When parking spaces are assessed separately from the rest of your property the total bill is a lot higher than it first appears.
I received my property tax assessment notice in the mail for my condo today. When I first glanced at the new assessed value my first reaction was a mild “Wow, that didn’t go down nearly enough.” But then I noticed the two other assessment notices in my stack of mail. Suddenly I remembered that my two parking spaces are assessed SEPERATELY from my condominium, meaning I actually have three separate assessments for what is essentially one saleable condo property. My total assessment was therefore actually much higher than what I thought it was at first glance. My reaction to my new property tax assessment was no longer “mild”.
Separating your parking space assessment from your condo assessment is a tool the assessor uses to confuse homeowners and trick you into not appealing your assessment. If I look up my assessed value on the assessor website I only see my condo’s assessment, without the parking space assessments included. If I forget to consider my parking space assessments I am lulled into the false impression that I’m not overassessed, or not overassessed by as much as I think.
If I were to sell my condo on the open market I could only sell it with the two parking spaces included in the sale price. If the property tax assessor were being honest with tax payers they wouldn’t separate parking space assessments from condominium assessments. When you’re reviewing your new assessment this year make sure you remember take into account your parking space assessments as well.
