Frequently Asked Questions

Market value of a property is an estimate of the price that it would sell for on the open market on the first day of January of the year of assessment. This is sometimes referred to as the "arms length transaction" or "willing buyer/willing seller" concept.

While making changes to a property can increase the value of that individual property, the sales information from a jurisdiction indicates what trends occurred in the market as a whole.  Since the assessor is required to be at market value on a property, if the market indicates that  housing prices have increased, it is likely that most properties would have to increase.

The assessor must value according to the sales of the prior year.  We are not predicting the future, only responding to the prices that buyers paid to sellers.  So if the market decreases, we will follow the market when we revalue property.

We are required to follow the market, regardless of what caused the changes in the market.  We follow the market transactions that buyer/sellers are making.  The buyer and sellers determination of what a fair price was, dictates the market.  If it becomes a deflated market we would follow that as well.

An assessment appeal is not a complaint about high taxes.  It is an attempt to prove that the property's assessed value is either inaccurate or not equitable. You should appeal when you can prove such things as:

1) Items that affect value are incorrect on your property record card.

2) The assessed value is more than the market value of the property.

3) The assessment is accurate but not equitable with assessments of other like property.

What steps should be taken in an assessment appeal?

The first step should be to visit the assessor's office.  The assessor's office will have information that will help you to understand your assessment.  If after visiting with the assessor's office, you disagree with the assessed value, you may file a written appeal to the Board of Review.  The assessor's office will supply this petition form to you. This petition must be filled out properly and returned to the assesor's office on time.

When can an appeal be filed?

The notice of change in value (Assessment Roll) is mailed no later than April 1st.  An appeal to the Board of Review may be filed on or after April 2nd and including April 30th.

What is the Board of Review?

An independent group consisting of 3 to 5 members. They will determine if the assessment should be lowered, left unchanged or increased.  The Board of Review will be interested only in the accuracy of the assessment, not in whether you can afford to pay the taxes or whether your taxes are too high.  Taxes are determined by the levying bodies (schools, cities, county) , not the assessor's office or the Board of Review.

How does the Board of Review make their decision?

The Board of Review will utilize all information in their possession.  Sales of similar properties, location of property, etc... It is the responsibility of the taxpayer to bring forth to the Board of Review all information that would convince the Board of Review that the assessment is not accurate or is not equitable.

Can the Board of Review's decision be appealed?

The decision made by the Board of Review can be appealed to the District Court or to the State Property Appeal Board within 20 days after the Board adjourns or May 31, whichever date is later.

The  market has increased dramatically in the past 2, and often 4 years.  Why do you feel the value is incorrect?  Are there listing errors?  Do you have sales information for us to review?  Do you have a 2022 fee appraisal to submit to us? The value going up too much is not an argument.

The entire state has seen dramatic increases in the real estate market over the last 2 years.  The total taxable vlaue for a classification, such as residential, can only increase 3% statewide.  In the fall of this year, the Iowa Department of Revenue will determin what percentage of the assessed value is taxable.  Ultimately, we do not know how an individual's taxes will be affected as we do not know the tax levy, the special projects, the state rollback, or legislative changes that will take place.

Residential:  Since the entire state has seen increases in the residential market, the amount of your value, which can be taxed should decrease to offset some of the increase.  For 2022 values, approximately 55% of the assessed value will be taxable.  For 2023, due to the increases across the state that number will decrease.

AG:  Since the entire state has seen increases in the assessed value of agricultural properties, the amount of your value which can be taxed should decrease to offset some of the increase.  For 2022 values, approximately 91% of the assessed value will be taxable.  For 2023, due to the increases across the state that number will decrease.  Historically, we saw the reverse of this during the revaluation of 2019.  The assessed value decreased drastically but taxes did not decrease as the state increased the rollback so a higher percentage of the assessed value was taxable.  The reverse will happen for 2023. 

An assessor uses the information from the sales in their jurisdiction to determine changes.  This often means the entire class of property will need to increase a certain amount, but the assessor also looks at other information from those sales and applies that infromation to their mass appraisal system.  One area of town may have had sales that showed they required a greater increase than other areas.  For example, old but well maintained or remodeled 2 story houses may have sold stronger than ranch homes built in the 1970's when compared to their assessed value.  The assessor applies the information they gather from the sales data to make the valuation decision.

To estimate the market value of your property, the Assessor generally uses three approaches:

• The first approach is to find properties that are comparable to yours which have sold recently. Local conditions peculiar to your property are taken into consideration. The Assessor also uses sales ratio studies to determine the general level of assessment in a community in order to adjust for local conditions. This method is generally referred to as the Market Approach and is usually considered the most important in determining the value of residential property.
• The second approach is the Cost Approach and is an estimate of how many dollars at current labor and material prices it would take to replace your property with one similar to it. In the event improvement is not new, appropriate amounts for depreciation and obsolescence are deducted from replacement value. Value of the land is added to arrive at an estimate of the total property value.
• The Income Approach is the third method. It is used if your property produces income such as an apartment or office building. In that case, your property could be valued according to its ability to produce income under prudent management. In other words, the amount another investor would give for your property in order to gain its income. The income approach is the most complex of the three approaches because of the research, information and analysis necessary for an accurate estimate of value. This method requires thorough knowledge of local and national financial conditions, as well as any developmental trends in the area of the subject property being appraised since errors or inaccurate information can seriously affect the final estimate of value.

Sales from the jurisdiction are used to determine the total value that is required for an entire classification.  In order to reach the total value, most properties will see valuation changes based off of the Median sales number.

Since 1975 assessments have been at market value by Iowa Code.  In a mass appraisal system, it is certainly possible that an individual property may have been assessed too low or too high.  What matters right now is, are we at market value on your property for 2023? If not, what is the proof.

If you desire further information, questions concerning property values or other information relating thereto should be addressed to the Assessor's office in the respective jurisdiction and not the Board of Supervisors or Treasurer.

State law requires that all real property be reassessed every two years. The current law requires the reassessment to occur in odd numbered years. Changes in market value as indicated by research, sales ratio studies and analysis of local conditions as well as economic trends both in and outside the construction industry are used in determining your assessment.

If you disagree with the Assessor's estimate of value, please consider these two questions:

1. What is the actual market value of my property?
2. How does the value compare to similar properties in the neighborhood?

If you have any questions about the assessment of your property, feel free to come in and discuss it with the Assessor. You may file a written protest with the Board of Review which is composed of three or five members from various areas of the assessing jurisdiction. The Board operates independently of the Assessor's office, and has the power to confirm or to adjust upward or downward any assessment.

If not satisfied with the Board's decision, appeals may be filed with the Property Assessment Appeal Board or to district court within 20 days after adjournment or May 31, whichever date is later.

You can also find more information by visiting the pages below:

• Understand Your Assessment
• Valuation Appeal