A common statement made to the Assessing Office is “I think my property assessment is too high. What can I do about it?” Property owners are justifiably concerned about rising property taxes. But how can anger at higher taxes be turned into effective protest and a successful appeal of assessed value? Act according to important principles and you may halt rising taxes and file a successful appeal. Even if you can't change anything, you will understand more about what really needs to be changed.
Separate the issue of higher taxes from the issue of the accuracy of the
assessed value of your property. Elected officials, school boards, and other
special taxing authorities establish your tax bill. Assessors estimate the
market value of your property. An increase in value doesn't mean your taxes
will go up.
·
Find several properties
similar to yours (called comparables), preferably in the same neighborhood.
·
Find out what their
assessed values are or the prices at which they sold, and/or if they have sold
recently.
Common
questions relating to assessment of property:
What is market value?
Finding the market value of your property involves
discovering the price most people would pay for it in its present condition.
It's not quite that simple, because the assessor has to find what this value
would be for every property, no matter how big or how small. This process is
also done each year on new and improved properties, because the market value of
almost everything changes from one year to the next - as we all know. Towns in
New Hampshire have traditionally not maintained assessments at 100% of market
value on a yearly basis.
Why have a property tax?
Properties are appraised so that those of us who want the advantage of having schools, fire and police protection, and other public benefits (which means just about all of us) can absorb our fair share of the cost, in proportion to the amount of money our individual properties are worth. The property tax should be part of a well-balanced revenue system. It is a more stable source of money than sales and income taxes because it does not fluctuate when communities have recessions.
When the community spends your tax dollars on better
schools, parks, and so on, your property values rise. Some of the windfall
benefits you receive are recaptured by the property tax.
How property is appraised?
To find the value of any piece of property the
assessor must first know what properties similar to it are selling for, what it
would cost today to replace it, how much it takes to operate and keep it in
repair, what rent it may earn, and many other dollar facts affecting its value,
such as the current rate of interest charged for borrowing the money to buy or
build properties like yours. Using these facts, the assessor can then go about
finding the property's value in three different ways.
·
·
SALES COMPARISON APPROACH
The first
method compares your property to others that have sold recently. These prices,
however, must be analyzed very carefully to get the true picture. One property
may have sold for more than it was really worth because the buyer was in a
hurry and would pay any price. Another may have sold for less money than it was
actually worth because the owner needed cash right away. The property was sold
to the first person who made an offer. When using the sales comparison
approach, the assessor must always consider such overpricing or under pricing
and analyze many sales to arrive at a fair valuation of your property. Size,
quality, condition, location, and time of sale are also important factors to
consider.
·
·
COST APPROACH
A second
way to value your property is based on how much money it would take, at current
material and labor costs, to replace your property with one similar. If your
property is not new, the assessor must also determine how much it has
depreciated. In addition, the assessor must estimate how much a lot like yours
would be worth if vacant.
·
·
INCOME APPROACH
The third
way is to evaluate how much income your property would produce if it were
rented as an apartment house, a store, or a factory. The assessor must consider
operating expenses, taxes, insurance, maintenance costs, and the return most
people would expect on your kind of property.
Why do assessed values change from
year to year?
When
market value changes, naturally so does assessed value. For instance, if you
were to add a garage to your home, the assessed value would increase. However,
if your property were in poor repair, the assessed value would decrease. The
assessor has not created the value. PEOPLE MAKE VALUE by their transactions in
the market place. The assessor simply has the legal responsibility to study
those transactions and appraise your property accordingly.
If my assessed value doesn’t
change (or it goes down), why am I paying more in taxes?
or
I haven’t done anything to
increase the value of my property, but I’m paying more in taxes – why?
The
assessor's office has nothing to do with the total amount of taxes collected.
The assessor's primary responsibility is to find the fair market value of your
property, so that you may pay only your fair share of the taxes. The amount of
taxes you pay is determined by a TAX RATE applied to your property's ASSESSED VALUE.
The tax rate is determined by all the taxing agencies - town, county and school
district - and depends on what is needed to provide all the services you enjoy.
The
assessors office also keeps track of ownership changes, maintains maps of
parcel boundaries, keeps descriptions of buildings and property characteristics
up to date, keeps track of individuals and properties eligible for exemptions
and other forms of property tax relief, and, most important, analyzes trends in
sales prices, construction costs, and rents to estimate the value of all
assessable property.
What are my rights and
responsibilities?
If your
opinion of the value of the property differs from the assessor's, by all means
go to the office and discuss the matter. The assessor will be glad to answer
the questions about the appraisal and explain how to appeal if you cannot come
to an agreement. The assessor’s office relies on the property owner for
information. You can help by providing accurate information.
If
you feel your property assessment is in error, you may file for abatement.
To file for an abatement
(appeal) under NH State Law, RSA 76:16, a property owner must:
Municipalities may abate taxes for “good cause shown”, per RSA 76:16. Good cause is generally established by showing an error in the assessment calculation or a disproportionate assessment, as well as other grounds.
If
your request is based on disproportionate assessment, the property owner
has the burden to show the assessment was disproportionate. To carry
this burden, the property owner generally must show what the property is worth
on April 1st of the year appealed. The property’s market value would
then be compared to the assessment by using the municipalities’ assessment
ratio. Therefore, comparable sales or other market information are an essential
part of most abatement applications.
A
physical inspection property must be performed. This includes inspection of the
exterior and interior of any structures, and land inspection. Refusal to permit
such inspection can result in your abatement application being denied,
regardless of the property owner’s reason for filing an abatement application.
Property
owners should be aware that by filing for abatement does not mean your assessed
valuation will change. Some corrections or changes to property assessments can
result in a higher assessed valuation. Filing for abatement also does not mean
that the Town will find in your favor.
Filing for abatement does not stay payment of collection of taxes. Property taxes are still due by the date stated on the bill, and you will be charged interest on any unpaid amount not paid by the due date. If your application is approved, you will be refunded the amount, with 6% interest.
DEADLINES:
“Notice
of Tax” refers to the date the BTLA determines to be the date the last tax bill
was sent by the Town of Hollis. Since the Town of Hollis bills twice yearly, you
must appeal after the second issue bill and not before. The second issue
tax bill establishes the final tax liability.
The
property owner must file the abatement application with the Assessor’s Office
no later than March 1st.
The
Town of Hollis has until July 1st to grant or deny the abatement
application.
If
the Property Owner does not agree with the decision of the Town, the property
owner may file an appeal with the BTLA or the Superior Court, but not both:
(a) receiving a decision from the Town of Hollis
concerning the abatement application; or (b) after July 1st if there
has been no response from the Town of Hollis; and
If
you have additional questions, please contact the Assessing Office at (603)
465-9860 or via email at assessing@hollis.nh.us
Back to the main
Assessing Page
Updated 3-25-09 cmc
The information on this
website does not include a complete compilation of the Town of Hollis Assessing
records or of the appropriate laws relating to the subject matter. The Town of
Hollis assumes no liability whatsoever associated with the use or misuse of
this data. The information furnished is for the convenience of the user. By
your use of this site, you acknowledge that you understand and accept this
statement.