I just opened my reassessment notice from Henrico County. The assessment of my house is 13.5 percent higher than it was last year!

It is not a grand or fancy house. Just a brick Cape Cod with about 1,300 sq.ft, built in 1955.

It is not the house; it is the neighborhood. Houses stay on the market only a few days and there are almost several offers, many above the listing price. The house next to me sold last year for almost half a million dollars. It too is a brick Cape Cod, but it has a family room addition that mine does not have and it has been extensively renovated inside. In addition, it has a detached garage. None of that applies to me. Nevertheless, that selling price undoubtedly had an effect on my assessment.

If my house could sell for what the county says it is worth, I understand why so many people are having trouble finding something they can afford.