Robust county tax collections have been accompanied by shortfalls in state funding, local officials say. Unlike Maryland, where assessments have also risen steeply, Virginia does not allow local governments to impose their own income taxes or to cap assessment increases. Counties have become increasingly dependent on real estate levies, especially taxes on residential properties.
The building that David Larrea's real estate agent led him to five years ago is home to some of the clearest entry-level winners in Arlington's housing sweepstakes. It's also home to many who have missed out.
Cathy Laakso of Loudoun paints home murals to earn money to cover her mortgage and taxes. "It means I have to paint a lot of walls," she says.
(Jahi Chikwendiu -- The Washington Post)
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Larrea worked at the Bolivian statistical bureau and was a drummer for a band called Chispa Tropical (Tropical Spark) before moving his family to the United States and renting an apartment near Falls Church.
Now he shampoos carpets and buffs floors and hopes to build a business with a few employees. His wife, Jeanneth, who was trained as an accountant, works as a housekeeper in the District.
Their oldest, David, is studying management and finance at George Mason and regularly monitors the Arlington assessor's Web site to see the latest uptick in the home's value.
"Not even the best mutual funds will see these returns over a five-year period," said the younger Larrea, 23, who has also begun working with a home mortgage firm and plans to provide volunteer Spanish language counseling on financial basics after graduation this spring.
"When we used to live back in Bolivia, our dreams, our hopes to even own a car were not really going to happen. Then my dad had the idea of going to the States," said Luis Larrea, 20, the other son, who is studying filmmaking. "Owning a house like the one we own now is something we didn't even think about back then."
His father said he is not tempted to sell the best investment he has ever made, at least not now. But he hopes to eventually have the space for a recording studio and a place for the variety of plants he used to keep at his home in La Paz.
An tiny, ailing house plant he found along the street just before moving into his new home is now butting against the ceiling of his refurbished living room.
On the floor above is a neighbor who missed the ownership window.
Sinuon Tang has been renting his one-bedroom unit for 15 years and is now paying $1,100 a month, a rent very likely to rise, if only to cover his landlord's higher taxes.
Tang, 69, a taxi driver who has been robbed twice, fled Cambodia after living under the communist Khmer Rouge. He walks with a limp, the legacy of an accident he had while being forced to drag a heavy cart in Cambodia.
The Larreas' path is unattainable for him, he said. "I only just make a living. I can't afford to buy," he said.
Tomorrow: How rising assessments are affecting the residents of one neighborhood.
