Real Estate Taxes: Finding Assessment Loopholes
Many times when blanket assessments are done on homes, the resulting values are inaccurate and a result of a ”quick fix” mentality. Often adjustments are made using a factor or multiplier to adjust values. Not that a blanket reappraisals accuracy is much better, because it also suffers from lack of diligence to detail.
Appraisal companies bid for the blanket reappraisal contract for a community. The low bid wins the contract. Ask yourself if the bid allocation was $35 per home, how much time could be spent on that appraisal? Consider the appraiser has to make a profit for his effort further reducing the time allotment to appraise. Often college kids or those with little appraisal experience are employed.
What we are saying is that errors abound in the blanket real estate tax appraisal of properties. If the blanket appraisal company or town uses multipliers, there is no way that you can take those bad initial assessment numbers and turn them into accurate numbers by multiplying them by another figure.
An inexpensive fix for the town could come about if building inspectors and the tax department communicated closely by working together. If the building inspector passed on information to the assessor, there would be no need for blanket re-assessments. New homes sold need only be equalized with the previous blanket assessment. If an addition or home improvement took place, the added value could be passed on to the tax assessor. If the building department and tax department worked efficiently, there would be no need for blanket reassessments.
The department of the tax assessor is usually small and little time is available for the assessor. Rarely do they appraise a home personally. The tax assessor job is often a politically appointed position. Tax assessors do not take the time and are not generally trained to do a complete market appraisal of a home. Often they use a completely different method (cost method) of appraising a home.
Selling prices of homes are constantly changing. When appealing your property taxes, only market value holds weight. Your home must equal the current selling price of other comparable home in your area.
A huge amount of money is spent on blanket municipal appraisals. Sure they may catch the occasional patio or shed built without a permit, but that does not warrant the extra appraisal cost.
Blanket reassessments are opportunities for appeal because of the high error rate. Homeowners need to do a simple analysis to determine if their home’s market value is in line with the assessed value assigned to their home.
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