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1. What is the purpose of a revaluation?

Associated Appraisal Consultants, Inc. will soon begin a full municipal revaluation in the Village of Waterford. The revaluation program is a complete and thorough interior and exterior review of all properties to ensure that they are assessed at 100% market value in a uniform and equitable fashion. The last revaluation with comprehensive reviews of all properties was conducted prior to 1989. Since this time, the Village has completed three interim market updates to maintain compliance with Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) requirements.

The DOR suggests a full revaluation with interior inspections be completed every 5 to 10 years, depending on market activity. Revaluations are completed for three main reasons:
• To revalue all properties to be within 10% of market value as required by Wis. Stat. Sec. 70.05.
• To ensure all properties are assessed consistently between classes and within a class of the major property types. All home owners want to be treated equitably with other home owners. Commercial and agricultural properties must be assessed fairly as well.
• To ensure that all assessment data is collected. This data includes a digital sketch, a photo of the property and the various attributes such as age, size, bathroom count, basement finish, condition, quality of construction etc. and appropriate data for attachments and out buildings. This data is collected through a field inspection, which is a physical inspection of the exterior and interior of each property.

In the Village of Waterford, most properties have not had an interior inspection for over 26 years.

2. What does a field inpection entail?

Associate Appraisals field inspections consist of physically viewing and verifying dimensions for all structures, digitally photographing exteriors, and requesting an interior walk-through to view quality of construction and to verify data. The interior inspection takes approximately 10-15 minutes for an average-sized home. If property owners are not at home at the time of the initial inspection, staff will leave a door hanger with assessor's 800 number and instructions to call to schedule an inspection appointment.

3. Should a property owner be concerned?

One of the most common concerns we see is the interior inspection. The most common questions asked are: Are interior inspections important? Are they necessary? Does the assessor have the right or should the municipality enforce the inspection process? While the assessor will always respect the wishes of the property owner, in order to accurately value a property, they must see what they are valuing. One would not make a sensible offer to buy a home without seeing the inside nor would one make any kind of large purchase without fully understanding what it is that is being purchased. If the homeowner denies the interior inspection, assessors will estimate based on the best available information per the Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual.

Assessors are not interested in reporting potential permit violations only in assessing value.

4. What if I refuse to allow a physical inspection of my property?

If a property owner refuses a physical inspection, the assessor is directed by Wisconsin state statutes to send a certified letter requesting an interior inspection stating the following:

70.47(7)(aa) No person shall be allowed to appear before the board of review, to testify to the board by telephone or to contest the amount of any assessment of real or personal property if the person has refused a reasonable written request by certified mail of the assessor to view such property.

Basically, the property owner will lose the right to appeal the assessment without an interior inspection.

5. What happens after field work is complete?

After all data is compiled and new values are set according to methods prescribed in the Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual, property owners will receive notices of assessment in the mail. The notice will indicate the date(s) and time(s) for the Open Book, an informal and informative one-on-one meeting with the assessors to discuss how the value was reached. All values established during the revaluation will be available for inspection and comparison. The assessor will review property attributes with the home owner. Corrections can be made at the Open Book if needed. If a property owner still does not agree with their property’s established value after attending the Open Book session, they will have an opportunity to attend the Board of Review to formally contest the value. The date and time of the Board of Review is also on the assessment notice.

6. How can I find out how my neighbor's assessments compare to mine?

The 2015 Real Estate Assessment Roll is available on the Revaluation page of our website. You can access on the left hand column of the home page.