Officials from the Union County Board of Revision say they will be scheduling hearings soon.
Every six years, the county auditor is required to a complete value assessment for every property in the county. That revaluation was completed in 2019 and appears on 2020 tax bills.
Those who disagree with their property valuation can file an appeal with the county’s Board of Revision, which hears complaints on the appraisals.
Union County Auditor Andrea Weaver said the board has already met and discussed all of the cases, “and in many of them, we have already issued settlement offers.”
Those property owners who are still unhappy can schedule a formal hearing in front of the Board of Revision.
“We will be scheduling hearings very soon and will offer the option of in-person with distancing or a Zoom meeting,” Weaver said.
This year, 398 property owners have filed appeals.
“We expected a higher number of filings for tax year 2019 simply because of the six-year revaluation,” Weaver said.
In 2014, following the last revaluation, the Board of Revision saw 329 appeals filed. In 2017, property owners saw another increase based on a mid-cycle update. That year, 374 property owners appealed their values.
Weaver said this year “the increase in market values countywide has been noteworthy.”
She said property values rose between 14% and 28%, depending on the area of the county.
Those wanting to appeal their valuation had until March 31 to object.
Weaver said the timeline is dictated by state law and the recent pandemic has caused, “no delays.”
“COVID-19 has not affected any of this process except that our Board has observed social distancing guidelines when meeting,” Weaver said.
At the formal hearing, property owners may present information such as recent appraisals or sales data for similar properties in support of their complaints.
Based on facts and evidence presented at the hearing by the property owner, the Board of Revision can vote to increase, decrease or retain the property’s current appraised value.
Weaver said the goal of the six-year revaluation is to “bring property values in line with what has been actually happening in the market, as market value is best determined by a recent, arms-length sale,” noting that for taxing purposes, she is required to value property at 92-95% of market value.
Weaver stressed that when a taxpayer files an objection to the property valuation, the burden of proof is on the property owner to show that the auditor’s value is incorrect.
The auditor has said that property owners should ask themselves if they believe they could honestly sell their house for its new value. She said that if the answer is yes, the valuation is probably correct.
Weaver said that while the current tax bills are based on last year’s property values, COVID-19 has had “little to no effect on sales and sales prices in Union County.”
She said the county continues to see a high volume of property sales and transfers.
“The real estate market doesn’t appear to be suffering at all in Union County, and with the COVID restrictions easing, any slowing that may have occurred is going away,” she said.