Flint’s water crisis may have even more ramifications, including causing property values to plummet. One Flint property owner already claimed poverty as a result of the costs of obtaining water and asked for the property value to be lowered in order to lower their tax bills. Even more significantly, appraised property values may drop precipitously as a result of jitters about the potability of the water. Furthermore, appraisals will be written with a disclosure that the appraised values are contingent on the home’s water meeting EPA standards. Homeowners who are considering selling are urged to retain any records of EPA testing. The entire episode unfortunately bodes ill for Flint and Genesee county, who are dependent on the revenues from property taxes to pay for many city and county services.
