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1. Will my assessment go up if I repair my property?

Normal maintenance will help retain the market value of your property, but generally will not affect your assessment.

For more information, please call 860-665-8530.

2. How can my assessment change when I haven't done anything to my property?

General economic conditions such as interest rates, inflation rates, and changes in the tax laws will influence the value of real estate. As property values change in the marketplace (sales), those changes will eventually be reflected on the assessment roll.

For more information, please call 860-665-8530.

3. Do all assessments change at the same rate?

There are differences between individual properties and between neighborhoods. In one area, the sales may indicate a substantial increase in value in a given year. In another neighborhood, there may be a lesser change in property values. Different types of properties within the same neighborhood may also show different value changes. For example, one - story houses may be more in demand than two - story houses or vice versa. Older homes in the same area may be rising in value more slowly than newer homes. Among the numerous factors to be considered that will cause values to differ are location, condition, size, quality, number of baths, basement finish, garages, and many others.

For more information, please call 860-665-8530.

4. Will the person who inspects my property be able to tell me my new assessment?

No. If an inspection is necessary on your property, we have to analyze all of the information we gathered before placing a value on your property. We will then further review this information to ensure that your assessment corresponds fairly to the assessments of other properties.

For more information, please call 860-665-8530.

5. Nobody inspected the inside of my home, so how could you reassess it?

The Assessor’s Office maintains a complete record for each property. Information is kept current through permit inspections, sales inspections, periodic re-inspections and exterior reviews. The records are available for your review. This information is used to develop the new assessments.

For more information, please call 860-665-8530.

6. I’ve heard you develop values by computer. Is this correct?

Just as in many other fields, computers are useful in the assessment process. Assessors are trained to look for relationships between property characteristics and market value. By coding these characteristics and studying sale prices, assessors can estimate value by developing formulas and models. Computers are much faster and are capable of advanced analysis in this area. Despite these capabilities, common sense and assessor judgment are always required to verify assessments. Assessors most familiar with the neighborhoods and properties review all assessments.

For more information, please call 860-665-8530.