Over the past couple of weeks you should have received in the mail the BC Assessment for your home. If you disagree with any changes to the value of your house and property you have the option of disputing your BC Assessment of your property. You must issue this dispute before January 31st each year.
Disputing the BC Assessment of your property
All properties in BC are evaluated in July of each year and an assessment notice issued in the mail by the end of that year. These valuations are used by each municipality to evaluate property taxes paid by each homeowner factoring a mill rate set by each city. The valuations take into consideration comparable sales of properties at the time of the assessment and may also consider updates to the house and property. If you have added a new roof, deck or major renovations this will increase the value of your property and impact your assessment. In some cases valuations may be out of sync and if you feel there is an error in your valuation you can follow the steps for disputing the BC Assessment of your property to resolve or appeal.
If the issue is not resolved, the first level of appeal of a property assessment is to the Property Assessment Review Panel (“PARP”). The deadline to file a notice of complaint (appeal) to the Property Assessment Review Panel is Friday, January 31st at 11:59 p.m. PST.
For more information – visit http://www.bcassessment.ca/public/Pages/AppealingyourAssessment.aspx
Part of the appeal process can include an independent appraisal of the property. There are many appraisal companies who can provide this service, I have included information on a few companies below.
Westech Real Estate Appraisal
www.westechappraisal.com
Gateway Appraisals
www.gatewayappraisals.ca
Leemore and Associates
www.leemore.com