I met with Avitar this summer to protest my new assesment. Their number was 120k higher than a professional appraisal done the same month for refinancing purposes. Their number was 250k higher than what we paid for the house 1.5 years ago and this was a property that was on the market for almost 3 years before we finally came in and bought it. I realize it may have appreciated some in the 18 months since we purchased it but 38% - I THINK NOT. The big problem is their formula for lot valuation which adds a 25% premium for a beach. Our beach is man made, simply sand dumped on the shoreline. There is no way it adds $150,000 to the value of the property. The fact the property is literally on a highway was not taken into account in the formula yet this was a major reason (according to the real estate agents) why this property sat on the market so long.
Looking at other assesments reveals boathouses add no multiplier effect to the property value. Any person who knows anything about real estate in this area knows boathouses command premium $$$$. A neighbor on nearby Winter Harbor Way told me the new boathouse on new construction on his street added 1 million dollars to the asking price for a large new house that recently sold. All of this evidently fell on deaf ears - my 'revised' assesment was exactly the same as the original.
Where do I go to fight this next?
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