The Guilford County Tax Department and Guilford County government as a whole is gearing up to take a new look at your home, business or other property values in order to make sure everyone continues to pay their fair share of property taxes under changing economic conditions.
On Thursday, Dec. 17, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners is expected to approve a new contract with Vincent Valuation, LLC – a contract that will hire the company to assist county tax staff with the coming countywide property revaluation for the tax year of 2022. Vincent Valuation will only be handling new construction and improvements, which will free up the county’s staff to focus on the massive reappraisal.
Guilford County is on a five-year revaluation cycle with its most recent revaluation having occurred in 2017. The Tax Department describes a property revaluation as an “in-depth process of assigning new values to all the real property in the county at its current market value.”
Since the county appraises every piece of property in Guilford County in the effort, the department is calling in help this time around that comes at a cost not expected to exceed $200,000 for each year in effect – 2021 and 2022 – for a grand total that’s not anticipated to be more than $400,000.
Vincent Valuation, which has worked with many counties throughout North Carolina, is a company with experience in “mass appraisal,” which is needed in a countywide revaluation. In most cases, no one will walk through your house checking out all the pluses and problems. Instead, the valuations are data driven by things like house size, location, drive-by examinations, economic conditions, recorded additions and improvements, and comparable home sale prices in your area.
Beginning in January of 2021 Vincent’s appraisal staff is expected to start its work in Guilford County.
The county will provide Vincent staff with permit and parcel data on the properties along with GIS data needed to aid the company in its work.
According to the contract, Guilford County “will review the work quality of the Vincent Appraisers and [the county] reserves the right to terminate any contract if the appraisal work is not accurate or professionally completed.”
Between the TAX MAN, and the INFLATION MAN, most of us ain’t got a chance.
How long before we have to hustle a wad of banknotes down to the grocery store before it comes more worthlesserer every day?