• Home
• My Listings
• Search For Properties »
  • Residential
  • Land
  • Multi-Family
  • Commercial Improved
  • Commercial Unimproved
• Property Search by Map
• *
• Commission Rebates
• Full Service Buyer's Agency
• Why Choose Us?
• Working w RealEstateAgents
• *
• Financial/Loan Calculators
• Mortgage Types: Discussion
• *
• Property Revaluation - 2009
• Property Tax Rates
• Property Tax Record Search
• State & Local Governments
• *
• Public School Websites
• Triangle Schools Information
• Your Home's Value

 To search for homes, click on left sidebar "search triangle mls"

For info on "up to 1% cash back", click on left side bar "home" or "commisssion rebates"

Assessed valuations:

By NC law each county must reassess property values to "market" at least every eight years. Actual revaluations occur every 3 to 8 years depending on the county. The valuation process is separate from the tax rate process.  See detailed information below - state Law Requirements for Revaluation".

Orange County Revaluation

New Orange County  revaluations are available on line, use side bar links.

With the new valuations the tax rates declined. 

Any new property not valued by January 1, 2009 typically will be valued sometime after closing as if it were constructed on January 1, 2009.

Chatham County Revaluation

Chatham County valuations have been sent to property owners.  For information on Chatham County valuation, appeals and schedule go to www.chathamnc.org/Index.aspx

Last Assessments:  Durham County 2007 for 2008

STATE LAW REQUIREMENTS FOR REVALUATION

The property tax in North Carolina is governed by Subchapter II of Chapter 105 of the General Statutes of North Carolina also known as The Machinery Act.  This Act guarantees all 100 North Carolina counties will administer the property tax under the same guidelines with a minimum of local discretion.

The Machinery Act requires each county to conduct a reappraisal of real property (land, buildings, and other improvements to the land) at least every eight (8) years. More frequent reappraisals may be conducted at the discretion of the Board of Commissioners.  The Act also requires the counties to appraise real property uniformly at its true value in money. True value in money 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 (NCGS §105-283). Simply put, this means when two people trade land for money, both knowing what can and cannot be done with the land, and an agreement on the price is reached and the trade occurs, market value is established. Market value is not necessarily the price for which a realtor may list the land, nor is it the price for which a father may sell his son a piece of land. Market value is generally determined from sales between unrelated and unbiased buyers and sellers. This is commonly known as an "arms length" transaction.

You may feel this should have no effect on you because you may have owned your property for many years and it is not for sale. However, you will be affected because the Machinery Act requires counties to appraise real property uniformly. If comparable properties in your neighborhood are being sold in the $50,000 range and there are no significant differences in your property and the comparable properties, it is reasonable to believe your property may be worth in the $50,000 range. It would not be fair to assess taxes on neighbors who recently purchased their property at $50,000 and assess your property value at $20,000 because you paid $20,000 for the property twenty years ago.


WHY IS EQUITY OF VALUES SO IMPORTANT?

The primary goal of reappraisal is uniformity and fairness. The purpose of a reappraisal is NOT to increase revenues or to provide tax breaks, but to fairly, equally and uniformly appraise the real property at its true value in money.

Since ad valorem taxes (property taxes) are based on value, it is important to have all property valued periodically on a uniform basis, using a modern system of valuation. Because market value appraisals become the foundation for assessments, equalized values create equalized and uniform taxes. Equalization also creates a better tax climate in the community since each taxpayer is paying only his or her fair share.  Personal property, such as automobiles, trucks, trailers, mobile homes (single wide), airplanes, boats, etc., are listed and appraised every year.

This difference in the way real property and personal property is valued has a profound effect on the amount of taxes you will pay after a reappraisal. For example, if the tax rate does not increase, then taxes levied on personal property generally decrease while taxes levied against real property generally increase. 

Each subsequent year after a reappraisal, personal property bears more of the tax burden as real property appraisals are not updated annually, but are conducted every 4 years. Personal property appraisals are updated annually; therefore, an imbalance in the tax burden between real property and personal property occurs. A reappraisal will correct this imbalance and equalize the tax burden.


WHAT IS THE APPEAL PROCESS IF I DO NOT AGREE WITH THE VALUE? 

After receiving the notice of your new values you believe the new value on the Reappraisal Notice is in excess of market value and you have information to support your position, there are a number of steps available in the administrative appeal process:

• You must first request an Informal Review. Fill out the appeal form that is attached to your  revaluation notice and mail it to our office.
• After the Informal Review, if you still do not agree with the value, you may request a formal hearing conducted by the appropriate group in each county.
• If you disagree with the ruling by the Board of Equalization  and Review, you may appeal to the N.C. Property Tax Commission.  
• If you still do not agree after exhausting these three levels of appeal, you can file an appeal with the N.C. Court of Appeals.

DOES REVALUATION MEAN THAT PROPERTY TAX BILLS WILL INCREASE?

Not necessarily. The appraised value of property is just one factor in determining your tax bill. The other key factor is the tax rate set by the Board of Commissioners and Town Boards in the county. Tax rates adopted by these boards will determine the amount of tax bills sent out in August and due by the end of the year. During revaluation years, officials may opt to adjust the tax rate to offset some or all of the impact of revaluation, especially if countywide values increase substantially.
 
The process for determining a tax rate is considerably difficult. Recently, local governments have been forced to make hard decisions affecting the property tax due to the withdrawal of Federal funding such as revenue sharing. Also, whenever property is exempted or excluded from the ad valorem tax base, the remaining taxable properties bear more of the tax burden.