An independent Gwinnett County property appraiser is not just a trained professional who provides an objective valuation of real and personal property. You will also find that the property appraiser is also a great source of information about property assessments, appeals, and taxes.
When you are advised to hire a property appraiser for your tax assessment appeal, you should take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about these matters. Here are a few pieces of useful information that you can learn during your interactions with the best Gwinnett County property appraisers – Fair Assessments, of course.
Approaches in Property Valuation
In Gwinnet County, the Board of Tax Assessors’ appraisers determine the value of property based on recent sales and market conditions. The government appraisers, like their private sector counterparts, use three approaches in property valuation, namely:
- Sales comparison approach with the selling prices of comparable real property as the basis;
- Cost approach with the estimated costs for either replacement or reproduction of the structures on the land, less accumulated depreciation; and
- Income approach with the valuation based on the capitalization of income generated on the lease of the property.
Appraisal Visits Are Mandated by Law
The Tax Assessors’ Office specifically its trained appraisers conduct property inspections throughout the year as part of its tax assessment process. The appraisers can either be the appraisers employed (i.e., on payroll) by the county or contractual appraisers from independent companies. Each authorized Gwinnett County property appraiser, however, should wear a Gwinnett County identification card and use vehicles with the county seal.
There are differences between the work done by Gwinnett County-employed appraisers or contractual appraisers and the work performed by independent appraisers. These include:
- Interior and exterior inspections. The employed or contractual county appraisers will not conduct an interior inspection of your property. You can talk to them behind your closed door since the law only mandates an exterior inspection. The independent Gwinnett County property appraiser can conduct both interior and exterior inspections of your property for a more accurate valuation. You should be prepared with costs of repairs, renovations and upgrades, perhaps even a list of income and expenses for an income-generating property.
- Obviously, the employed or contractual county appraisers are paid by the county for their salaries and benefits. The independent property appraiser hired for tax assessment appeal purposes will expect payment of fees from the client – you, for example.
- Physical presence. The employed appraisers or contractual appraisers can perform their work even without the presence of the property owner. These government agents will usually leave information on your door regarding their visit. The independent Gwinnett County property appraiser will be able to deliver better results when you are present during the appraisal visit. You can show the appraiser around your property, answer questions, and ask questions of your own.
Do you have more questions about the services that an independent Gwinnett County property appraiser can provide? Call Fair Assessments now to get the answers!
