The Quill – June 2019

THE QUILL TIP:
Pro-rating Property Taxes

As those of you who practice in Mecklenburg County know, this year is a re-evaluation year for property taxes. Recently, the County Commissioners established the tax rate that will be used for this year’s Fiscal Year (which begins on July 1st).

The Fiscal Year 2020 Budget, adopted by the Board of County Commissioners on June 4, 2019, is $1.9 billion (an increase of nine percent over Fiscal Year 2019) with a tax rate of 61.69 cents (25 percent less than the current tax rate of 82.3 cents). Click HERE for more information about the Mecklenburg County 2020 Fiscal Year budget. This past Monday night, the City of Charlotte voted to approve a budget with a new rate of 34.81 cents per $100 or .3481.

When pro-rating taxes at your closings you may use the currently assessed value and the tax rates above to determine the property tax bill to be prorated for Mecklenburg County and City of Charlotte. This is true even though the tax bills may not technically be out yet.

Be mindful of the fact that there are roughly one-third of all tax appraisals being challenged in Mecklenburg County. Consequently, using a Tax Pro-ration agreement at closing is imperative. You can find a sample Tax Pro-ration Agreement on the forms tab of our new website.

For those of you not located in Mecklenburg County, I encourage you to use a Tax Pro-ration agreement at every closing regardless of whether or not you’re in a reevaluation year. That is particularly true for closings that take place before the tax bill is issued by the Taxing Authority. You can find a sample Tax Pro-ration Agreement on the forms tab of our website.

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Our Favorite Summer Vacation Spots

We polled a few of our staff members about their must-go summer vacation spots and here’s what they said:

Sal Balsamo: “We go to Hilton Head every year in August. My wife, daughter and our dog, Finn. We usually have family accompany us. At times, it has been my Father-in-Law and his wife, my sister and her family or Zoe’s step-siblings. We have rented the same house for 10 years, so while it does not belong to us, it feels like home. We start out the week by doing our grocery shopping and having dinner at the same restaurant. We end the week with dinner at a different restaurant. I get up every morning and run our cart out to the beach and set up our tent. We spend all day on the beach and then watch movies or play games at night. Once a week, we take a blanket out to the beach and look at the stars. The sameness of the week, year in and year out, is so fulfilling and incredibly relaxing. It’s my favorite time of the year.”

Maria & Lee Houghton: “Our favorite summer vacation destination is Holden Beach! We absolutely love it there. There’s nothing like the ocean breeze and sand between your toes!

Christine Bruns: “Our family takes a trip to the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas every summer.”

Landis Sinnett: “My favorite spot is Emerald Isle with my parents & kids. We love the beach, but the aquarium is very cool and with the dinosaurs that move!”

Candice Mott: “Our summer would not be complete without sitting on the lacrosse field for tournaments in the sweltering heat.” 🙂

Summer Hogan: “We spend at least a few weekends at my parents place at Ocean Isle Beach but Charleston and Sullivan’s Island is a close second!”

Christine’s Guacamole

This is a recipe from our 2017 Barrister’s Summer Recipe Book and we thought it would be the perfect summer recipe to share!

Ingredients:
3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded & peeled
1 lime, juiced
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 jalapeño, seeded & minced
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded & diced
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced

Instructions:
In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. After all of the avocados have been coated, drain and reserve the lime juice. Using a potato masher add the salt, cumin and cayenne and mash. Then, fold in the onions, tomatoes, cilantro and garlic. Add 1 tbsp of the reserved lime juice. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve.

Personal Notes:
This is my go-to guacamole recipe! One big shortcut instead of buying all of the onions, tomatoes, jalapeños and cilantro and chopping them up is to buy the Fresh Salsa at Harris Teeter and use that instead. SO EASY!!! Serve with chips and carrot sticks.

If you don’t have a recipe book and would like one, please send an email toSummer and we’ll send you a copy. First come, first served.

The Quill Riddle?

You walk into a room with a rabbit holding a carrot, a pig eating slop, and a chimp holding a banana. Which animal in the room is the smartest?

E-mail Summer with your guess! The first to guess the answer will win a prize.

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