House Taxes?

That happened to us about five years ago. Everyone's home around us was assessed at a higher value than previously, but for some reason, ours was quite a bit more than everyone else's. Our house is smaller than the rest and on a smaller lot but the increase was mainly b/c they said we had a waterview. Well, we do have a *small* waterview, but mostly in the winter after the leaves are off. For our appeal, we had to go to their office - they didn't come out to our house. I took comps of my neighbors' houses as well as pictures. Of course, I strategically planned where to stand when taking the pictures to minimize the waterview LOL but at the time, it was summer and much of the view was covered by the trees in full bloom. I think we also earned some bonus points b/c we brought our newborn baby with us and the tax assessor was fawning all over him.

We ended up winning the appeal which is almost impossible around here, so I guess I did something right. Obviously, it's going to be different in every area, but for us, when they increased our assessment, there was a form in the envelope telling us how to appeal if we wanted to. They then sent us a date in the mail, but actually we missed the appt (I'd just had the baby). I just called them up a couple of weeks later and they granted us a new date, which kind of surprised me that they gave us another chance! Sometimes bureaucrats actually work LOL.