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pmrk’s journal

House Assessment Challenge

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I'm preparing my case to fight out recent house assessment.

I will be taking photos of the exterior of our house, it needs a paint job terribly. I will be taking using photos of our kitchen and bathroom that show they have not been updated, well the bathroom was updated in the 50's but it's crazy.

Our bathroom is pink and baby blue including a baby blue tub and sink.

I am also going to look at the sale data for the house next door as our houses are planned out the same way and roughly the same square footage.

I have an email into my neighbors who are also fighting the assessment on their home.
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💬 6 comments

  1. matthew ·

    I have a friend in my neighborhood who has fought the increase on two seperate occasions. The first time she brought in pictures of her homes "weak spots", ie: needed roof repair, old bathrooms, old plumbing, ect. It didn't work. The next time she fought it she skipped the pictures and just brought data and numbers comparing her property's assessed value to the others in her neighborhood, and what the current selling prices were. It worked. I don't know if this is the norm but, in her opinion, the city is more likely to side with you if you use facts and figures. I don't know if this helps your situation, but good luck either way!!

  2. pmrk ·

    that is crazy that the photos didn't work since the city specifically asks for them on the forms you have to fill out! Guess we'll go with sale data and photos as backup.

  3. matthew ·

    Well like I said, that was just her opinion. Its probably a safe bet to just bring as much information (pictures and data) as you can.

  4. pmrk ·

    it's not like the city it known for its make sense decisions. :-)

  5. janelle ·

    I'm using photos of my house and my neighbors homes that need repair. My neighbors across the street have won several times in the past using that strategy but I also think they compare sales prices of recent sales to their assessment. It's hard for me to compare to recent sales because we were the last house sold on our street. Who knows how the city makes these decisions...go figure.

    I'm also using the inspection report from less than two years ago documenting some of the repairs that are needed. I even have an estimate on replacing the 28 year old furnace from the inspector.

  6. metalpeter ·

    I wish you luck. I have no advise since I don't have a home. I do know others who have tried to fight like you are. In some cases the value of a house does go up, the value of a house isn't really what it is worth it is how much someone would pay for it. Cities and towns often raise the value of peoples houses because it means they have to pay more taxes, and this is true for most of the time. I wish you luck with your battle.

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