COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Cleaning up after a devastating storm can be exhausting, and even overwhelming. That’s the situation many across central Ohio find themselves in after a severe storm brought multiple tornadoes to the region early Wednesday.
“I’ve seen stuff I’ve never seen before. It was probably the worst storm I’ve ever witnessed,” said John Tomer, senior project manager for Quality Builders of Ohio.
Tomer has experience with the cleanup efforts and rebuilding efforts that come along with severe weather.
“It puts fear in homeowners’ eyes and what that does for us is it puts a sense of urgency in and normally, after storms like last night, they’re super devastated and you feel bad for the homeowners having to go through that,” he said. “So, you just try to make the next steps moving forward as easy as possible for them.”
There is one potential silver lining for those tasked with rebuilding a roof, replacing siding, or finding a whole new home to live in.
“If there was total demolition or uninhabitable, you very well could be seeing a huge reduction in those property taxes,” Michael Stinziano, Franklin County Auditor, said.
Stinziano said this is an opportunity that many people aren’t aware of, especially when it comes to rebuilding after a tornado or other severe weather event, and it can significantly reduce a homeowner’s property tax burden while they rebuild.
“So, say a tornado came today, your property is no longer habitable, that would be a candidate for 100% reduction,” he said. “A lot of property owners don’t realize they have that opportunity. Even when there isn’t a weather event and say they were going to demolish a property when I talked to them they don’t realize it’s as simple as talking to our office, letting us know what’s going on.”
It’s not unique to Franklin County either.
“This is required under state of Ohio law. So, any property owner in any county has the opportunity to fill out the form. It’s called a DTE-26,” Stinziano said.
Homeowners have until Dec. 31 to complete an application through the auditor’s office that could save them thousands of dollars on property taxes for 2023. The best way to find out if you qualify is to contact the auditor’s office and fill out this form.
