Frequently Asked Questions

To arrive at "full and fair cash value" for your property, the Assessors must analyze what "willing sellers" and "willing buyers" are doing in the marketplace. The assessment date is January first (other than new construction or demolition which is July 1) and therefore the Assessors will analyze sales from the prior calendar year to determine the level of assessment in comparison with the market. (Example: January 1, 2015 is the assessment date for Fiscal 2016 therefore the Assessors will analyze calendar year 2014 qualified market sales. These sales do not include family sales, sales to abutters, estate sales, divorce sales etc.) The Assessors will use 3 appraisal approaches to value: cost, income and market. The data, once analyzed, is then correlated to final values for all properties. The analysis must also meet all standards as set forth by the Department of Revenue for certification.

Mass appraisal is defined as the use of standardized procedures for collecting data and appraising property to ensure that all properties within a municipality are valued uniformly and equitably. It is the process of valuing a group of properties as of a given date, using common data, employing standardized methods and conducting statistical tests to ensure uniformity and equity in the valuations. Assessors use mass appraisal procedures and techniques when determining the fair cash value of properties in their municipalities.

State law requires that your property be assessed at market value. Market value is the amount a typical, well informed purchaser would be willing to pay for a property. For a sale to be a market value (arms-length or qualified) sale, the seller and buyer must be unrelated, the seller must be willing (but not under pressure) to buy, the property must be on the market for a reasonable length of time, the payment must be in cash or its equivalent, and the financing must be typical for that type of property.

Fair cash value has been determined by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court as "fair market value", which is the price an owner willing but not under compulsion to sell ought to receive from one willing but not under compulsion to buy. It means the highest price that a normal purchaser not under peculiar compulsion will pay at the time, and cannot exceed the sum that the owner after reasonable effort could obtain for this property. A valuation (price) limited to what the property is worth to the purchaser is not market value. The fair cash value is the value the property would have on January first or any taxable year in the hands of any owner, including the present owner. (Boston Gas Co. v. Assessors of Boston, 334 Mass. 549, 566 (1956)).

The next best evidence are the qualified sales of reasonably comparable properties. These are properties that are similar to your own in location, age, style, size, condition and other features that affect market value such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.

Most likely, yes. However, not all assessments will change at the same rate. Market values may have increased more for some neighborhoods and/or different property types. Some neighborhoods and/or property types may have decreased more than others as well. Some neighborhoods and/or property types can even remain the same. One purpose of a revaluation is to make sure that the assessed valuations reflect the changes that have occurred within the marketplace.

General economic conditions such as interest rates, inflations rates, and changes in the tax laws will influence the value of real estate. As property values (sales prices) fluctuate in the market place, those changes must be reflected in the assessments of all properties.

After preliminary certification is received from the Department of Revenue, there is a public disclosure period. This time is advertised in the newspaper as well as on the local cable channel. These valuations are available in the Assessors office as well as the Main Library. Otherwise, the notification takes place when you receive your actual tax bill in January. This bill will show the new valuation along with the tax rates for the year.

Although the valuation of your property affects your share of taxes, the actual amount you pay is determined by the budgetary needs of the town. This is decided by what services will be provided in the coming year and the cost to provide these services. The budgets are approved at Town Meeting. Once this decision is made and valuations are certified by Department of Revenue, a tax rate that will generate the needed tax dollars is then adopted and approved by Department of Revenue. Your individual property taxes are then determined by multiplying your assessment by the tax rate. The tax rate is expressed as dollars per thousand dollars in value. Remember assessments and taxes have a seesaw effect. If one goes up the other goes down and vice-versa.

Any property or residence must be compared with like properties. As the old saying goes you must compare apples to apples. You should utilize properties that are similar to yours in location, age, style, size, condition and other features that affect market value such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms for comparison purposes.

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