full value property tax assessments: Are they an advantage or disadvantage?

[farmall806]

What is your opinion of full value property tax assessment? Are they an advantage or a disadvantage? How can a town assessor know what a person's property is REALLY WORTH?, unless they do an inside inspection of the property?

farmall806

[WNYresident]

Assessments should not change until you sell your home. Even if you improve your home you shouldn't pay an increased land rent for the rest of your life. Your improvement on your home doesn't add to the cost of the services your city/town provide. The assessment should only change when you go to sell your home.

[farmall806]

WNYresident:


The purpose of full value assessment of properties is to set every property owner on a "equal playing field". That would be further enhanced with yearly property tax reassessments , otherwise know as property tax reevaluations. The value of real property goes up and down every year. There are a number of factors that cause this. economics of the area , age of the property, condition of the property, whether or not there were any additions or improvements to the property, condition of the neighboring properties, ect. The problem with town assessors assessing property at 100% full value is that most of the time they only do a drive by appraisal of the property. They almost never do an inside inspection of the property. Why is that? Even when the assessor has been told that they are welcome to inspect the inside of a house ANY TIME!!, they almost never do! Another problem with going to full value is that most of the time, property is put on the market for more than the property is valued. If the people who are assessed at full value put their house on the market for more than what the town assessors say it is worth, and they end up getting the property sold for more than its full value, then that property is going to be reassessed at its selling price and the new owners are going to have a much higher tax bill to pay.

farmall806