 


Hope this helps 

Jean

[Swally]

Jean,

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply.
It is not so much the value of the house I am trying to determine, over here in Scotland houses are valued yearly much like yours to establish how much the community should pay for essential services.  Again over here they list the Tennant and the Owner.
I know that a Great Uncle of mine stayed in North Orianna Street in Philadelphia uptill 1943 when he died (and my god did it take ages to find out his date of death, we knew nothing of him after about 1928)What I am trying to establish is when his wife died as we can find no record of her death so far.  The trick would be llok for who owned / rented the house every year from their last known residence at that address until they fall off the list.  I know that they could have moved but you have to have something to go on don't you.

All the best,

Swally

[aghadowey]

Try searching Philadelphia city directories if you have a name and address. Some direcctories will give an alphabetical list of people and also a separate list of places- street & then numbers on that street with name of resident. Sometimes known as cross-directories or backwards directories.

[JustJean]

Hi

Wow that is so weird!  I know someone else who had a distant rellie die in Philly in the 40's...and the last known address was North Orianna St    There are directories for Philly I think at the archives so you might have some luck that way.  I know they exist through 1945 anyhow.  Here is the website about the collections http://www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=126  If no one around RS volunteers you might consider contacting RAOGK for a lookup.  My other friend found info out through them and he's in Scotland.  Here's the website for PA lookups...  http://www.raogk.com/pennsylv5.htm

I wonder if you've found where he might be buried?  Chances are the wife will not be far away 

Best wishes
Jean