Assessed value -cost of construction

[jdirgo]

"Assessed value" is supposed to be based on a fair-market value adjusted for things like age, effective age (I have an 84 year old house whose "effective age" is only 20 per the county because of remodeling work done). It is not an exact science by any means.

Also, be aware that in the County of Hawaii, "owner-occupied" properties are limited to a 3% or less increase in accessed value each year. So, even if property values in the neighborhood have doubled in the last 5 years (using a mathematically simple example), you may have a rental property assessed at $300,000 with an identical "owner-occupied" house next door only assessed at somewhere in the area of $175,000.

The only time the assessed value should be considered is when you get your tax bill. Review it then, try to learn what similar properties in the area have actually sold for, and if the County is way off base on your assessed value, file an appeal. If the assessed value on the bill is a reasonable market value or below that, happily pay the bill and move on. Be sure you are getting the proper property tax exemptions if you're living in the house (file for those if you are not) and otherwise ignore assessed value.

John Dirgo, R, ABR, e-PRO
Aloha Coast Realty, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.alohacoastrealty.com