Property Tax Notice (sales, new house, live in)

[El Passeaux]

Just got mine yesterday and the value they are assessing on the house is a good 15K more than what I could sell it for. I saw on the back of the card how to protest. Is this normal for the State to do or is there a formula on how they got to the assessment value. It was a new house in 2011. I dont know if that is a factor.

[BirdieBelle]

Is it from your city or county? The state doesn't send out property tax notices. What county do you live in?

How do you know it's more than you could sell it for? Are there environmental concerns nearby that would affect your property value, such as a flood plain or interstate?

[cantsleepclownwilleatme]

To expand on Wmsn4life's great reply --

You could validate your thoughts on the value of your house by using online tools such as Zillow.com and Realtor.com, which can be used to show recent sales of comparable properties in your area. If you see a trend in the sale prices that back-up your ideas on your home's value (see Wmsn4life's post), print those results out and present them as part of your tax protest.

I've done this with a fair amount of success over the years.

[El Passeaux]

Thanks for the info. it was from Sumner Co. I asked my realtor and she said I could try but it wont drop much if they do. They had my house at about 106/sq ft which is a little high or wishful thinking if I were to sell.

[septimus]

I got my assessment last year and it went up significantly but still less than what we paid. However, the house next door to me at the time was on the market for $150k less than what we had paid for ours and is bigger according to the listing. I called the assessor's office, talked to someone over there and pointed out the listing for the house next door. I got a new appraisal card in the mail and they dropped the appraisal amount $90k and so it only went up $10k from the 2006 appraisal.

It is worth making the call.

[BirdieBelle]

Originally Posted by El Passeaux

Thanks for the info. it was from Sumner Co. I asked my realtor and she said I could try but it wont drop much if they do. They had my house at about 106/sq ft which is a little high or wishful thinking if I were to sell.

You need to try to let them know by June 1, when they finalize the assessment.
Equalization Board Convenes June 1

Sumner has had quite a bit of growth, so it may be accurate. But I agree that it's worth the call. Mine came out way higher than I thought. I called and told them that we were partially in a flood plain, which they somehow missed, and they lowered it $25,000.