|
BOARD OF LISTERS
| BETSY JESSER, CHAIR |
|
492-3587 |
| SHARON WINNICKI |
|
492-3536 |
|
STEVE NICHOLSON
|
|
492-3824 |
Email: shrewsburylist@vermontel.net
Lister Town Office Phone: 492-2009
Link to Rutland Herald article on setting Tax Rate
posted 9/24/2009
Location, Location, Location
People always ask us about land and our answer is always the same, no one is making any more land.
It is important to have an understanding of what makes land valuable when comparing properties.
It means identical homes can increase or decrease in value due to location. You can buy the right home in the wrong location. You can change the structure or its configuration, but ordinarily you don’t move it. It is attached to the land. The best locations are those in conforming neighborhoods where home buyers prefer to be surrounded by similar types of properties. Location, Location, Location, you can move your home, but you can’t move the land and its location. It’s location is permanent.
Be it land or homes location is the prime factor. Home buyers will pay more for homes located within top school districts, close to rivers, oceans, mountains and recreation. They like to be near visually appealing settings. Homes with views sell for top dollar as well as homes with access to entertainment and shopping. Neighborhoods that maintain their value are sought out for ownership. Privacy sells, being located close to emergency services and conveniences shorten travel time and are desirable. Things that make good locations vary according to where you are located, be it city, mountains or country.
Undesirable locations are easier to pinpoint. Homes located next to Commercial properties with noise and traffic being a factor. Near railroad tracks or under flight paths with heavy traffic are less desirable. Crime ridden neighborhoods, people want to feel safe in their homes. Depressed areas where owners do not take care of their homes. Drug areas where cars are coming and going at all hours of the day and night are undesirable to neighbors. Name a person that wants to be located next to a power plant by choice.
We could go on, but you get the idea, Location, Location, Location !
Why is Location Important - The answer is simple – Location is the only thing about a property that you can’t change.
This is why the same home will sell for different values depending on its location and land attributes.
This also pertains to raw land, its value lies in its location, which will never change. The neighborhood may change and the house could possibly be moved, but the location will stay the same.
All these factors have to be considered if we want to compare apples to apples, or in this case property to like property.
It’s the land that gives the property it’s location, not the house. The house is not permanent.
Only the land is permanent. For better or worse, you’re stuck with a property’s location.
We will continue to educate you throughout our town reappraisal so you can better understand how your home and land is valued.
If there are any topics you want us to cover please contact us at 492-2009. This is your reappraisal and we want to educate you in understanding your assessments.
Respectfully,
Shrewsbury Board of Listers
(Posted 9-28-09)
REAPPRAISAL Q&A (8/13/2009)
Can we get copies of our appraisal?
Wright Appraisal Co. is now gathering all data in preparation for the 2010 Grand List values. They have your information and it will not be entered into our CAMA (Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal) until a later date when most property visits will be complete. At this time their priority is gathering all data before the winter weather kicks in making it more difficult to inspect and measure your homes. Properties that are a percent complete will be appraised as close to April 1st as possible.
Does my property tax bill reflect the new appraisal?....or must all the appraisals be completed across the board before any adjustment is made?
Your recent taxbill has nothing to do with the current Town Wide Reappraisal. New values as a result of the Town Wide Reappraisal will take effect in 2010.
When are the Appraisers going to call us for an appointment ?
Actually, you will be hearing from one of the Listers to set your appointment or you can call the Listers at the Town Office (492-2009) to request an appointment time that will work for you.
The Schedule is Monday, Wednesday and Friday between the hours of 10 and 5. Tuesdays between 11am and 7pm and two Saturdays a month. We will be contacting you when the appraisers are in your neighborhood to set appointments.
HS 122 Question
Why does my tax bill say Non Resident when I am a resident ?
You need to file your Homestead Exemption and correctly answer the questions asked on the form. These forms go directly to the State and then are sent to us for verification through the CAMA system. If you have a split of Resident / Non Resident rate on your taxbill then you most likely have a business or rental in your home or in a outbuilding. If it is in an outbuilding, the total outbuilding is taxed at the non resident rate.
Thanks so much for your questions. Please feel free to send us any questions you may have.
Reappraisal Status August 12, 2009
Greetings everyone,
The TownWide reappraisal is going along quite smoothly as this point in time. Your participation has made this process successful for the Listers and Wright Appraisers. The listers are making appointments daily and will be contacting you when we are working in your area to set up an appointment for your home. If we call you twice and we do not receive a call back the appraisers will make a cold call and leave a card for you to call us for an appointment. If you want input and your best appraisal please return a call to the listers at 492-2009. In the event that the appraisers do not get into your home and you grieve your assessment, someone will have to view your total property for any possible change to your assessment.
Cold calls/ Cold call site visits to properties that we have not yet made appointments for. A percentage of cold calls are made and cards left with instructions on calling us back to set up appointments. If the property looks like it is vacant the appraiser are careful about leaving cards. They also are considerate of children possibly being home alone and will not take measurements and pictures in these instances. Otherwise, the appraisers will take pictures and measurements of your home and do a evaluation in the case that the homeowner does not get back to us to schedule an appointment.
It is important if you have an appointment to contact us to reschedule, if the appraisers come to your home for an appointment and you are not there the town is charged a $90. fee as if you were home. At that point they leave you a card to reschedule. We know it is difficult to plan ahead allot of times and we are happy to reschedule your appointments for you.
If you have an appointment and have a medical emergency which has happened a couple of times everyone totally understands. Please leave a note so we have it for our files.
Please feel free to contact us at 492-2009 with any questions or if you need to schedule a specific appointment time that works for you.
Any homes that are "a percent complete" will not be appraised in the Spring as close to April 1st possible.
We truly appreciate your kindness and consideration through this process. Our feedback so far has been that townspeople find the appraisers welcoming and receptive to concerns related to their assessments.
We are posting info on the Town Wide Reappraisal on the Towns Website, the Shrewsbury Times, an the Shrewsbury Crime Watch e-mail.
Reappraisal Status June 17, 2009
We have done the recent land sales and are now visiting the recently sold home sales. We will soon be starting the Reappraisal Field Work in the areas of CCC Road, Upper Cold River Road, Lottery Road, Spring Lake, Button Hill and their fingered out areas. We are concentrating first on areas that are harder to get to in the winter months. From there we will do the interior of the town.
The July Times will be updating when and where we will be. When we are in your area you will have the opportunity to make an appointment if you are not home when we attempt to appraise your property. We will leave you a green card with information regarding appointments, we will try our best to call and set appointments as best we can as opposed to unannounced visits.
We now have a answering machine for the Listers at the Town Office, so we can make appointments for the Wright Appraisal Team. Our number is 492-2009, call and leave us a message and we will return your calls. The new appraised values will be set and in effect for the 2010 Grand List. Please make note of our e-mail shrewsburylist@vermontel.net if you would like to reach us directly.
In order to control costs we will be using the Town Website - Lister Page http://www.shrewsburyvt.org/lister.php, Crime Watch and the Shrewsbury Times for appraisal information. Later, bj
Frequently Asked Questions
Prior to Town-Wide Reappraisal Projects
Q: Why is Shrewsbury doing a Reappraisal?
A: The simple answer is that the town is completing a reappraisal to ensure equity or fairness in assessments throughout town and to bring assessed values up to market value. The more complex answer is that the state of Vermont dictates that all towns maintain equity of assessment through Act 68 legislation. The state conducts a study for each town in the state; this study measures the common level of assessment as well as other measures of equity of assessment. When the CLA or other measures fall below a certain level, the state mandates that the town complete a reappraisal. Shrewsbury has been given such a mandate by the State, however, given that the town of Shrewsbury has not completed a full reappraisal for 20 years, it is necessary by many measures.
Q: Do I have to allow the Listers/Appraisers to conduct an interior inspection?
A: Legally you do not have to allow an interior inspection, however, many taxpayers will actually benefit from this inspection by allowing us to make an accurate assessment of the property. If the appraisers must make assumptions from the exterior house, the inaccuracies involved in these assumptions may result in a higher assessment than the property should correctly have.
Q: If my house is 50 years old or older but I have recently painted and papered the interior, will my house be treated as if it is newly renovated?
A: A depreciation schedule is used to assign appropriate effective age and condition to each property. This depreciation is adjusted for each town and adjusted to be current to market conditions overall. Paint and paper do improve a house, but major remodeling work will have a greater effect on our assessment of effective age. As an example, a 50 year old house with 10 year old kitchen and baths and windows will likely be assigned less depreciation than a similar 50 year old house with original kitchen, bath and windows.
Q: When will I be informed of my new property assessment?
A: Inspections should be completed in spring of 2010 and data will be submitted by the appraisal company to the town by May of 2010. Change of assessment notices will be sent out to all taxpayers in May or June of 2010.
June 1, 2009
NOTICE TO TOWN OF SHREWSBURY TAXPAYERS
The Town of Shrewsbury has signed a contract with Wright Appraisal Company of Florence to complete a town wide reappraisal for tax purposes. The reappraisal is necessary to ensure equity of assessment, and has been recommended by the state of Vermont Department of Property Valuation and Review.
Representatives of Wright Appraisal Company will be visiting your street in the coming months to inspect your property. The appraisers will begin work on June 1, 2009. Properties that have sold within the last 4 years will be inspected first, so appraisers will be working all throughout town at first.
Appraisers will be conducting most of the inspections on a cold call basis. A first attempt will be made and an inspection completed at that time if possible. If the owner is not available, a card will be left asking the owner to contact the Listers' Office for an appointment. If the owner does not respond within 4 weeks, a second and final call will be made. If we are not able to conduct an inspection of the interior of the property, we will make assumptions based on the exterior of the property. In many cases, an interior inspection benefits the taxpayer because the appraiser is informed of any deficiencies in the property and can make the appropriate adjustments to the assessed value.
It is most efficient for the appraisal company to conduct appraisals on a street by street cold-call basis. However, if you would prefer to make an appointment, you may call the Listers' office at 492-3511, a Lister will be available to take appointment calls every Tuesday between Noon and 6:00 pm beginning June 2nd.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation as we begin this project. Please feel free to contact the Listers' office if you should have questions about the reappraisal project.
Board of Listers, Town of Shrewsbury, 802-492-3511
WRIGHT APPRAISAL
Logo - Lisa (Wright) Garcia
Stephen Writh - Steph Wright
 
 
|