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Justice Scale

Your assessment is disproportional to like properties within the municipality


Another way to show that your real estate assessment is inequitable is that it is disproportional to other like properties in the same municipalities. This can be a difficult case to prove for the simple reason that no two homes are alike. However, there are cases that a very convincing argument can be made. With regards to condominium units and residences located in a sub-division of like homes, there can be instances where the same builder sold the same type of dwelling, using the same building plans, and the same construction materials.

Assuming that physical depreciation (wear and tear) is similar all should be assessed relatively the same. There may be minor differences in value due to a difference in an optional fireplace or so, but the values should be similar. If not, there may be data to prove disproportionality.

Property assessment records are available to the public. In most cases assessment cards are available on-line (check your town’s web site under Assessing Dept. for a link). If you know of residences in your town that are near identical to yours look to see what they are assessed for. There is no guarantee that this method will be successful in a tax abatement application. An option for a municipality here is to recognize the disproportionality between you and your neighbors and correct it by raising your neighborhood’s assessment!

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