Reassessment Reactions

As one of the three Appraisers selected to help city home owners appeal their tax reassessment, I have witnessed reactions from tears to fears. The common reaction that I have experienced is the confusion caused by the inconsistency of the mass Appraisal system mandated by the courts. This Appraisal, if you wish to call it that, is a very crude way of determining values. The system is more of a valuation " system" such as zillow, etc. The system is way too erroneous in distinguishing between distinct neighborhood lines and boundaries causing assessments to be misrepresented. This crude system resulted in the mess we see today.

I have been dealing mostly with home owners having the "sticker shock" reaction when opening up their reassessment. In these cases the home owners have contacted me to supply them with an Appraisal of true market value to fight their reassessment.  This process has produced the best results so far and the home owners have reached out to me to express this sentiment.

On the county side, the reaction has been mostly positive in regards to wanting to "get it right". If only the attitude was more proactive, this debacle could've been contained. I don't want to play Monday morning Quarterback so I will give the county credit in being receptive to hearing and accepting justified appeals. When appealing your assessment, the county is very receptive to a hearing when supplied with a certified Appraisal and believe the Appraisal to be the best indicator of the value of the home.

Every case is different and not all cases are extreme. Some assessments are spot on, and at the same time inconsistent with immediate comparable neighbors. But we will save that for another time. Take a look at your reassessment and without a doubt your reaction will be justified after measuring the numbers provided.

-Ryan
www.neveappraisals.com
412-979-1522