Iowa Assessment Advisors

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why should I have my residential property tax protest prepared and filed professionally?

   Prepares for Iowa Assessment Advisors are all real estate agents and experts at evaluating a property’s value if it were to be sold, which is the metric your county’s assessor is obligated by Iowa law to use to determine every property’s assessment. It is not an arbitrary process and our advisors are trained to determine a property’s fair market value. That makes them specially qualified to evaluate your property. We understand property tax assessments and know precisely how to complete your protest. Our service is designed to help you save time and money.

2. Why Is Protesting My Property Assessment Important to Me?

   No one likes paying taxes but it’s a necessity in a democratic society like ours. In order to get something (schools, better roads, public facilities), we generally have to give up something (money in the form of taxes) to pay for it. In Iowa, each property’s assessment is a factor in determining what the taxes will be for the next two years. That means if you don’t protest now, you won’t have a chance to affect what your taxes will be for one to three or more years.

   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.

3. Does IAA prepare protests in my county/appraisal district?

   We currently service the following Iowa counties:

   • Boone
   • Dallas
   • Polk
   • Story
   • Warren

4. When is the deadline to file my property tax protest?

   As mandated by Iowa law, the deadline for filing property tax protests with every county is May 5^th. Our deadline for taking orders is Friday, May 1, 2009. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible so that we can guarantee that your protest filing will be completed on time. Waiting until the last minute could prevent us from having enough time to properly prepare your protest.

5. How much do you charge for your services?

   Please call for Commercial Real Estate Pricing

   Our fee is $149.

   We guarantee that your assessment will be lowered or we will refund all the fees except for a $50 administrative fee. We will provide you with everything you need to file your protest but we cannot guarantee your county will accept your argument and lower your assessment. If your assessment is not reduced, just contact our office prior to August 1, 2009 with written proof from your county assessor showing your protest was rejected and we will credit the charges. Also, if after initial review, we feel filing a protest isn’t advisable because it appears to us that your property’s assessment is fair and reasonable, we will notify you and refund the entire amount you paid. When you think about it, you really have nothing to lose, and potentially hundreds of dollars in tax savings per year to gain.

6. I am convinced, how do I get started?

   1. Register on our web site. Registration is easy and it gets your general information into our system so that we can complete the paperwork as quickly as possible. Click here to register
   2. When registering, multiple properties can be added, so if you have vacation or rental properties don’t forget to register them as well. We offer a discount for five (5) or more properties as long as you are the owner of record. Please call our office for details at 1-888-343-4800.
   3. You can also register by phone by calling 1-888-343-4800. However, you will be asked to comply with the Appointment of Agent form that will need to be faxed to you and returned for us to begin with your order.