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By Sadie Hunter

In The Loop

HUNTER: Appealing your property assessment is not daunting — and may save you in the long run

Jan 10, 2023 | 10:38 AM

WHEN I OPENED THE ENVELOPE containing my 2023 Property Assessment Notice from BC Assessment last week my jaw dropped and expletives came out.

While the average change in property values across the city of Kamloops is an increase of 13 per cent, my property value increased by 73 per cent. My spouse’s response was similar to mine when I texted him a photo – WTF?

At first, I dismissed it as being related to being in a newer multi-family building, so I assumed it was an adjustment based on the status of the land changing from being land only to land plus a building. But the more I thought about it and talked to friends, the more something seemed amiss. How could our assessment be 60 per cent higher than the city average?

Whether your assessment seems high or low, it’s definitely worth ensuring it’s accurate. The first step in doing this is logging on to the BC Assessment website and doing a comparative property search. This will show you the value for similar properties in your area and the value of recent nearby sales. This is important information because the assessments are based on the market value of your property on July 1, 2022.

Sure, the real estate market was still fairly hot in July, but not enough to increase value by over 70 per cent, and not in my neighbourhood. The comparative search and the recent property sales history around me supported this assertion. No other properties in my neighbourhood saw the same jump and there were no recent sales which might have led to my assessment being bumped so high.

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The BC Assessment website is very easy to navigate and the entire process of looking up the comparative values and sales history took all of five minutes. I definitely recommend this step if you think your assessment might be off because, if nothing else, it might provide some peace of mind.

Another reason this is important to get right is because your property tax bill is partly based on the assessed value of your property. If your assessment is really high, your property tax bill will likely be inflated, too. For example, if the City of Kamloops lands on an average tax increase of 5 per cent (we’ll say for the sake of easy math), then your tax bill should rise by about 5 per cent of your assessed value — not the market value which might be much different, especially if your assessment isn’t accurate. In fact, if your assessment is unusually high, you will likely carry a larger tax burden, meaning your tax increase could end up being larger than the tax rate.

In general, your tax burden will decrease if the change in your property’s assessed value is lower than the average change for your property class (which was an increase of 13 per cent for residential properties in Kamloops). If your property’s assessment change is similar to the average change, your property taxes will likely remain the same.

An inaccurate value can also potentially impact your ability to sell. If the market value of comparable properties is substantially lower, then your sale price would be matching current market values, not your assessed value. This could raise the eyebrows of some lenders who will wonder why your property is listed significantly lower than the assessed value. The reverse is also true (asking price is a lot higher than a low assessment). If your property is inaccurately assessed either way, this could impact the overall market values in the neighbourhood – yet another reason to make sure the assessment is correct.

So now what? Well, the assessment notice indicates the deadline for filing a notice of complaint (referred to as an appeal in brackets) is January 31, 2023. Owners are also told to call BC Assessment with questions before filing a complaint/appeal, so this was my next step.

The call was quick and informative. My concerns were validated, and I was encouraged to submit a request for an appeal. I was given an overview of what to expect, what kind of information I might need to present and the timeline for the process. I went away from the call feeling comfortable and not intimidated by the idea of a hearing. I doubt I’m the only one to picture standing before a panel of cross-armed assessors making my case when I think of an appeal hearing.

If you’re even a little on the fence about the accuracy of your assessment, I encourage giving BC Assessment a call. If you don’t have access to a computer or can’t get through the process of doing a comparison, they will walk you through it over the phone.

Some other tips are to go to BC Assessment and type in your address to make sure the basic details about your property are correct as errors in square footage, number of bedrooms and property type can all significantly impact your assessment.

For now, the process is ongoing; I’ll be sure to provide updates! If you have any questions or want to share your experience, please feel free to drop a comment below.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.