tax assessment time (property taxes)

by | Jul 12, 2012 | Real Estate | 0 comments

Happy summer!

I have been getting quite a few emails, and phone calls lately regarding
that most dreaded of mail…..Tax Assessment!  Yep…it’s tax notice time
already for many of you.  Wait!  What?!  Taxes??  I know some of you might think
I am crazy…(ok, maybe I am a little)…I mean, didn’t we already take care of
taxes for this year???

Well, there’s taxes, and then there are property taxes.  The tax assessed value of your home is what
your property taxes are based on.  Property taxes are due April 1st and October
1st.  The April 1st portion is from January 1st to June 30th (yes, due April
1st), and the October 1st portion is from July 1st to December 31st (and yes,
due on October 1st).  Sometimes you might get a bill in the mail for your
property taxes….good information, but no worries since your taxes should be a
part of your mortgage payment, and will be paid by your mortgage company out of
your escrow account.

So…then what I am talking about?  Many people are getting a notice of tax
assessed value in the mail right now, and might be freaking out because it is a
lower value.  Please remember…TAX ASSESSED VALUE IS NOT MARKET VALUE!      🙂

There are 3 values to a home:
–Tax assessed (usually the lowest as this is what your property
taxes are based off of)
–Building value (usually the middle as this is what it would cost
to re-build your home in case of fire…or other disaster)
–Market Value (usually the highest as this is what your homes
value is were to sell it)

Being that we have had a weird market the past couple of years our 3 values
kind of got mixed up and are still trying to re-align.  In the past year or two
many people were purchasing homes for about (or sometimes even under) tax
assessed value, and the building value has been sky high….meaning it costs
more to re-build your home than what it is worth. For some, in the past couple
of years, you were able to take your appraisal from purchasing your home to the
county and have your taxes reduced since you might have purchased it for less
than tax value.  Please remember… TAX ASSESSED VALUE RUNS A COUPLE OF YEARS
BEHIND THE MARKET.  🙂  What this means is that the tax assessed value you are
currently seeing is really from a year or so ago….it is NOT your current
value!  HOME VALUES HAVE BEEN GOING UP,  and yes, your home is worth more than
you think.  🙂

Our three home values are currently running about:
–tax assessed value (lowest)
market value (middle)
building value (highest)

What this means to you is that the market value is going up, and is no
longer at tax assessed value again…building value is still a bit higher than
market value, but not by much.  Our market is correcting itself, and this is a
good thing for everyone because it is an indicator (economically speaking) of a
more stable economy.  The 3 values are still fairly close to one another, but
please don’t despair when you get your tax assessment in the mail….the good
news is that your property taxes will go down, and so will your mortgage
payment.  Your principal and interest rate on your mortgage payment can not
change, but property taxes, and insured value (and owed amount) do change….so
your mortgage payment can change based on those two things.

Tax assessments are run every couple of years….and when yours is done
depends on where you live.  Not everyone will be getting a tax assessment in the
mail….but you will…eventually…  If you have any question regarding your
homes current value, please let me know.  I can give you a rough guesstimate of
value based on the homes in your area…or if you would rather, I can give you a
CMA (comparable market analysis) based on sold, pending, and currently active
homes.  The CMA does take a bit longer, but I am happy to help with that.  As
always, there is no obligation…help is always freely given.  🙂

Please call, email, facebook, or text me anytime with ANY questions
regarding your home value, or anything else….You know that I am, as
always, here to help!  I believe in long term commitment so I am committed to
helping you…now, tomorrow, next year, 10 years from now…etc… it is what I
am here for!  😉

Thanks for calling or emailing!!  ….and as always, thank you for your
referrals!!!  (just remember to let me know where the referrals are coming from
so I can thank you properly!)  😀

Have
a great day, and I will talk to you soon,
;-D

Tracie DeMars / Realtor

ReMax Equity Group
License# 81289
Vancouver, WA
360-903-3504

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