07-14-2009, 03:30 PM
We went through our appeal today. We were the only ones who showed up in person for our hearing. Others were being handled through the documentation submitted only.
The assessor came prepared with a big drop in our assessment from the prior assessment, but not as far as we had asked it to be dropped, and still far above what we actually paid for it. He pretty much threw out any comps that were foreclosures and tried to claim that foreclosures are a rare statistical aberration that shouldn't be included when determining value. I responded that foreclosures were currently driving the market and shouldn't be ignored. He also used a high $ per square foot valuation based in part on replacement costs, which I think is just wrong, but I didn't have the documentation to back up my point.
The board voted to reassess our home at the level the assessor brought to the table. We will be back next year with better comps, better pictures, and better documentation of the number and percentage of the closed sales that are foreclosures. Currently the house next to ours is sitting on the market for $20,000 less than we paid for ours, and $75,000 less than our new tax appraisal, and it is comparable to ours in terms of age, condition, and size. If it sells this year we will use it as a comp, and use the lot two over from ours that just sold for 1/2 the valuation of our lot, with way more supporting evidence than we had this time. We relied heavily on the appraisal we had done for our mortgage and he dismissed that as being cooked numbers for the lender. He also incorrectly claimed that ours was a private loan when we were going through a broker and have a mortgage through a large bank.
The assessor knew before the hearing what we were asking for, and he met us part way. He would not have done that had we not appealed, but I don't think anyone gets what they are asking for. It seems like the process is people get their tax bill and appeal, the assessor drops the valuation some, the board votes in whatever the assessor has come up with. One of the panel members really wanted to know if we knew the assessor had dropped our valuation, and if we would have filed an appeal if we had known. The panel rotates so you may have a completely different panel and different experience.
Carol
The assessor came prepared with a big drop in our assessment from the prior assessment, but not as far as we had asked it to be dropped, and still far above what we actually paid for it. He pretty much threw out any comps that were foreclosures and tried to claim that foreclosures are a rare statistical aberration that shouldn't be included when determining value. I responded that foreclosures were currently driving the market and shouldn't be ignored. He also used a high $ per square foot valuation based in part on replacement costs, which I think is just wrong, but I didn't have the documentation to back up my point.
The board voted to reassess our home at the level the assessor brought to the table. We will be back next year with better comps, better pictures, and better documentation of the number and percentage of the closed sales that are foreclosures. Currently the house next to ours is sitting on the market for $20,000 less than we paid for ours, and $75,000 less than our new tax appraisal, and it is comparable to ours in terms of age, condition, and size. If it sells this year we will use it as a comp, and use the lot two over from ours that just sold for 1/2 the valuation of our lot, with way more supporting evidence than we had this time. We relied heavily on the appraisal we had done for our mortgage and he dismissed that as being cooked numbers for the lender. He also incorrectly claimed that ours was a private loan when we were going through a broker and have a mortgage through a large bank.
The assessor knew before the hearing what we were asking for, and he met us part way. He would not have done that had we not appealed, but I don't think anyone gets what they are asking for. It seems like the process is people get their tax bill and appeal, the assessor drops the valuation some, the board votes in whatever the assessor has come up with. One of the panel members really wanted to know if we knew the assessor had dropped our valuation, and if we would have filed an appeal if we had known. The panel rotates so you may have a completely different panel and different experience.
Carol
Carol
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb
Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Polish Proverb