I don’t know about you, but I got a bit of a sick feeling when I saw the B.C. Assessment letter show up in my mailbox. I think it’s because I knew this was going to be a bill – maybe a big bill. It’s like going to the dentist. You know it’s going to hurt, but you just don’t know how much.

We are taxed on the assessed value of property. The assessed value reflects the property’s physical condition and permitted use to date. The assessor considers current sales in area, size, age, shape, quality and services. They may even consider views and supply and demand in some neighbourhoods, roughly translating to what you could expect to sell your property for if you had to sell tomorrow.

On the one hand, if the assessed value goes up, great, you could presumably sell for more money, but if you don’t intend to sell, it just means your taxes will likely go up. On the other hand, if the assessed value goes down, it’s not so good if you want to sell, but if you stay, your taxes will go down.

Assessments were frozen last year due to special legislation “that enabled assessments to reflect the significant downturn in property values that occurred in the latter half of 2008,” according to the pamphlet that accompanied my assessment this year. The assessment was determined as of July 1, 2009. I was wondering what my property looked like last summer and it seems it looked much better than it did a few years ago, since the location certainly did not change. The assessment felt expensive to me; which begged the question, compared to what?

I went to www.bcassessment.ca, clicked on “e-valueBC – Compare assessments online” and checked out assessments on my neighbours' houses. This seams a little nosy, but it’s all there online for anyone to check. Then I had to go out on the street and match the house to the street address and do my own mental calculations of how my home compares to the rest. I must say, I’m not in agreement with some of the assessed values. I know because I’ve been in most of my neighbours’ houses and, without pointing fingers lets just say perhaps I have been over assessed. I guess it really depends on that day in the summer, who had mowed their lawn, painted the fence, watered, weeded, and rolled out the red carpet for the inspector. It looks like it was an uncharacteristically tidy day for me. Next year, I’m letting the place go wild for a few weeks in the summer. If anyone asks why, I’ll say it’s expensive keeping up with the Jones’.

Most homes in Merritt decreased by an average of six per cent for a single family home this year. If you have any concerns with your assessment, you can file a Notice of Complaint (appeal) form, available online at www.bcassesment.ca . This will result in an independent review process. For those not online to obtain more information about the appeal process, you can call 1-877-356-9313. The deadline to file a complaint is February 1, 2010.

-- John Morash