Flagler County Preliminary 2011 Property Assessed Values Available On-Line
The numbers are not final, but seeing what your property’s assessed value is likely to be gives you more time to contact the Property Appraiser’s office if you think yours is wrong.
Palm Coast, FL – May 11, 2011 – Flagler County Property Appraiser Jay Gardner has posted the preliminary "working" 2011 assessed values on his website. Jay tells GoToby.com that he wants to let property owners know early-on what their assessed value might be this year. "We do make some mistakes." he says. "We want people to bring them to our attention so we can fix them now rather than later."
TRIM (Truth In Millage) notices will be mailed in mid-August. Property owners have 25 days from the TRIM mailing date to appeal their assessment to the Value Adjustment Board.
Remember that assessed values are all about equality, not taxes. The Appraiser’s job is to make sure that all properties are assessed fairly and equitably. If Bob’s house is worth twice as much as Sally’s house, his assessed value should be twice as high as hers. Assessments are related to taxes, but whether your total property tax bill goes up or down and by how much is decided by the various taxing jurisdictions, most of which are run by elected officials.
Remember too that the 2011 assessed values are based by law on sales of comparable properties during 2010. If you purchased a house in 2010 though, it is unlikely that your assessed value will match your purchase price for two reasons:
1. Assessed values are usually lower because they are adjusted downward from the selling price to allow for transaction costs.
2. Assessed values are based on a blend of selling prices of comparable nearby properties, not the individual selling price.
This is how to find your preliminary Assessed Value.
Go to the Property Appraiser’s website, https://flaglerpa.com/. Then click on Search Records. Then click Yes, I accept the above statement. Click Search by Owner Name. Then enter your last name or the name of the listed owner. (For instance, some properties are in the name of a trust or LLC.) Then click Search.
This process will take you to your property record or to a list of records that match the search name. If you get the list, click on the Parcel Number that matches your address to get to your property record.
The record will show the 2009, the 2010, and Preliminary 2011 assessment. You can click on Historical Values to see back to 2006.
Once you find your preliminary assessed value, you will probably want to check others (your neighbor, your friends, your boss, your ex-spouse, etc.) You can do that by following the same method (Search by Owner Name), Search by Location Address, or you can use the parcel map feature of the website. Click Show Parcel Map (the red box near the top of your property record page). Click on the parcel in which you are interested. (You can move the map around, zoom in and zoom out). An information box on the right will show you some basic information about the selected parcel. Then click on the Parcel Number in the box on the right to get to the full property record.
Most importantly, if you feel your assessed value is wrong, call the Property Appraiser’s office (386) 313-4150. They want to help you understand how your assessed value was determined and to make sure it is correct.
Your taxes are determined by multiplying your assessed value (minus exemptions; homestead, etc.) by the millage rate then dividing by 1,000. The total taxable assessed value of properties in Flagler County decreased by about 14% for 2011. The City of Palm Coast dropped by about 12%. To raise the same amount of money as last year, officials will need to raise the millage rate by the appropriate offsetting amount. They probably don’t have the courage to do that so most property owners will likely see a somewhat lower total tax bill this year.
If you don’t like your assessed value or have questions, call the Property Appraiser.
If you don’t like your taxes, call your elected officials, attend budget meetings, listen, and speak up.
excellent property tax information
TOBY, My complements on the information in this article. Before I became involved in government I never knew this information was available. Your article will assist many of us.