Is your home value down?
But your assessment is still high?
You could be paying too much property tax.
SAVE Money by lowering your assessment.
Iowa Assessment Advisors can help.
Or call (515) 224-0199 to speak to a representative.
Welcome
Thank you for taking the time to explore Iowa Assessment Advisors. We are dedicated to providing Iowa homeowners with a fast, easy and affordable solution to protest their property assessment that could result in lowering their property taxes. The mission of Iowa Assessment Advisors is to help Iowa homeowners who feel their property assessments are high, prepare and present all the proper material necessary for the County Assessor to lower the assessment. Our commitment to our customers is that we will refund half the charges if your assessment is not lowered. Go to Frequently Asked Questions for more information on our policy.
Iowa Code, Section 441.37 (Protest of assessment—grounds) allows that any property owner taxpayer who is dissatisfied with their property's assessment may file a protest with their county's board of review on or after April 16, up to and including May 5, of the year of the assessment. However, Section 441.21, mandates that the burden of proof shall be upon any property owner attacking their valuation as "excessive, inadequate, inequitable or capricious" by offering competent evidence that their assessment is too high.
How We Can Help
In Iowa, property assessments are re-evaluated every odd-numbered year using real estate sales transacted since the last re-assessment. In most cases, that allows for sales that go back to January 1, 2009. The more recent the sale, the stronger and more viable it is as a reflection of current market values. In 2009, assessments were adjusted using values calculated based on sales in calendar years 2007 and 2008, which were much better years for real estate sales than 2009 and 2010.
In its 4th Quarter 2010 RealTalk newsletter, the Polk County Assessor stated, “For the past several years we’ve noted in RealTalk that while the number of real estate transactions in Polk County has declined, sale prices have remained fairly steady. In 2008— when markets around the U.S. were crashing—there were several months in which residential sale prices here actually inched to record highs. And most residential and commercial values were unchanged during the last county-wide assessment cycle in 2009. As we end 2010, our data now shows something different. Many residential and commercial values have declined slightly. This decline is not dramatic, but significant in that it’s the first time in recent memory that it has happened (in Polk County)… we are still finalizing our analysis, but it appears that on average, residential valuations will decline by about 3-4 percent for the 2011 assessment.”
Iowa Assessment Advisors are accomplished real estate professionals and while we appreciate the particular challenge faced by Iowa’s county assessors in 2011, it’s been our experience the market value for many properties has declined much more than 3-4 percent since 2009 due to the soft real estate market that has persisted over the past several years, which means that even if 2011’s assessments are reduced slightly, that adjustment may only be scratching the surface in terms of the real-market value homes have lost since January 1, 2009. We are experienced Real Estate professionals living and working in the greater Des Moines area. We are dedicated to helping Central Iowa home owners assemble, prepare, submit and present the correct information for the expressed purpose of helping property owners lower their property assessments.
Assessments in Iowa can be contested from April 16 through May 5. That’s less than three weeks, which is not a lot of time. However, Iowa Assessment Advisors, Inc. is ready, willing and able to help. We will examine the data on your property, research the three different ways to protest your taxes, find suitable comparables and prepare all forms and supplemental forms for your protest. Finally, we will send you everything you need to file your property assessment protest. All you will have to do is review and sign it and then we’ll file it for you, then we’ll appear before your county’s Board of Review to present you protest in person to the people who will make the final decision.
