In most areas homes are assessed every 5 years, contact the assessors office in the area you are interested and ask when their next reassessment will take place. however dont let assessments keep you from buying, after all if your house is worth half your neighbors house is worth half and so on. If they cut everyone in the city in half, your assessment will go down, but your total tax will stay the same unless the local governemnets cut their spending. Good luck with your search.

It seems obvious that any home purchased for less than the assessment should be immediately processed for a rebate. The process is a little difficult, but worth the time. The first step is to find out which process is in effect in the tax district (the town) The people at the tax office will try to discourage you and make you go away. After all they might have to do some work. Usually the taxes need to be payed in full- up to date at the time of the application. You also will need to prove that the comparable homes in your area are valued at the same or lower than yours. This will prove that your sale is not an exception, but the norm. The appraiser you hire should be told up front that the object of his job is NOT to find the highest value for your home. Good luck with this! If you need the property cleaned out before the closing cotact us at http://www.TrashCleanouts.com

Good Afternoon Rodrigue,

Unfortnuately, I have to echo the sentiments of my fellow real estate agents. There is little hope in a reduction in the tax rates. However, keep these 2 things in mind. Assessed value has very little to do with actual market value of a home, yes it most certainly plays into how much house you can afford. I am sure no one was complaining when houses were selling for double the assessed values 5 years ago, it just stinks for people trying to get into a first home today.

If you are not yet, I would strongly recommend that if are serious about buying a home that you hire a buyer agent to work on your behalf. Most of the time it costs you nothing to hire one(as the commission is paid by the seller) and you gain their expertise.

I have included a link for you to see the various tax rates for all of the towns and cities in RI. If you would like you can always contact me if you would like to see MA rates.
Good luck and Happy Hunting.

Hi, What Alayna says is correct. However, it has been my experience that taxes rarely go down. If you can prove that your home is worth less (using what you paid for it as your best example) then you would have a good chance. If you are going to wait and see if the revaluations reduces taxes, I would be seriously surprised if this happens, given the state of the economy and the need for tax revenue(especially here in Rhode Island)!

On another note, if you find a 400K home selling for 200K, make sure you have it inspected! Normal reductions in this market have been 20 to 30% unless there is something seriously wrong. If there is nothing wrong, you have a great deal and should grab it. Good luck in your search.

RI law requires that a statistical update be done every 3 years with a full physical revaluation every 9 years. Providence's last revaluation was in 2006. You can appeal the valuation of a property with the city. Also remember that Providence offers a homestead exemption which may not be reflected in the current owner's taxes.