Town of
Warrensburg
Assessment Information
|
Town of
Warrensburg
|
|
Assessment Information
|
Assessment Information
Message from the Assessor
The first thing on my agenda as the new assessor of real property is to become familiar with Warrensburg and I've already been out inspecting and touring the town in order to get acquainted with its different & unique sections. I plan to continue this practice throughout my term and while out in the field, I will also be updating property records, including taking new photographs, in order to keep things up to date. You might see me from time-to-time in the town's black-and-white car or walking the streets taking notes and pictures in order to update the town's property records. I have been in the real estate business since 1984 and an appraiser since 1986 and over the past 20 years, I have appraised well over 12,000 properties. I will seek to utilize and apply this experience and knowledge to the valuation of the town's properties, with the goal to provide fair and accurate real property assessments. I'm committed to having an "open door" policy during my tenure however, I would appreciate property owners making appointments so I can make sure that I'll be in and have some time scheduled to discuss your concerns. If you think the information on your property assessment record is incorrect, I would like to hear from you so we can review the data we have on your property and make any applicable corrections. I also welcome anyone to call me and set up an appointment for a discussion about your property...I'll even come out to the property to confirm the dimensions, improvements, conditions, room-count, etc. if you want.
___________________________________________________________________
Some dates to keep in mind that can affect your property and real estate taxes are;
___________________________________________________________________
Below is a Pie Chart Indicating Where Your Tax Dollars Go...
聞 66% Goes to the SCHOOL 聞 15% goes to the COUNTY 聞 15% goes to the TOWN 聞 3% goes to the FIRE Department 聞 1% goes to LIGHTING
* PROPERTY TAX MYTHS & MISUNDERSTANDINGS *Myth #1...Assessors Determine Property TaxesTypically property tax rates are set by school boards, town boards, village boards, and county legislatures, NOT by assessors. Each board determines the total amount of taxes it needs to raise, and then divides that number by the total taxable assessed value of the jurisdiction to determine the tax rate. Your share of the tax is calculated by multiplying the tax rate by your property's assessed value minus exemptions, such as STAR. Assessors are responsible for determining your property's assessed value. In order to do this, the assessor estimates your property's market value (the price it would sell for in the real estate market), and then applies the municipal level of assessment (LOA) to that market value. In many communities, the level of assessment is 100 percent, so a home with a market value of $90,000 has an assessed value of $90,000. In a town with a level of assessment of 50 percent, the assessed value of the same home is $45,000. The assessor also performs other functions, such as processing exemption applications and keeping track of the local real estate market, but the assessor does not determine your tax rate. Myth #2...Taxes are High Because of AssessmentsIt's important to distinguish between taxes and assessments. If you feel your TAXES are too high, you should take that up with the Town Board, School Board, or other Governing Authority that is determining tax levies and setting the tax rates. If you feel your ASSESSMENT is too high, there are administrative and judicial processes where you can seek to have your assessment lowered. Assessments are based on Market Value for a specific period in time, usually a year to a year and one half prior to the year in question. If you feel your assessment is too high, your first step in confirming that is to determine your property's market value. The best way to do this is to look at the sale prices of similar properties in similar neighborhoods. If you still feel that your assessment is too high, we recommend that you informally discuss your concerns with your assessor or take it to grievance. (More information on the grievance process is available from your assessor's office and online). Myth #3...NY State Collects Too Much Money Through Property TaxesWhile New York State government receives no money from the real property tax, this stable revenue source is vitally important to the delivery of services to the state's citizens. Local governments and school districts collect the property tax, which is their largest source of revenue. That's one of the main reasons that property taxes and assessments are administered locally (rather than by the state) in New York. Myth #4...Equalization Rates Can Correct Unfair Assessments Equalization rates are determined by the State Office of Real Property Services and represent the overall ratio of a municipality's total assessed value to the municipality's total market value. Because equalization rates are municipal wide measures, they are not intended to correct unfair individual assessments in a city or town. The assessor has the primary role in ensuring the fairness of individual assessments, subject to the right of owners to seek administrative and judicial review of assessments. While equalization rates have many uses, they are most commonly known for their use in apportioning property taxes among municipal segments of school districts and counties. In order for a school district or county to fairly distribute its property tax levy (the total amount of taxes to be collected), the levy needs to be divided in proportion to the total market value of each municipality or municipal segment. This allows for an equitable distribution of taxes based upon the market value of each municipality or segment. In the apportionment process, the equalization rate is used to estimate the total market value of an entire municipality and/or segments of municipalities. The formula used for this calculation is:
Myth #5...Tax Rates Are Good Indicators of Tax IncreasesIn late August, as the date for mailing school tax bills approaches, the tendency is to compare the tax rate for the previous year with the tax rate for the current year. In fact, tax rates are not accurate indicators of how much more a school district is collecting in taxes this year. For that, you need to look at the tax levy. Tax rates are misleading because they are based on the aggregate assessments of each municipal segment in the school district. If one city or town in the district has done a reassessment that year, that segment's tax rate may drop drastically. Put another way, a municipality might increase assessments and the school could keep the tax rate the same, the result would be that it would still collect more taxes under the previous year's tax rate. If you want to know if the school district, city, town, or county is spending more, look at the budget. If you want to know if it's collecting more in taxes, look at the levy. Myth #6...A Cap on Assessments Would Lower Property Tax BurdensOccasionally, a proposal is made to cap assessment increases at a certain percentage each year. Doing so would result in some property owners paying less than their fair share of taxes, while their bills are subsidized by other homeowners. Eventually, properties that are increasing in value more quickly would be underassessed, while properties that are not increasing in value as quickly would be subsidizing the underassessed property's taxes. (Typically, in the case of residential properties, lower-valued homes increase in value slower than higher-valued homes.) Meanwhile the town, county and school district would continue to collect the same amount of taxes that they would if assessments weren't capped. A cap on assessments doesn't result in less taxes being collected, it just redistributes the tax burden to the disadvantage of properties increasing in value more slowly. Myth #7...I Have to be 65 to Get the STAR ExemptionAll New Yorkers who own and live in their one-, two-, or three-family home, condominium, cooperative apartment, mobile home or farm home are eligible for the Basic STAR tax cut on their primary residence. There are no age or income limitations with Basic STAR. Seniors with incomes not exceeding the statewide standard may be eligible for the Enhanced STAR exemption. Applicants need only be 65 years of age as of December 31 of the year in which the exemption will begin. If you think you may be eligible, please contact your assessor for more information. Myth #8...The STAR Exemption is EndingThe STAR program does not have a sunset (or expiration) date. In other words, New York's homeowners will continue to benefit from STAR unless the Legislature votes to end it. In fact, in 2006 the Legislature voted to expand STAR by providing rebates directly to more than 3 million homeowners.
[The above was provided by the Office of Real Property Services (ORPS). For a printable pamphlet visit their website at...http://www.orps.state.ny.us/pamphlet/myths.htm ]
What To Do If You Disagree With Your Assessment
SECTION ONE: IS YOUR ASSESSMENT FAIR?All property owners in New York State are eligible for formal review of their properties' assessments. There are two levels of formal review: 1) administrative review via the Grievance Process conducted in each assessing unit, and 2) judicial review via a Supreme Court trial or Small Claims Assessment Review (SCAR). In order to pursue judicial review a taxpayer must first go through administrative review. This section includes information about the grievance process, as well as SCAR. For information on going to trial in a proceeding typically called a "tax certiorari", it is recommended that you contact a private attorney. Before pursuing formal review of your assessment, you should first determine if you are assessed fairly. This involves the following preliminary steps: Step One: What is the Assessor's Estimate of the Market Value of Your Property? To determine if your assessment is fair, you will first need to check the tentative assessment roll. The assessed value of your property and the assessor's estimate of your property's market value are listed on the tentative roll. Market value is generally defined as the price a willing buyer would pay a willing seller for a property in its present condition with neither buyer nor seller under pressure to act (such as career relocation, death of a family member, divorce, etc.). In most cases, the market value listed on the roll should equal roughly the price for which you could sell your property. For purposes of assessment rolls and tax bills, a property's assessed value is calculated by multiplying its market value by the uniform percentage of value (which is also on the roll and sometimes known as the level of assessment). Alternatively, you can calculate the assessor's estimate of your property's market value by dividing the assessed value by the equalization rate. Step Two: Develop Your Own Estimate of the Market Value of the Property A number of factors may affect a residential property's market value, including:
The most common way to determine the market value of a residential property is to use the sales comparison approach. This is the primary method used by professional appraisers to determine the market value of residential properties. To determine an estimate of a property's market value, arm's length comparable sales are used. ("Arm's length" refers to a market value sale between unrelated parties.) By examining recent sales of at least three properties in a similar neighborhood that are comparable in building style, size and construction, one can begin to get a good understanding of a residential property's market value. However, it is important to consider the circumstances of such sales -- perhaps the seller was desperate to "unload" the home, or the buyer paid much more than the asking price because there were other interested parties. Market value and sales price are not always the same. Comparable sales should include characteristics similar to a given property, such as lot sizes, square footage, house style, age, and location of the dwelling. A new three-bedroom Cape Cod house may not be comparable with an older three bedroom split-level ranch, even if they are on the same street. Since it may prove difficult to find an exact comparable sale, allowances must be made. To arrive at an estimated market value, dollar adjustments are made for differences between the property being valued (also known as the subject property) and the comparable properties that have sold. For an example of a comparable sales approach to determining market value, you may wish to view the online pamphlet How Estimates of Market Value are Determined for Residential Properties. * (see end of this segment for further guidelines) The following may be sources of comparable sales in your community:
Step Three: If You Find That Your Assessment is Too High Generally, if your assessment reflects roughly the amount for which you could sell your property, then your assessment is relatively fair. If you feel as though your property's assessment is too high, you should discuss this with your local assessor...Bring any proof you have to support your case. Alternatively, you might determine that your property is assessed based on its market value, but the rest of the community is assessed at a lower level of assessment (see: Administrative Review - Unequal Assessment). Again, you should discuss this with your assessor and bring any proof you have to support your case. Often, an informal discussion between a taxpayer and the local assessor can result in a sharing of information beneficial to both parties. If such a discussion does not result in a reduction in your assessment, and you still feel as though your assessment is too high, you have the right to formal review of your assessment (aka grievance). If You Are Assessed Fairly, But You Feel That Your TAXES Are Too High Assessors DO NOT determine your property taxes; the assessor's job is to value your property in order to help ensure that the taxes collected will be distributed fairly among all taxpayers. If you feel as though your assessment accurately reflects the market value of your property, but you still feel that your property taxes are rising unfairly, you may wish to address this matter with the taxing jurisdictions - School Board, County Legislature, City Council, Town Board, Fire District and other special districts - that levy taxes in your community. The assessor cannot assist you with tax matters, but only with matters pertaining to the assessed value of your property. Courtesy ORPS website http://www.orps.state.ny.us/pamphlet/complain/howtofile/assessfair.htm * Please note that the market data used for any given year is that sales used for said period are from July 2nd thru the following July 1st. This makes sales for any given roll year anywhere from 6 to 18 months old...The Office of Real Property (ORPS) mandates this because there has to be a "Snapshot-in-Time" in order to calculate the next year's assessment so that the budget can be calculated. For example, for tax year 2008, market data that was used is from July 2nd 2006 through July 1st 2007. So, when you received your Town & County tax bill in January and your school tax bill in September 2008, the assessed value reflects this time-frame (July 2nd 2006 - July 1st 2007). It is also important to know this when selecting sales comparables to see if your assessment is in line with the market at that time. As an example, this means that if you want to contest your assessment for 2008, you need to use market data / sales from July 2nd 2006 through July 1st 2007.
___________________________________________________________________
Here's a web-link explaining the difference between Assessments vs. Taxes http://www.orps.state.ny.us/assessor/resources/pubrelations/asmt_vs_tax.pdf If you're interested, the Office of Real Property Services (ORPS) has two on-line videos, produced New York State explaining how the assessment process works, how properties are valued, the job of the assessor and other such pertinent information so you have a basic idea of what we do and how the process works. These videos are available on-line at the ORPS website at...
http://www.orps.state.ny.us/video/index.cfm
There is a possibility that we might offer a public viewing of these videos in the Town Hall with a question and answer session this coming winter if enough interest is expressed. If you would like us to host a town hall type meeting, please call us (623-3300) and give us your name and contact number. If enough citizens sign up, well be happy to schedule one.
___________________________________________________________________
How to Calculate Your Property Taxes Based on the Assessed Value
The following demonstrates how you can calculate the taxes you have to pay...
Year (2008/2009) Tax Type
$14.41 SCHOOL $ 7.55 Town / County [County, Town, Fire, Lighting] $21.96 TOTAL _______________________________________________________________________
Example...(Based on a $100,000 Assessment in the year 2008/2009)
Assessed Value is $100,000...Divide this figure by 1,000 ($100,000 / 1,000 =) 100
100 X $21.96 = $2,196 Approximate Total Taxes
~ OR ~
$2,196 TOTAL TAX LIABILITY
[Please note that the above example is for demonstration purposes only and reflects the tax year 2008/2009, the most current year as of this writing.] In closing, one very important thing to understand and realize is this...
THE ASSESSOR HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR PROPERTY TAXES!
THE ASSESSOR CAN NOT CHANGE YOUR PROPERTY TAXES
The job of the Assessor is to establish the FAIR, MARKET VALUE of your property, and help you with any exemptions that you may qualify for...That's basically it. While I realize that nobody likes to pay their taxes, myself included, the Assessors office can do nothing to help you reduce them. If you don't like the amount you have to pay, you need to take that up with your local School Board or the other entities that take your hard earned tax dollars...There is nothing this department can do about it.
|
|
