Realtors in the province are encouraging property owners to review property assessments mailed at the end of last month from Service NB.
Kari McBride is Chair of the Government Relations Committee for The New Brunswick Real Estate Association, and says her group is asking homeowners to be vigilant.
“If it has gone up extraordinary, or if it doesn’t reflect what you or a professional think that your home would ideally sell for, don’t ignore it,” she said in an interview.
McBride says if you already received your assessment in the mail and you have questions, the first step is a discussion with the assessor who reviewed the property.
“Service New Brunswick seems to have an open door policy about calling and discussing it, so I really totally encourage people to not be afraid of the process, its really not that complicated,” she said,
McBride is also calling for the creation of a Task Force made up of major stakeholders in the property tax system.
She adds they also want to see a change in the way assessments are handled. Among those, making the sale amount of a home the same for its assessed value the following year — and if a property doesn’t sell within a 7-year period, a visual inspection should be required.
Homeowners looking to make an appeal to their assessments have until March 30th to initiate a review.
