Around the first of May of every odd-numbered year, the county assessors’ offices send out notices of valuation that are used to calculate your property taxes.  The valuation is based on a comparison of recent sales of properties similar to your property by location, age, size and design.  Unless you protest, the valuation will be used to determine your taxes next year.

While the real estate market has been robust and you should expect your valuation to have gone up, the algorithm isn’t infallible.  If you feel your valuation is too high, you can go to your county assessor’s website to be sure the information about your home is accurate and to see which properties were used to arrive at your home’s value.  Also, disabled vets and seniors may be eligible for exemptions, so if you fall into either of these categories, make sure you receive the credit.

If you decide to appeal, you must submit your written explanation why you believe the valuation is wrong before the end of May and it’s best to do so early because the last few days of the appeal period are often very busy.

You’ll have a much easier time reducing your valuation if you can point to an error in your property record.  It’s much more difficult to convince the assessor that they overvalued your home by mistake.

The appeal process can be time consuming, so a couple thousand dollars might not be worth the fight.  And you need concrete information to justify your appeal, not just a gut-feel that the valuation is too high.  You might consider hiring an appraiser to give a professional opinion of value but you may spend more on it than you’ll save in taxes.  Unfortunately, a Realtor’s market analysis isn’t as readily considered as an official appraisal. 

If you need help, don’t hesitate to contact Tupper’s Team.  While we can’t represent you in appealing your valuation, we can give you an idea about whether it is too high above market value to justify moving forward with the appeal.