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2009 Orange and Chatham Counties Property ReevaluationDuring the first few weeks of 2009, property owners in Orange and Chatham Counties have received a new tax assessment valuation. Every few years, the County Assessor's staff looks at every parcel of property in the county, compares each to recent sales of nearby similar properties (comparables) and then gives its best estimation of the property's current market value. In most cases, property will have increased in value over the past few years, even factoring in any reduction of value during the past year of a challenging real estate market. It is important to understand that properties are looked at individually, so each will have a different increase. Just because your valuation increased doesn't necessarily mean your taxes will go up. Before the County Commissioners determine a new tax rate, they reduce the old rate down so that the average valuation increase has no net tax increase. That means if your valuation increased more than average, you will most likely see a tax increase. If your valuation increased less than average, you may not see an increase. Some lucky people may actually see their taxes decrease. Regardless, since there are tens of thousands of properties in Orange and Chatham Counties, it is possible that your property was not revalued properly and you may want to appeal your new valuation. There are a couple of things you should do to determine if you should appeal. First, look at the description of your property to ensure it accurately reflects what you own. Sometimes, the information is wrong. If there are inaccuracies and you think that means your property was overvalued, you can ask the County to change the description and consider changing your assessment. This is particularly true if you have a home that has incorrect square footage, or too many rooms. Pleases know that not all changes will impact the value in the Assessor's eyes. But it can't hurt to ask. Another thing you will need to determine if you should appeal, and you will need if appeal, is information on the true market value of properties similar to yours that have sold recently. That's where a REALTOR can help by doing a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). Alternatively, you could hire an appraiser to do a full appraisal of your home, a more complete analysis, but one that will cost several hundred dollars. That cost could be worth it if you think it will help lower your assessment and therefore your tax liability. I would be happy to provide you with a CMA and Broker's Opinion of the current market value of your home based on comparable properties sold in the past twelve months AT NO COST.
Orange County Residents Documents in pdf files:
Click here for reevaluation information for Chatham County.
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