Madison Property Assessments Soar
 

Postcards with Madison homeowners new property assessments have probably all been delivered by now, and on average, values went up an average 8.6 percent.

Some neighborhood increased up to 18 percent while other neighborhoods had 4-5 percent increases.

Some are thrilled to see the improved value, but higher assessments can drive up your taxes.

Forrest Espinoza is now selling the her Willy Street home in the Wil-Mar Neighborhood, bought six years ago, on FSBOMadison.com. Her taxes have gone up about $2,000 in the time she has owned it, but the home's value has doubled in that time.

When she got her assessment notice, she was thrilled.

"Getting the property estimate was exciting for us -- it was exactly what I thought it would be," Espinoza said.

A 15.6 percent increase for the established Wil-Mar neighborhood is a big reason Espinoza put her house on the market a few weeks ago, and has already walked a dozen people through.

"I've talked to three realtors, and they've all said this is the place people want to be and they want to buy income property or they want to live here," Espinoza said.

Assessments are derived, in part, from 2004 sale prices and home improvements.

"You could do nothing to your property, and you could still get large increases in value based on what the market is saying that property is worth," said Mike Kurth, chief assessor for the city of Madison.

New construction is also a driving force in the assessment calculation. Lost Creek on Madison's far southeast side went up 18 percent over last year.
 

File Assessment Complaint by April 29

If you disagree with your assessment, you need to file an objection with the city assessor's office by April 29.

To get the complaint form, go to the city assessor's officer or call and have one sent to you.

Filling out the form begins the process for an appraisal review by the board of assessors. If you get your second assessment and still disagree, you can appeal to the board of review, which is a five-person citizen panel.

If you question your assessment, you should go ahead and fill out a disagreement form. One Madison businessman caught a clerical error on his assessment, which raised it by a million dollars by accident, News 3 reported.

·  City Assessor's Office: Check values, contact city officials