Property Taxes - Contesting Home Assessment

[dottyblue]

I received the property assessment for our home as part of our local government's regular re-evaluation/increase.  The assessor's summary was that residential assessment values in town increased on average 21%, but my home increased at 28%.  We have done no special work or improvements on our home in the 6 years we have owned it.  I'm currently looking up other, similar properties in our area to see what their assessment/increase is.

Does anyone have advice or resources on contesting property assessments?  It's foolish to not contest it, right?

[laurenh]

When we went through this with a similar assessment increase our town had a series of dates that you could meet with the assessor to discuss why you didn't agree with their assessment and ensure they had accurate information, then they'd review everything and send a letter with their initial decision.

We had only been in our home for 2 years at the time and we paid to have a private assessment done and then presented that to the town. It was a few hundred dollars but it was well worth it because it brought their numbers down to a much more realistic point. They also had incorrect information on file, such as us having a finished basement and updated kitchen and the pictures from the assessment clearly showed that wasn't the case.

[simpsongal]

This is an incredibly local/jurisdiction specific issue. In my area, the appeals process is very difficult and they basically discourage challenges by advising homeowners the assessment may go up further if it's challenged. But I know some jurisdictions have property values assessed far below actual market value.

I'd probably try to reach out to neighbors and maybe a soft call to the assessors office to see what you're up against.

[dottyblue]

Nov 3, 2021 10:53:37 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

This is an incredibly local/jurisdiction specific issue. In my area, the appeals process is very difficult and they basically discourage challenges by advising homeowners the assessment may go up further if it's challenged. But I know some jurisdictions have property values assessed far below actual market value.

I'd probably try to reach out to neighbors and maybe a soft call to the assessors office to see what you're up against.

I have in writing from the assessor's office that the assessment will never go up if contested, and they make it easy to schedule an appointment to contest it, so I suspect my area is a bit more forgiving than what you are familiar with.  Definitely speaking with neighbors!  Thanks

[jwright]

Nov 3, 2021 10:00:27 GMT -5 dottyblue said:

I received the property assessment for our home as part of our local government's regular re-evaluation/increase.  The assessor's summary was that residential assessment values in town increased on average 21%, but my home increased at 28%.  We have done no special work or improvements on our home in the 6 years we have owned it.  I'm currently looking up other, similar properties in our area to see what their assessment/increase is.

Does anyone have advice or resources on contesting property assessments?  It's foolish to not contest it, right?

In our area, you can make your case in writing using research and comparative sales to offer a new assessment amount. The county reviews your case and may agree with it. If they do not agree, they will order an appraiser to complete an appraisal report on the house at your cost and that amount will be used no matter what.

My CPA firm actually successfully worked through a lot of these around 2008. It was an easier set of circumstances because prices were decreasing so the comparables were favorable to support a lower assessment.

Do your research. Property values have been skyrocketing in a lot of areas even with no improvements to the properties.

[ohgillian]

Nov 3, 2021 10:00:27 GMT -5 dottyblue said:

I received the property assessment for our home as part of our local government's regular re-evaluation/increase.  The assessor's summary was that residential assessment values in town increased on average 21%, but my home increased at 28%.  We have done no special work or improvements on our home in the 6 years we have owned it.  I'm currently looking up other, similar properties in our area to see what their assessment/increase is.

Does anyone have advice or resources on contesting property assessments?  It's foolish to not contest it, right?

I don't know if this was rhetorical, lol, but it's not foolish to let it lie. I'm not saying assessors are always right, at all, but a lot of math and statistics go into their assessed values, so unless you think they have some incorrect information about your property, I don't think I'd bother going thru an appeal. (I say that as someone whose value went up more than the average at the last reval.)

[mainelyfoolish]

If your property tax card has inaccurate information about your home, certainly bring that to the attention of the assessor. If you’re just questioning how your value went up more than average, start with a call to the assessor’s office and ask if someone can explain it to you.

The assessor in my town tells people that what ultimately matters is not the specific details on the property (like if it’s called a ranch or a colonial, or if the condition is listed as Average or Average + 10, etc.) but is the valuation fair. If you compare the assessed value of your house to similar homes, is it in line with their assessments?

[dr.girlfriend]

They recently reassessed our area and how to contest was a hot topic on Nextdoor, with lots of area-specific details about how to contest and whether people were successful or not. Might be worth checking into local groups like Facebook pages for your city/county/township, Nextdoor, etc. :-)

[k3am]

We contested ours a few years ago. Comps in the neighborhood were going for less than we paid, we had an appraisal showing a $200k drop from what we purchased for, but for some reason, our assessment was for more than we purchased for. We had our realtor pull comps and sent the county a copy of the appraisal. They ended up reassessing at even lower than our appraisal, which was nice.