Is my Assessment Correct?
The following 4 questions can help you decide if your assessment is correct.
Please note: If you are concerned that your taxes are going to double because your property value has doubled, that is usually not the case.
Since everyone else’s property value is also rising, the tax rate usually drops somewhat proportionally to the amount of total increase to a City or Town’s total value.
1) Can I sell my property for that amount?
The first thing that you should do is ask yourself if you could sell the property for approximately that amount. (Please note that assessments in Connecticut reflect 70% of market value.)
2) Does the Assessing department have the correct information on my property?
You can review the information that the Assessing Department has collected on your property to make sure the data is accurate. Some towns allow access to property information on the internet.
You can check if your City or Town makes the information available in our Assessor’s Online Database.
If the information is not available online, it can be reviewed at you local Assessor’s Office. While reviewing your property, you should make sure that all measurements on the sketch are accurate. Please note that all measurements are taken from the exterior. You should also check the land size and interior data to ensure accuracy.
3) How much are similar properties in my neighborhood selling for?
If your City or Town has property information available on the internet, you can do a sales search by going to our Assessor’s Online Database, entering the database for your state, selecting your municipality, and clicking on the sales search option at the top of the page.
Make sure that you choose recent sales that are similar to your own property. For instance, if you owned a 2,000 square foot Colonial that is assessed for $350,000 and has ½ acre of land, you would fill out the choices as shown below.
You should search the sales to find properties that are located as close to your property as possible before you make any comparisons. If you know of any properties that sold in you area, you can access these properties in the same database using the parcel lookup options. If the sale has yet to be published on the web site or your Town does not have the Property Information online, then you may be able to find the information at the Assessors Office or on local Real Estate websites..
4) How much have similar properties in my neighborhood been assessed for?
If you do not have any recent sales activity in your local area, you can look up the assessed value of similar parcels that are located near your property.
Please be aware that what may appear to be a similar parcel may in fact be very different from your property.
If your City or Town has property information available on the internet, you can access parcels on your street by going to our Assessor’s Online Database and using the Street Listing option at the top of the page.