Should You Dispute Your Property Taxes?

by West + Main agent Janell Arant

In the last several years, homeowners have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of what comes with an absurdly imbalanced seller’s market, resulting from a high demand for housing with not enough inventory, which created unprecedented home equity gains.

Picture a typical spring storm – a little wind, a little rain turning to giant snowflakes that melt the next day, right? Maybe a few broken branches, but people are outside walking their dog and getting on with their day. Then, picture bomb cyclone...a culmination of extreme weather conditions all joining forces, never seen before in one storm.

Now picture your 2023/24 property taxes as that bomb cyclone (yes it’s a stretch but stay with me). In this scenario, the County Assessor’s office is the weather reporter, simply gathering the data and delivering the report to you, good or bad. The County appraisers gather sales data occurring during a select period of time, to value homes equitably so property taxes can be collected by the County Treasurer to pay for public services such as schools, roads, water, sewer, libraries, and public safety! All the things we need to run our cities well.

On May 1st the news of that bomb cyclone is hitting homeowner’s mailboxes in the form of a little postcard known as your NOV (Notice of Value) sent by the Assessor’s office.

For homeowners, it comes down to this: While unprecedented housing market conditions were great for earning equity, they are now going to be paying for it in their property taxes. BUT, it might be possible to reduce the amount owed, at least by a little, by doing some legwork + research! Protesting your property value is every tax payer’s right.

If you have questions or would like help with the process, contact you West + Main Real Estate Agent!