Reassessment

Definition of "Reassessment"

Written by

Nikki Serrano

Sellstate Real Estate

A reassessment or a reappraising is a decision or strategy made by the owner or the state or local authorities. The reassessment definition is a revision of an earlier assessment. Property taxes are based on property values and tax rates. An assessor assesses the property value, and then a reassessment can be necessary if the property changes owners or changes are made to the property. The revaluation may have many reasons, such as recent comparable sales of a property, economic conditions, and new tax laws. The valuation is most often used for contract negotiations or tax matters. An example is revising the value of real estate based on new information.

Assessments and reassessments are done by local authorities either every year or every five years. As mentioned above, change in the property or change of ownership demands a new reassessment.

Why are reassessments done?

The main reason for reassessments is to determine the property’s tax. State or local authorities do this process through an assessor who may or may not visit the property. The assessor’s job is to evaluate the property’s value by considering the variables that affect it. Some of these variables are the lot and building size, number of stories, bedrooms, bathrooms, improvements from the previous assessment, comparables, curb appeal, etc.

Because the real estate market is alive and influenced by outside factors, the properties’ values can fluctuate with the local economy. Appreciation and depreciation can happen, but they don’t always affect properties in unison. An upcoming housing market crash will, however, affect house values. This can be affected by how often reassessments are done in one district or another, affecting property taxes’ correctness.

States like Arizona, Georgia, and Michigan require annual reassessments, while New Hampshire, New York, and Hawaii do not require periodic assessments and leave them to local districts.

Reassessments and assessments can also be used by property owners to determine their assessment ratio. This can be done to determine their tax liability and understand the state of the market.