Property Inspection Explained
So you received a letter from the Assessor's Office or found a neon door hanger on your door and you're probably wondering, why are the assessors asking to inspect my property?
That is a very fair question and we want to try to answer it for you. Taxes In Massachusetts, even local real estate taxes are regulated by the state. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue requires all municipal assessing offices to perform property inspections on each property in their city or town at least once every ten years. The reason for this rule is to ensure that each property in Quincy is valued fairly and equitably so that each homeowner pays only its fair share of property taxes.
Said another way, we want to make sure all taxes are allocated proportionally. We call this type of property inspection a cyclical property inspection. There is no better way for us to do our job than to inspect each property.
Obviously, in a city the size of Quincy this is not something that can be done regularly. That is why when we do perform this important task, we work hard to do it right. And as we are sure you will understand, the collection and maintenance of current and accurate property data is a critical element in developing uniform fair market values.
So if your property hasn't been visited in the last six to ten years, now is the time for us to make sure your property data is current.
The assessors understand that an inspection can cause disruption in your busy schedule. The good news is that a property visit is quick, usually no more than 15 minutes.
Here's what you can expect.
First, we need you to be home, so please schedule an appointment, when our data collector arrives, they'll introduce themselves and ask you to briefly guide them through your house to update your property's interior data. No need to clean up or feel self-conscious.
Finally, the data collector will walk around the outside to update the house's exterior details and take new photos of the exterior as a reference.
It's a simple, fast process.
Thank you.