Many times when blanket assessments are done on homes, the resulting values are inaccurate and a result of a ”quick fix” mentality. Often adjustments are made using a factor or multiplier to adjust values. Not that a blanket reappraisals accuracy is much better, because it also suffers from lack of diligence to detail.
Municipalities reappraise the homes within their borders by hiring blanket appraisal companies. This is done in a bidding process and the low bid wins. If the bid allocation was only $38 per home and the blanket appraiser needed to make a profit, how much time can actually be spent per home? The people the appraiser hires are time-pressed to make their observations.
Errors frequently occur when blanket appraisers do their job. Furthermore, if the original assessment was in error, employing multipliers to roll over previous years assessments is invalid.
An inexpensive fix for the town could come about if building inspectors and the tax department communicated closely by working together. If the building inspector passed on information to the assessor, there would be no need for blanket re-assessments. New homes sold need only be equalized with the previous blanket assessment. If an addition or home improvement took place, the added value could be passed on to the tax assessor. If the building department and tax department worked efficiently, there would be no need for blanket reassessments.
Tax assessors are time pressed and rarely appraise homes. Usually, they are not property appraisers and are politically appointed. Often they use an entirely different method to derive value for a home by using a cost of materials approach. The universally accepted approach is the market value, what an informed buyer would pay for a home.
Selling prices of homes are constantly changing. When appealing your property taxes, only market value holds weight. Your home must equal the current selling price of other comparable home in your area.
A town expends a tremendous amount of money in the mass appraisal of homes. That cost is passed on directly in the local property tax causing extra tax rate increases. Much valuable time, effort and money is misspent by relying on blanket reassessment by communities. They may catch the occasional shed or deck built without a permit, but that hardly demands a reappraisal.
Blanket reassessments are opportunities for appeal because of the high error rate. Homeowners need to do a simple analysis to determine if their home’s market value is in line with the assessed value assigned to their home.