          
          
          
                           Comparing Properties
               You also want to look at your neighbors' property
          cards.  That's because assessments must be fair or
          equal between similar properties.  If your neighbors
          have similar homes but lower assessments, you have
          grounds for an appeal.  And don't limit yourself to
          just neighbors.  If there is a substantially similar
          neighborhood, with similar values, in a different part
          of town, look at how they are being taxed.  Assessments
          must be fair across the entire taxing district --
          usually a city or county.  While it is easier to make a
          case of unfair assessment based on comparisons with
          properties in the same neighborhood, it is not
          impossible to establish that the entire neighborhood is
          being assessed differently than a very similar
          neighborhood elsewhere.  This is usually more of a job
          for a neighborhood taxpayer's association than for an
          individual, or you may want to organize a group if your
          preliminary research indicates that such imbalanced
          assessment patterns exist.
          
               However, the fastest and easiest rewards will come
          just from checking for errors on your own assessment
          card.  These are generally the simplest to correct as
          well.  The assessor's office will usually informally
          and readily correct an obvious error -- they don't need
          or want a fight over some stupidity such as an
          incorrect measurement or a swimming pool taxed on the
          wrong lot.  This type of error can usually be cleared
          up in an informal discussion accompanied by appropriate
          proof such as photos, a current appraiser's report, or
          a copy of the latest survey.  
          
               After examining the cards, be sure that your
          assessment is not illegally high.  The market value
          should be properly determined, and the assessment value
          also must be correctly computed.  Then the tax rate
          must be correctly applied to the assessed value. 
          
               When residential properties are involved, you
          generally determine market value by examining the value
          of comparable properties.  Recent sales prices of
          similar homes or even asking prices of similar houses
          are acceptable in most areas.  The properties must be
          in the same general area, about the same age, the same
          design, and have improvements that are similar to
          yours.  Owners, real estate agents, mortgage lenders,
          or even the assessor's property cards can lead you to
          comparable properties.  Many newspapers now publish the
          terms of recent home sales, so this can be a good
          source.  You might also check the deed transfer records
          at the local courthouse.  The assessor's office may
          even have a public file of recent sales information.
          
               Drive-by assessments are another danger.  The
          assessor may simply drive slowly down the street
          looking for obvious changes like a new room.  A new
          brick chimney may mean an assessment for a fireplace
          added to your property, when all you actually did was
          put some bricks around that ugly dryer vent.  These are
          the things that you only learn about by checking your
          property card.  And if the assessed valuation goes up
          the next year, for anything other than inflation, check
          it again, to prevent this type of assumed assessment.  
          
               In areas where assessments are made from building
          permit files, errors can slip in because of changes in
          the plan.  The garage was never added after the permit
          was obtained, or the fireplace in the original
          construction plans was never actually built, but nobody
          bothered to amend the record at the building
          department.  This might have been several owners back,
          and without checking the property card you have no way
          of knowing.
          
               The larger number of comparable properties on your
          list the better.  What you need to establish is that
          your property is out of line with assessments generally
          in the same taxing district.  Showing that it is out of
          line with two or three neighboring properties may
          establish nothing except that they are erroneously
          assessed.  Before you use a property as a comparable,
          at least drive by and look at it, and compare what you
          see to the listing card.  You will look very foolish if
          you argue that a similar property is being taxed $500
          less, only to discover that their property card was
          never updated after they installed a swimming pool or
          built an addition several years ago.  It happens all
          the time, especially in localities where physical
          assessments do not occur frequently.
          
               The key word here is comparable.  The properties
          don't have to be identical.  They may not even appear
          similar to a layman.  The assessor (or any appraiser
          doing an appraisal for any purpose) starts with
          substantially similar properties and then adds or
          subtracts amounts for such differences as a swimming
          pool, a fireplace, a set of power lines overhead, etc. 
          Many assessor's offices, particularly larger ones, may
          have an official manual for calculating comparables --
          for example add $1000 for a fireplace or subtract $5000
          for no garage.  They may let you consult the manual or
          even copy it.  
          
               Recent sales are most often used for comparable
          properties, on the assumption that they are the best
          indicator of true market value.  This argument works as
          well for you as it does for the tax assessor.
          
          
          
