Reading a Property Card

Taking the time to understand the details on your Property Card is a great way to ensure you pay only your fair share of property taxes. This card acts as a comprehensive record of your property and the information on it helps guide the town in distributing tax obligations accurately and fairly.

Often known as Field Cards, these documents offer an in-depth view of your home. They include ownership details, legal descriptions, and valuation data spanning multiple years. Additionally, they provide specifics about the property's physical features, such as garages, pools, and sheds, along with sales history and issued permits.

A Property Card is divided into sections detailing the land and structures, their assessed values, and recent sales transactions. It may also include images, property sketches, and annotations. Familiarity with these elements is key to ensuring your property is appraised correctly.

• Checking the accuracy of your Property Card can help prevent overpayment of taxes.
• It offers insights into how your property is valued compared to others, which is useful if you need to file an appeal or make adjustments.
• Understanding the details on your Property Card allows you to view your property from an assessor's perspective. This insight is vital as it reveals the criteria and benchmarks used in evaluating your property, such as size, location, and condition. You can't effectively appeal your assessment without first understanding what information the assessor based their valuation on.

Regularly reviewing your Property Card keeps you informed about your property's assessed value and can help keep your taxes fair. Updated cards can be obtained from your local assessor's office or accessed online.