As many of us are receiving our tax assessments in the mail in anticipation for the next property tax installment, we are seeing assessed values that may not make sense. The truth is that the tax value of a property is not always accurate. It can sometimes be too high and it can sometimes be too low. In many areas, county tax assessors reassess tax values every certain number of years. The value is also reassessed upon the conveyance of the property.
If homeowners feel their home’s assessed value seems too high and they want to challenge the amount of taxes they pay based on the seemingly inaccurate tax value, they can appeal to the county board of review for a re-evaluation. The appeals process involves submitting an application explaining the reasons for requesting a review – along with sufficient documentation demonstrating a closer depiction of the perceived value.
How is Actual Value of a Home Determined?
Since in many cases the assessed value of a property appears to be less than the purchase price when a home is sold, some people are misinformed in thinking that an assessed value is exactly half of the purchase price.
The actual value of a home is not based at all on the assessed value. Neither is a property’s worth valued based on a recent appraisal. Though it may seem ideal, actual property values (in other words, what buyers would likely be willing to pay) are not determined by the seller’s needs or wants. Equally, a property cannot be valued simply based on someone’s opinion of what it should be valued.
A home’s value will largely be based on the sold prices of other like kind properties in the same neighborhood or vicinity – and those that were sold in the same (current) market. Most tax appeals require documentation showing sales figures from recently sold properties of only in the past 6 months or so. Anything further out than that is construed as being in different market conditions.
~
If you want to find out exactly what your home’s value is and how much a buyer would be willing to pay for it today – contact us today. We will put our over 30 years of experience to use and conduct an analysis of comparable sales. Looking at other homes that have sold in your area, we should be able to pretty closely determine your home’s worth today.
