• By Todd Luck
• Posted Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Reappraisal notices going out first week of January

Real estate reappraisal notices from the Forsyth County Tax Department will arrive in the mail the first week of January, with most owners seeing an increase in their property value.

Reappraisals are conducted every four years to adjust real estate values used for property taxes to reflect the current real estate market. About 60 percent of properties will see between a 10-35 percent increase, and 7.5 percent, or 10,608 parcels, will see an increase of more than 50 percent. Only 2.7 percent of properties will see a decrease in property value.

To determine property value, staff appraisers considered sales that occurred in each appraisal market area since the last appraisal on Jan. 1, 2017. They do not use sales between family members and those made under duress, like foreclosure and short sales. There were approximately 27,000 qualified sales in the last four years.

"Our objective is to produce fair and equitable values for every property in the county," said Forsyth County Tax Assessor and Collector John Burgiss.

Assessors also consider the condition of the property. Assessors do not go into homes and have to estimate the building’s interior condition. If this is inaccurate, this can be corrected easily through the appeals process.

Property owners who believe their new value isn’t accurate, can file an Informal Appeal to the Assessor or a Formal Appeal to the Board and Equalization and Review, which is a citizens board appointed by the county commissioners. Reappraisal notices will contain an Informal Appeal Form. A Formal Appeal Form can be obtained online through the Tax Parcel Viewer found at forsyth.cc/Tax or by calling the tax office at 336-703-2300.

"If you feel there is something wrong with your value, please do not hesitate to appeal and let us work to understand your property a little bit better," said Burgiss.

Approximately 15,300 properties will receive a Value Pending Reappraisal notice, which will be followed up with a regular Value Notice. Those properties include Historic Deferment properties, parcels containing Tax Relief for senior citizens and disabled veterans, Use Value for agriculture, forestry and horticulture, and properties needing appraisal work because of items like building permits and land changes.

The Forsyth County Tax Department’s reappraisal process follows the North Carolina Department of Revenue guidelines for qualifying sales. It also follows state statute G.S. 105-283, which says "all property, real and personal , shall as far practicable be appraised or valued at its true value in money" and that true value is "the price estimated in terms of money at which the property would change hands between a willing and financially able buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell and both having reasonable knowledge of all the uses to which the property is adapted and for which it is capable of being used."

The deadline to file an Informal Appeal is within 30 days of the date printed on the Reappraisal notice. The deadline to file Formal Appeals is June 30, 2021.

For more information, including interactive maps with parcel information and property sales in Forsyth County, visit forsyth.cc/Tax.