Income Tax Rates

Often the Assessor's Office building records are not correct because the Assessor's Office is a mass appraisal organization and either the work was done too quickly, or the information changed or there was information that slipped through the cracks and was never processed. There could be any number of reasons for this, however the good news is that the solution is simple. For every house there is a building record on file which includes at least a diagram of the shell of the structure and a description.

Some Assessors Offices keep much more detailed records depending on their tools, work load and staff. However, all records for your house are for valuation purposes even though other real estate professionals use these records to verify property records. From the diagram the square footage of the building is calculated and the description will include the type of property, the use type, and any other information that may be relevant to the home and its value.

The Assessor's information is in reality is generally used by real estate professionals as official. Essentially, making sure your records are accurate will more than likely affect the value of your residence since the banks, buyers, sellers, etc. all use these records to confirm the structures on your property. The Assessor's records affect most real estate transactions despite the fact that the Assessor makes no representation of having information for anything other than assessment purposes.

If the information for your home are wrong, it easy to change and/or bring them up to date. Contact your county Assessor and your request will generate a public service request and ask to have the data updated. The public service request will be forwarded to an appraiser who will talk with you and/or make an appointment to possibly visit your property for measurements or find out from you over the phone what the differences are and then make the adjustments accordingly. Frequently, the Assessor's Office will use the information you give them over the phone for something simple such as a bedroom or bathroom count adjustment. Generally, this is very easy for the Assessor's Office to process. If there is some type of new contruction to your home that you constructed and has not been assessed yet, it may result in more propety taxes however, if the error is the Assessor's fault there is a statute of limitations so ask about this when you speak to them and make sure you document their response. Remember, there are many facets to assessments and you want to be covered should you be misinformed.

However, if the differences were there before you purchased the home then it is considered to be maintenance before transfer and since you purchased the home with the construction there, very likely no assessment would be added. The reason for this is because you paid for what you when you purchased the house and so there really has been no change in value as opposed to if you added to your house then there is an increase in the value. The Assessor's Office may ask for information pertaining to the permit or documentation as to what the property was when you received it such as the listing documentation however this will vary case to case. Often, the Assessor will go off of your word and will update the records accordingly. This is very common and a simple procedure, simply ask.

Remember as you think about requesting these changes and adjustments that the Assessor is usually not connected to your city. The Assessor needs truthful records so the assessments of your home are accurate. The Assessor usually doesn't care if what you have on your property is legal or not because even when not permitted it may add value to your property. The Assessor wants to keep an open channel of communication with the taxpayers so they generally don't get into the habit of reporting anything whether structure related or not. The Assessor's Office is not generally in the practice of telling the city what is or isn't on your property. When homeowners think of the Assessor or the City they often think these government entities as the same when they are usually totally seperate.

About the Author: Valerie Faltas, Property Tax Expert worked in assessments for over four years and assessed over 6,000 properties. Valerie is also a licensed appraiser, real estate investor and consultant. She left the Assessor to make information public she could not disclose while she worked there.