This past Thursday I received my Dare County Tax Revaluation in the mail. By Noon on Friday I had received numerous calls or visits from OBX property owners wanting to know if this is really what their house is worth. This post is a little bit about this new revaluation. Hopefully it will help you in your decision about what to do next.
What is a revaluation?
The state requires that counties revalue property values at least once every eight years. Dare County decided to complete their revaluation one year early. The amount is what they believe the property is worth on January 1, 2020. The tax department bases values on what buyers recently paid for a similar properties. Very few OBX properties are similar. Therefore, the tax assessor’s office has developed a complex formula that helps them determine value. It is based on some key property features. Unless you obtain a building permit and improve your property, this value will remain the same until they complete another revaluation.
Will you be paying more if your value is more?
The short answer is it depends. Dare County sets their budget for 2020 in July so we don’t know what the new tax rate will be. Most likely it will be a rate that generates a very similar amount of revenue for the county. If your value went up more than most other properties then you’ll likely be paying more in taxes at the end of the year. It’s been reported that the total value of this Dare County Revaluation went up 26% since the last revaluation in 2013. If your tax value went up less than that then you have a better chance of paying less. It will also depend upon the 2020 budgets of your local town and the county. Those budgets are decided in July.
In the first 24 hours since I received my revaluation, six of the seven people who spoke with me about their tax value thought it was too high. This ratio will likely go down but it does lead me to believe there will be some appeals.
What should you do if you want to appeal?
Since OBX market values are constantly changing, most tax values won’t be accurate very long. This is a critical fact when thinking about appealing your current value. If you don’t use similar sales that occurred shortly before that January 1, 2020 date in your argument, then your argument is not very strong for a lower value. Having an appraisal completed by a licensed appraiser who put a value on the property on that specific date of January 1, 2020 is about the best information you can have for a lower tax value. Realtors can also help you determine value.
If you’d like to discuss your value further then please feel free to contact Scott Team Realty. You can also go to the Dare County Tax Revaluation page on their web site.
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