You may have recently received your latest property tax assessment that arrived on January 1, 2017 in BC and the values have increased tremendously across the board. If you have not received your latest property tax assessment, you can also get access here.
What does the latest assessment mean to homeowners? As a Mortgage Consultant, I actively review property assessments and appraisal reports for my clients and have been getting a lot of calls lately about these newly assessed values. In my opinion, the assessed value does not reflect the current market value as there is a big difference between the two. The 2017 Property Tax Assessment is a value that is calculated for tax purposes based on automated valuation algorithm used by BC Assessment and is split up into two components of valuation, Land, and Buildings.
Property taxes are collected in the municipality based on the assessed values to fund local programs and services such as police and fire protection, road construction, garbage services, recreation, parks, libraries, schools, and hospitals etc. Shockingly, we have heard of 2017 assessed values increase by as much as 40% in some areas of BC, and I do believe that the property tax bills that will be due later this year, may also show a significant increase as well.
To get an accurate value on your home for mortgage financing, litigation or other matters such as spousal buyout or divorce or to appeal the value of your assessment, I would highly recommend seeking a licensed appraiser that is a member of the Appraisal Institute of Canada with CRA or AACI designation.
If you are looking to sell your property, a licensed realtor in your neighbourhood would be able to provide an estimated market value based on a Comparative Market Analysis. If you completely disagree with the recent increase in the assessed value of your property, you can also appeal the value with BC Assessment before January 31, 2017, by clicking here. If you would like a recommendation for an experienced and licensed appraiser in your area, please let me know.
