Was your property assessed too high?

In the Twin Cities, we all just received our 2022 proposed property tax valuation statements for taxes payable in 2023. Was yours a bit shocking? I’ve had several people ask me how their home could possibly be worth as much as their city claims it is.

Back when I served on the St. Louis Park City Council, I also was on the local board of Appeals and Equalization. Essentially, this group hears from residents and commercial property owners when they want to appeal property valuations and can’t come to an agreement with their assessor’s office.

 Are you concerned about your property assessment? If so and you’re wondering what to do next, here are three things to consider:

 1.)   Most assessed values actually understate a property’s market value. As surprising as that may be, the market is moving fast right now—faster than most city assessment offices can keep up with.

2.)   If you’re concerned about your assessment, simply contact your city assessor. Trained to work with property owners, assessors are generally quite helpful if approached with facts (see #3) and a calm demeanor.

3.)   To make your case for a lower assessment, you’ll need to have a list of comparable properties—homes that are similar to your house, recently sold and are located near your property.

 I can help you with this last step, performing a thorough analysis of your home’s value. I recently completed one such valuation. To me, it appeared this property was overvalued by $30,000 by the assessor. The homeowners contacted their city assessor. Combined with my valuation and some excellent negotiation and information that the homeowner provided, they successfully lowered their assessment.

Let me know if I can help you!