My friend and former client emailed me yesterday concerned that her property assessed value is much too high. She wondered if I could help her appeal it. With the bills for property taxes arriving, that's a question lots of folks are asking.
My friend's simple question has sent me on a short but fascinating journey into the web pages and pdf forms of the Kitsap County Assessor's office.
Here's what I've learned:
One, the state has charged the counties to assess your property at 100% of market value.
Two, the assessment for your property was done last year. You pay taxes in 2009 on the 2008 assessment made before the notices go out in June of 2008.
Here's the kicker: Three, The 2008 assessment value is based on sales closed in 2007!
Your assessment and the subsequent tax payment lags behind the market by two years. You're sitting in your house or condominium watching prices drop around you, and you get your tax bill. "No way, Martha," you say, "could we sell this place today for what they say it's worth." Maybe you could and maybe you couldn't, but that doesn't really matter. The issue is, what could you have sold it for in 2007 (at the height of our market)?
The two year lag served us well in times of rising prices. Now, not so much.
Here's the final kicker--in the pants, that is. The time for appealing your assessment is long past. You are allowed 60 days after the Notice of Value was sent out in June 2008--August 2008 was the deadline.
If you feel your assessment is terribly out of line, take a look at the Notice of Value you'll get this coming June. Anyone can go to the county assessor's web page: http://www.kitsapgov.com/assr/appeal/appeals.htm to find all the information you need to begin the appeal process next year. There's a link under "Sales" to all the recorded sales in specific areas and for different types of properties on Bainbridge Island (and the rest of Kitsap County.) Keep in mind that appeals for your 2009 assessment will need to cite comparable properties that sold in 2008.
My guess is that properties that are reassessed in value next year will see a drop, because we've seen a drop in the prices for the last eighteen months.
If you would like help compiling sold data to mount an appeal this summer, I'd be happy to be of assistance. Just give me a call or drop me an email.
My friend's simple question has sent me on a short but fascinating journey into the web pages and pdf forms of the Kitsap County Assessor's office.
Here's what I've learned:
One, the state has charged the counties to assess your property at 100% of market value.
Two, the assessment for your property was done last year. You pay taxes in 2009 on the 2008 assessment made before the notices go out in June of 2008.
Here's the kicker: Three, The 2008 assessment value is based on sales closed in 2007!
Your assessment and the subsequent tax payment lags behind the market by two years. You're sitting in your house or condominium watching prices drop around you, and you get your tax bill. "No way, Martha," you say, "could we sell this place today for what they say it's worth." Maybe you could and maybe you couldn't, but that doesn't really matter. The issue is, what could you have sold it for in 2007 (at the height of our market)?
The two year lag served us well in times of rising prices. Now, not so much.
Here's the final kicker--in the pants, that is. The time for appealing your assessment is long past. You are allowed 60 days after the Notice of Value was sent out in June 2008--August 2008 was the deadline.
If you feel your assessment is terribly out of line, take a look at the Notice of Value you'll get this coming June. Anyone can go to the county assessor's web page: http://www.kitsapgov.com/assr/appeal/appeals.htm to find all the information you need to begin the appeal process next year. There's a link under "Sales" to all the recorded sales in specific areas and for different types of properties on Bainbridge Island (and the rest of Kitsap County.) Keep in mind that appeals for your 2009 assessment will need to cite comparable properties that sold in 2008.
My guess is that properties that are reassessed in value next year will see a drop, because we've seen a drop in the prices for the last eighteen months.
If you would like help compiling sold data to mount an appeal this summer, I'd be happy to be of assistance. Just give me a call or drop me an email.
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