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My valuation is up 24%, so my taxes may decrease!
I did notice that the online evaluation said my house was 2,042 heated square feet when I think it is actually 1,980. I will probably report this on an appeal form. The last reappraisal my house appreciated at less than the county average so my taxes went down then as well.

There is no way I'd be able to sell my condo today for the figure Wake County valuated it at. Looking at recent sales, I might be able to get $10,000 less for it. The houses down the street were valuated at figures far below market value.

This is completely ludicris from the perspective of our neighborhood. Most of the homes are not single family homes and are very poorly maintained, as is the neighborhood infrastructure, sewers, lighting, etc.

The real value of houses on our street has plumeted due to this and a poor housing market, yet the govermnet appraised value rises.

I believe this is merely a backwards integrated way to balance their inflated budgets by raising taxes on the back end (OUR BACK ENDS!)

And, this came to light right AFTER the elections.

Hummmm………………..

We own a 6,000 sq ft building on a small lot near Wake Med. area. Tax revaluation took us from approx $450K value to over $1.M!!

Who are they kidding?...we paid less than half that for it 3 years ago (after it was on the market for over 1.5 years) and felt we paid a premium at the time. I know there has been legitimate appreciation but....still.

So basically our tax bill has potentially more than doubled...and do you seriously think we could sell it anywhere near the amnt they value it at?? If they will give us 90% of what they value it at, we would sell it to the County tomorrow.

Durham has revaluated my property upward about 41%. The fact of the matter is that my home sits vacant because I could not sell it at its pre-evaluated price. It is a fact that we are in a down housing market. I actually was expecting Durham officials to evaluate my home to be less than what it was the last time, but then that would be asking for the truth!

"So basically our tax bill has potentially more than doubled"

That is incorrect. The property tax rate will decrease by an amount necessary to make the overall tax collections "revenue neutral." According to the N&O (http://www.newsobserver.com/news/wake/story/777600.html), Wake County saw an overall appreciation of 43% in property values. This will lower the tax rate by about a third. Your taxes will go up, but they won't double.

It is important to remember that revaluations are mass appraisals. With thousands of properties to appraise, mistakes can and will be made. Properties can be over-assessed for many reasons. If you really can't sell your property for close to what it has been revalued at, you should appeal your assessment.

Assessed values are based on actual property sales, analyzed across a neighborhood and/or area. Property assessments within any particular area are based on a somewhat averaged sale basis for that area. If your property has significant inferior features, as compared to typical properties in the area, then this will help explain why an over-assessment has occurred.

In order to make a successful appeal of your assessment, you will need to show the assessor concrete reasons why an assessment is too high. The tax assessor won’t change your assessed value simply because you “feel” it is too high, or simply don’t like the assessment. Be prepared to give factual reasons why you think your property has been over-valued. Recent sales of houses which are very similar to yours would be good data to provide. Was your house measured inaccurately, is your house next to a highway, is your house exterior built with siding when tax records say it is brick? The assessor has done his job. If you expect to get an assessment reduced, be prepared to show why it should be changed.

Doug Watson
President
Advantage Appraisals, Inc.