NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Gary Hoffman received a letter in May that could change what he calls home.
"I was shocked really," Hoffman said.
The letter from the Davidson County property tax assessor said he'd have to pay significantly more to live in the home his father built in West Nashville.
"Me and my father my whole family is from West Nashville," Hoffman said. "I went to to Hillwood High School; this is actually back before Hillwood High School."
The assessment letter shows that since 2021, his home's value increased by more than $340,000, raising his taxes by thousands of dollars.
"I mean if you're going to use the property increase to run most of the government on then it looks to me like property owners are being burdened with that," Hoffman said.
Many retired residents qualify for a property tax freeze, but Hoffman said he doesn't because the home's deed includes his sister's name.
"Metro won't let me freeze it because they want to include my sister's income along with mine and they won't let me value it based on my income alone," Hoffman said.
The letter indicated he'd have to pay almost double what he paid in property taxes the previous year.
There is some good news. Hoffman said he expects another letter soon with the city's new lowered property tax rate, but he'd still have to pay about $2,000 more.
"I don't know for sure until the letters come out in September," Hoffman said.
He could sell, but Hoffman said he'd have to move to Nashville's outskirts.
"I feels like I am being forced out, you know, I love my city and yea it's hard, it's hard, it doesn't feel good," Hoffman said.
It's a tough feeling for someone who's watched all the change that surrounds him in the Nations neighborhood in West Nashville, where one of the biggest rezoning projects in the city passed just a week ago. It allows developers to build more apartments and townhomes.
In an area with so much growth, Hoffman wonders how he can afford to live in the community where he grew up.
While Hoffman wasn't eligible for the city's Property Tax Freeze program for seniors, there are ways to help you save your money.
A full list of the cities and counties that participate is available here.
Have you received a shocking property tax increase that's forcing you to consider leaving your longtime home? Share your story and let us know how rising property values are affecting your neighborhood. Watch the full video report above and email reporter Kim Rafferty at kim.rafferty@NewsChannel5.com with your experiences.
In this article, we used artificial intelligence to help us convert a video news report originally written by Kim Rafferty. When using this tool, both Kim and the NewsChannel 5 editorial team verified all the facts in the article to make sure it is fair and accurate before we published it. We care about your trust in us and where you get your news, and using this tool allows us to convert our news coverage into different formats so we can quickly reach you where you like to consume information. It also lets our journalists spend more time looking into your story ideas, listening to you and digging into the stories that matter.
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