I wonder if anyone else in Snohomish County has noticed the disconnect between what property is assessed at and what you could actually sell it for.
I just finished an appeal before the Board of Equalization. The comparable properties I used to make my case were assessed in January 2010, a ton above what they actually sold for.
The first one was a house assessed at $229,200, which sold for $80,000 in July of 2010 — a difference of $149,200. The next one was a house assessed at $439,000, which sold for $238,000 in May 2010 — a difference of $201,000!
The Assessors Office has a lot of good people working there, and mistakes can and will happen in any office. But I think the fly in the ointment here is a document the assessors call a “mass market appraisal.” It’s a mysterious document that sounds official and has lots of numbers in it and is supposed to tell you what the true and fair market value of your property is on a given date.
It sounds good, but the problem is I don’t think it’s very accurate. I’m old school I guess, and I think the assessor should show me comparables, properties that are similar to mine that have sold, giving me an opportunity to actually go look at them and agree or disagree. I will know in a month or so if the board believes me and my comparables or the assessor’s mysterious document.
Brian Roggenbuck
Darrington
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
