The county is charged with assessing properties fairly for taxation purposes. The County Auditor has to certify all property values by the 2nd week of November (that date is conveniently one week after he wins re-election by not disclosing to property owners increased values ahead of the election - yes, it's true!) Your purchase price will be compared to recent sales of similar properties, and you do have the right to appeal the assessed value by March of the next year. The county value will often approximate what you paid, if it was an arms-length sale, but if it is higher, the Auditor will have to support his findings in your appeal. Something buyers sometimes aren't aware of is that current owners who have a homestead exemption are paying substantially less in taxes than they will pay, so do look at the assessed value, not just the amount of the taxes being paid by the current owner, if it is noted on the Auditor's records that there is a homestead exemption. To help with next year's taxes, I offer a 25% rebate of my commission direct to home buyers at closing when they choose to utilize my buyer agency services. Good luck!

Not necessarily, Moreland. Summit County allows us to appeal our accessments once a year. A lot of folks won on an appeal of the last raise, due to the current market. Other factors involved are why was it 20% lower? Was it a foreclosure, was it a short sale, was it a distressed property, etc. I would need specifics to answer further. Feel free to call or email me anytime. Good luck.

Maybe.

(How's that for an answer?)

If your town does assessments (not appraisals, assessments) at supposedly fair market value, and the house sells for 20% less than the assessment (and the transaction was arm's length), then next year's assessment should reflect the lower price.

It's important, first, that the transaction be arm's length. Sometimes parents sell homes to their children for less than market value. Or other situations arise that suggest that the sale price does not reflect actual value. In those cases, the assessment won't/shouldn't drop to the actual sales price.

Even if it was arm's length, depending on your town's policies, it might or might not drop the assessment all the way. It still might contend that some circumstances existed that caused the sales price to not reflect the true value. In that case, if you wish, you might appeal the assessment.

But let's say that the town actually does drop the assessment by 20%. The question, then, is whether next year the town will raise (or lower) the tax rate. A lot of towns (and cities and counties) are raising the tax rate to account for such drops. Example: Let's say the tax rate is $1 for every $100 of assessed value. So on a $100,000 house you'd pay $1,000 in taxes. But with the soft housing market, the value of the home falls to $80,000. The taxes paid would decline to $800. But, town-wide, that's a huge cut in revenues. So the town next year might raise the rate to $1.10 for every $100 of assessed value. In this example, your taxes would be $880--still a drop from $1,000, but not the 20% drop you were hoping for.

So your answer really depends on what the town does: First, with your actual assessment and, second, with the applicable tax rate.

Hope that helps.