Do You Know Your Home’s Assessed Value?

Why does it matter?
Your home’s assessed value is the number by which your town calculates your property taxes. The assessor’s office uses a variety of objective and subjective measures to come up with that value. And it is susceptible to errors, lags and omissions. Realtors and bank appraisers know that assessed value is only one piece of information that should be used when determining the actual market value of a home.

You Mean My Assessed Value Isn't Accurate?
Your town’s assessor’s office has to keep track of every single piece of property in your town; improvements that were made, damage that was incurred, changes in use or zoning, sales that transpire, market fluctuations, etc. It’s not a perfect science. A few of the disparities I have seen:

• A 4-bedroom, 3-bath property is currently listed as having only 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and about 500 fewer square feet of living space than what was actually there. This homeowner has effectively enjoyed a 10-year tax break.
• An unbuildable lot was assessed as if it were buildable. For almost 3 decades this homeowner had been paying close to 10 times the amount of tax that they should have been.
• With my own home it took the assessor’s office a year to catch up with an addition and new garage that we added. That was just fine with us.
• Certain land values in part of one town recently sprang up by 40% (while most values uniformly have been declining in the past 2 years). When I checked with the town they told me that the increase was initiated by the state but couldn't explain why.

For the town, these discrepancies all probably come out to a wash. But, as you can see, for the individual homeowner the consequences can be significant.

How do I find my home’s Assessed Value?
Assessed values are public record, and most towns put their database online. Google the words ‘online assessor’s database’ and your town name. Depending on the town you can search by name, address, map and parcel number, etc.
What comes up is called the Field Card. Inspect it carefully. Check the footprint sketch and measurements that are shown, the number of rooms and bedrooms, square footage, etc. There should also be record of any improvements you made for which a permit was issued.

What if I find an error?
If you find that the town has overvalued your property and is thus overcharging you for taxes, you can apply for an abatement. You can also ask for a reassessment if the town has undervalued your property. A possible reassessment scenario would be a homeowner who is trying to justify a high asking price on their home. However, this reassessment could result in higher than expect taxes for a prospective buyer (or the homeowner if they don't sell). Most folks just let sleeping dogs lie.
Monitoring your property’s Assessed Value is a lot like monitoring your credit score. It can have a big impact on your finances. The system works pretty well most of the time, but at the end of the day it’s run by human beings just being human. Nobody is more invested in its accuracy than you so it is your responsibility to keep the records straight.