NPTR: Alert #287 Christmas Cards Have Arrived

[Nevada Property Tax Revolt Alert Email Group]

Christmas Cards Have Arrived
 
ALERT: #287

DATE: December 19, 2016
TO: Incline Village & Crystal Bay Property Owners

FROM: Village League Tax Revolt Committee
 
This past week most of us received the Washoe County Assessor's annual "Christmas Card."  Those cards report the results of your property's annual appraisal and assessment.  There is both good news and less good news.  Unless you've done some sort of remodel or upgrade, or your home is older than 50 years, your improvement assessments (Buildings, etc) should have continued downward by a few percent.  On the other hand, land values have finally started to rise in response to a recovering market.  How much varies greatly by neighborhood. Rising assessments mean rising property taxes.  So it is crucial that reappraisals be done in accordance with the law using data reflecting reality and proper methods. 
 
To learn more we accepted an invitation to meet with our assessor Mike Clark and his staff.  We spent nearly a half-day going over the details of their assessments for all of Incline Village's and Crystal Bay's twenty one neighborhoods. We listened to the details of how each neighborhood's land values were determined, testing for the use of inappropriate data or procedures.  The contrast between today's assessments and past results was striking in many respects.  The assessor's work was characterized by careful and thoughtful examination of residence sales, conservatism, thoroughness, and openness to adjustment.  
 
After the financial crisis property land values dropped significantly and appraised values have remained down for most Incline Village and Crystal Bay properties over the past 3 years.  Some have been unchanged even longer, going back 5 years.  Values have started to trend up over 2015/16 in certain markets areas within our community.  Consequently the appraisal staff needed to adjust some, but not all, assessments upwards. Of the 21 neighborhoods some 30% saw no change in their land assessments.  But the remaining neighborhoods experienced land assessment increases anywhere from 6% to 20%.
 
Thankfully Nevada caps increases of property taxes.  Irrespective of how much your assessment increased on your qualified primary residence the actual tax increase is limited to 3% per year.
 
We were encouraged that the appraisal process was well conducted. But that doesn't rule out errors.  If you think your assessment is wrong you should immediately contact the Washoe County Assessor's office and speak to the appraiser who performed your assessment.  We forecast that they will be responsive and will quickly resolve any issue a property owner might have.  Recall that last year, of the 91 real property appeals throughout the entire County, about 85% were resolved to the satisfaction of both owners and the assessor, largely eliminating appearances before the County Board of Equalization.  Incline Village residents who contact the Assessor will likely end up talking to Michael Gonzales or Jane Tung who did much of the leg work in our area.  The Assessor's office phone number is (775) 328-2233.
 

 

Village League to Save Incline Assets Board Members:

-Todd Lowe, President
-Les Barta, Vice President
-Dale Akers, Secretary Treasurer
-Dean Ingemanson, Director
 
Village League to Save Incline Assets, Inc.

www.NevadaPropertyTaxRevolt.org

Village.League at yahoo.com
Non-Profit Corporation - FEIN 88-0399029

77 Shoreline Circle, Incline Village, NV 89451

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