Assessed Value: How To Fight It If You Don’t Agree - part 4 of 4
Your New Assessment just arrived in the mail. You tear open the envelope and read the numbers…everyone has a different reaction to that number. If you are not moving soon, you want the number as low as possible. If you are moving soon, you don’t mind if the numbers went up some.
But what do you do if you disagree and want to protest the new number?
- Carefully read the instructions for protesting that came along with the numbers. Follow those instructions exactly for best results.
- Circle the deadline date and get to work gathering data.
Where do you get the information to protest? The municipality will have some dates for “open books”. Those are days when the assessors make all assessment books available for your review.
FIRST, be sure the information on your home is correct. Does the record have the same square footage as your building plans? If you added or changed your original plan, those numbers could differ. Is the room count correct?
SECOND, look up properties similar to yours and compare. Use that information when your review comes up.
THIRD, if you have a recent appraisal from a purchase or refinance, bring that along if it supports your claim.
FOURTH, if you need more sale information on your neighborhood, look around and see whose name is on the for sale sign. Probably one or two names will come up more than once. Call that agent, they can do a neighborhood search and mail you comparables to help you win your battle with the assessor.
One important thing to remember, just because your assessment goes up (or down) does not necessarily mean your taxes will do the same. It will all depend on the tax levy at the end of the year. According to the State of WI: “If the total levy remains the same, only those properties that are not presently paying their fair share of the tax burden will pay more taxes after a revaluation. Properties presently paying more than their fair share will pay less.”
Posted by:
Pat Tasker
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