{"id":12280,"date":"2013-04-24T09:53:49","date_gmt":"2013-04-24T16:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/?p=12280"},"modified":"2022-04-19T23:16:06","modified_gmt":"2022-04-20T06:16:06","slug":"home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"Home Assessments: What Exactly Are They?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re on the path to becoming a first-time homeowner, you\u2019re probably trying to get a grasp on all of the necessary home details, payments, and processes. One thing on that list is a home assessment, also known as a property value or property tax assessment.<br \/>\nNo need to cower behind your hands at the likes of that official-sounding phrase, because the <a title=\"Movoto Real Estate\" href=\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\">Movoto Real Estate<\/a> team is here to break it down for you. And don\u2019t worry&#8211;we\u2019re convinced there are even current homeowners out there oblivious to the term.<\/p>\n<h2>What Exactly Are Home Assessments?<\/h2>\n<p>An assessment is the value of a property calculated by your local government. City tax assessors calculate this value based on recent sale prices of comparable homes and the area\u2019s \u201cequalization rate,\u201d or the ratio of the assessment to market value.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>For example, a house with a market value of $600,000 and an assessed value of $300,000 has an equalization rate of 50 percent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If the assessment of your desired home scares you, don\u2019t wig out too much because it\u2019s generally not a good benchmark for determining the home\u2019s value.<\/p>\n<h2>How Do Home Assessments Matter?<\/h2>\n<p>First off, home assessments matter because the local government uses it as a way to figure out how much you owe for owning the home. The assessment is used to determine the cost of your property taxes&#8211;though this varies in different states, the rate is generally between 0.2% and 4% of the home\u2019s value.<br \/>\nAdditionally the assessment could matter if prices have dropped since you purchased your home. The market is a constantly changing variable, and a steady decline in home prices could mean you\u2019re being charged too much for taxes (based on a property assessment that was completed when prices were higher).<br \/>\nIf this is the case, you might consider appealing your assessment to reduce your property taxes.<\/p>\n<h2>But Wait, There\u2019s More&#8230;Taxes<\/h2>\n<p>We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but yes, these property taxes are in addition to federal and state income and sales taxes.<br \/>\nUnfortunately, they\u2019re also virtually inescapable. On the up side (or maybe the downside depending on how you look at it), you should only get this bill once a year in one lump sum.<br \/>\nSince you\u2019re probably wondering, here\u2019s a breakdown of where exactly your property taxes are going:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Public schools (usually more than 50 percent)<\/li>\n<li>Maintenance of public roads<\/li>\n<li>Communal and public areas like parks and libraries<\/li>\n<li>Police and public safety<\/li>\n<li>Other community expenses, such as snow plowing if you live in an area where it snows<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>No, It\u2019s Not the Same as an Appraisal<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nar.realtor\/appraisal-valuation\">An appraisal<\/a> is normally completed by your mortgage lender and essentially represents the fair market value of a specific property. The appraisal value is determined by looking at:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>comparable sales<\/li>\n<li>the condition and location of the property<\/li>\n<li>the size<\/li>\n<li>the number of rooms<\/li>\n<li>the type of construction<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The bottom line: An appraisal is used to help your lender determine the amount they\u2019re willing to loan you, while home assessments are pursued by the city to decide how much your property taxes are.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re on the path to becoming a first-time homeowner, you\u2019re probably trying to get a grasp on all of the necessary home details, payments, and processes. One thing on that list is a home assessment, also known as a property value or property tax assessment. No need to cower behind your hands at the likes of that official-sounding phrase, because the Movoto Real Estate team is here to break it down for you. And don\u2019t worry&#8211;we\u2019re convinced there are even current homeowners out there oblivious to the term. What Exactly Are Home Assessments? An assessment is the value of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[223,42,224],"tags":[71,110],"class_list":["post-12280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buying","category-real-estate-tips","category-selling","tag-home-value","tag-property-value","post--single"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Home Assessments: What Exactly Are They?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"First off, your property assessment matters because the local government uses it as a way to figure out how much you owe for owning the home.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Home Assessments: What Exactly Are They?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"First off, your property assessment matters because the local government uses it as a way to figure out how much you owe for owning the home.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Movoto Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MovotoRealEstate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-04-24T16:53:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-04-20T06:16:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Movoto Editors\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@movoto\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@movoto\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Movoto Editors\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Movoto Editors\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/533a05a1afadb347f63d9406a5453ef0\"},\"headline\":\"Home Assessments: What Exactly Are They?\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-04-24T16:53:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-04-20T06:16:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/\"},\"wordCount\":531,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Home Value\",\"Property Value\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Buying\",\"DIY, Tips &amp; Maintenance\",\"Selling\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/\",\"name\":\"Home Assessments: What Exactly Are They?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-04-24T16:53:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-04-20T06:16:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"First off, your property assessment matters because the local government uses it as a way to figure out how much you owe for owning the home.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Home Assessments: What Exactly Are They?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Movoto Blog\",\"description\":\"Jump-start your real estate journey with expert guidance\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Movoto by OJO\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/movoto.kinsta.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/movoto-by-ojo-blog.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/movoto.kinsta.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/movoto-by-ojo-blog.png\",\"width\":220,\"height\":100,\"caption\":\"Movoto by OJO\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MovotoRealEstate\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/movoto\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/movotorealestate\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/movoto\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/movoto\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/movotorealestate\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/533a05a1afadb347f63d9406a5453ef0\",\"name\":\"Movoto Editors\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/20d0fced24661cf7af11ed06909012c2c546b8a68162a3a4bc1be2f3c77f7e2c?s=96&d=monsterid&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/20d0fced24661cf7af11ed06909012c2c546b8a68162a3a4bc1be2f3c77f7e2c?s=96&d=monsterid&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Movoto Editors\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/author\/tyamoto\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Home Assessments: What Exactly Are They?","description":"First off, your property assessment matters because the local government uses it as a way to figure out how much you owe for owning the home.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Home Assessments: What Exactly Are They?","og_description":"First off, your property assessment matters because the local government uses it as a way to figure out how much you owe for owning the home.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/","og_site_name":"Movoto Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MovotoRealEstate\/","article_published_time":"2013-04-24T16:53:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-04-20T06:16:06+00:00","author":"Movoto Editors","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@movoto","twitter_site":"@movoto","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Movoto Editors","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/"},"author":{"name":"Movoto Editors","@id":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/533a05a1afadb347f63d9406a5453ef0"},"headline":"Home Assessments: What Exactly Are They?","datePublished":"2013-04-24T16:53:49+00:00","dateModified":"2022-04-20T06:16:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/"},"wordCount":531,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Home Value","Property Value"],"articleSection":["Buying","DIY, Tips &amp; Maintenance","Selling"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/","url":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/","name":"Home Assessments: What Exactly Are They?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-04-24T16:53:49+00:00","dateModified":"2022-04-20T06:16:06+00:00","description":"First off, your property assessment matters because the local government uses it as a way to figure out how much you owe for owning the home.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/home-assessments-what-are-they-and-how-do-they-matter\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Home Assessments: What Exactly Are They?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/","name":"Movoto Blog","description":"Jump-start your real estate journey with expert guidance","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Movoto by OJO","url":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/movoto.kinsta.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/movoto-by-ojo-blog.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/movoto.kinsta.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/movoto-by-ojo-blog.png","width":220,"height":100,"caption":"Movoto by OJO"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MovotoRealEstate\/","https:\/\/x.com\/movoto","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/movotorealestate\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/movoto","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/movoto\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/movotorealestate"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/533a05a1afadb347f63d9406a5453ef0","name":"Movoto Editors","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/20d0fced24661cf7af11ed06909012c2c546b8a68162a3a4bc1be2f3c77f7e2c?s=96&d=monsterid&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/20d0fced24661cf7af11ed06909012c2c546b8a68162a3a4bc1be2f3c77f7e2c?s=96&d=monsterid&r=g","caption":"Movoto Editors"},"url":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/author\/tyamoto\/"}]}},"featured_media_src_url":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12280"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52125,"href":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12280\/revisions\/52125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.movoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}