Buncombe board rules valuation change must be applied prospectively in Black Mountain tax appeal

The Buncombe County Board of Equalization and Review voted 3–1 on Aug. 18 to treat a recent reassessment of 11 Hunting Lodge Road in Black Mountain as a change in appraised value under N.C. Gen. Stat. §105-287 and to apply any new valuation prospectively rather than collecting retroactive taxes under the immaterial irregularity or discovered-property statutes.

The decision came after the assessor’s staff notified then-owners John and Penny Stollery that unlisted improvements had been identified and issued bills described in the staff packet as immaterial irregularity notices for tax years 2020 through 2024. The owners’ attorney, Anna Stearns, argued the permits for the work had been on record with the town of Black Mountain and that the county had access to the information earlier; she asked the board to rescind the retroactive bills or, if a value change were appropriate, to apply it only prospectively.

Brian Marshall, residential appraiser supervisor in the Buncombe County Assessor’s Office, told the board staff used MLS listing information and sales data to identify an undervalued sale and concluded that an immaterial…