Posted by Angela Errion on October 04, 1999 at 07:54:17:
What is the best way to determine is an assessment is fair? What is the best way to “fight” an assessment to get it fair?
Our home is very old and things like the plaster are covered and look okay to look at, but they are covered because they are not in good repair. I assume this kind of thing is not worth as much as a home with good plaster walls that aren’t covered with ceiling tiles to hide poor plaster, etc. The mortar is “decaying” which again should bring down the value, but it appears the home gets treated like it is in good condition and will last and last.
Watch out for those property assessors. Many times their assessed values are not even close to what the true FMV is. I bought a duplex a few years back and quickly found out that the property assessors office was valuing it as two single-family houses instead of one duplex. Once I told them the error, they went out and verified it was a duplex and then devalued the assessment by $20,000. Knocked about $600 a year off my tax bill so I can’t complain.
Market value is not DETERMINED through assessment OR appraisal. Appraisers simply ESTIMATE market value?..and in some cases can have widely different opinions.
Market value is determined through an arms length transaction between a willing buyer and seller. You can ESTIMATE the market value of a property by looking at a variety of recent transactions in properties of a similar size and type, and in the same area as the subject property.
Re: IS ASSESSMENT the Same as APPRAISEL? - Posted by AJ - Oklahoma
Posted by AJ - Oklahoma on March 19, 1999 at 10:11:25:
Hi John,
No.
The “Market Value” you see on the assessor’s records is the assessor’s evaluation of the value of the home. It is often close to the FMV as determined during an appraisal but can be higher or lower than what the market will actually bear.
The reason you see two values on Oklahoma County records is because by law the assessor can not increase his valuation of a piece of property for tax purposes more than 5% - this equates to the “Taxable Value” to which the millage rate is applied. Only when the property is sold or it is re-assessed due to improvements can the “Taxable Value” be increased more than 5%. The “Market Value” on these records often is higher than the “Taxable Value” becuase the assessor has determined that the property has increased in value, but by law he can only tax the owner at a value 5% higher than the previous assessment.
I tend to like this fairly recent law since in years past the assessor liked to increase my home’s value by as much as 12%. This year he decided my home was worth 9.4% more than last year. But my 1999 property taxes can only be calculated on a value 5% higher than last year.
Assessed, also called “tax assessed value”, is the value the taxing authority uses to charge property taxes at the end of the year. They multiply this amount by a “millage” rate (percentage) to determine how much tax you will pay. This value is usually lower than the Fair Market Value. In my area, a rule of thumb is that tax assessed value is about 20% below fair market value. (Beware of rules of thumb, though…)
Appraised value is the value as determined by an appraiser or real estate broker, based on other sales in the area and the size of the home and the condition of the home compared to these other homes. This is the Fair Market Value of the home, or the amount you will normally be able to sell the home for within a reasonable period of time (3-6 months in my area).
NO NO NO, The assessment by the county is just that. FMV or Appraised value differs by location. Get to know the area of interest and you will get a feel for what FMV will be for a given property
Pat