Wisconsin law requires that property assessments be based on fair market value. Estimating the market value of your property is a matter of determining the price a typical buyer would pay for it in its present condition. Some factors the assessor considers are what similar properties are selling for, what it would cost to replace your property, and the rent it may earn.

The need for a revaluation is usually established by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, based on the relationship between the assessed value established by the assessor, and the equalized value established by the state. When the state determines a revaluation is necessary, the municipality will receive a series of notices with an established deadline for a revaluation. Failure on the municipality’s part to perform a timely revaluation will result in the state taking responsibility for performing the revaluation.

General economic conditions such as inflation, local business climate and changes in tax laws will influence the value of real estate. As property values change in the market place the assessed value may change.

Good maintenance will help retain the market value of your property. Generally, your assessment will not be increased for individual minor repairs; however, a combination of repairs like those listed below may result in an increase in the assessed value:
. Repairing concrete walks and driveways
. Replacing gutters and down spouts
. Replacing hot water heater
. Repairing porches and decks steps
. Repairing original siding
. Patching or repairing interior walls and ceilings
. Exterior painting
. Replacing electrical fixtures
. Replacing furnace
. Exterior awnings and shutters
. Weather stripping, Replacing screens, storm windows, or doors
. Landscaping including lawns, shrubbery, trees, flowers

Wisconsin law requires a notice be sent to the property owner for any change in if the assessed value of their property.

In Wisconsin, we’ve been fortunate that our property values are weathering the market relativity well compared to many other areas of
the country. While the news media portrays values as dropping, it speaks to an overall trend in some areas and doesn’t take into account a specific neighborhood or specific properties. In actuality, some communities, and some neighborhoods, have seen values increase;
many neighborhoods are experiencing fewer sales yet values remain relatively stable; and a few neighborhoods have experienced
foreclosures and short sales that have driven market values lower. It’s the latter neighborhoods that capture news media attention.

If your municipality happens to be conducting a revaluation this year, then your assessment will reflect the most probable market value. A
revaluation sets all properties at market value as of Jan 1 and establishes the relationships of one property to another. Those relationships remain until the next revaluation. If your community is
not conducting a revaluation this year, then your assessment will likely not be adjusted if the only change occurring is the same market adjustment that the rest of the community is experiencing. Just as your assessment didn’t go up each year when property values where rapidly increasing, your assessment will not be adjusted downward just because values are declining. The reason for this is twofold. If all values are going up or all values are going down, it doesn’t change the
relationship of one property to another and therefore doesn’t change the tax bill.

Secondly, in order to contain costs, most municipalities do not perform a revaluation every year. It is the revaluation process that adjusts
everybody’s value to reflect those properties which have sold.

Not necessarily. To illustrate how the levy affects your assessment we’ll look at Badgertown; a community of two. Each resident owns a house
valued at $100,000. Badgertown’s tax levy is $2,000; the amount needed to cover its expenses. Since each resident owns 50% of the total
property, they each pay 50% of the levy giving them each a tax bill of $1,000.

If property values in Badgertown go up 10%, then each property is assessed at $110,000. The amount they pay in taxes, however, remains the same. Each resident still owns 50% of the total property in Badgertown and must pay 50% of the $2,000 tax levy or $1,000. And what if values start dropping? Residents’ property might drop to $80,000 each but because they each still own 50% of the property, and Badgertown still needs to collect $2,000, they will continue to see a
$1,000 property tax bill.

It depends on the reason(s) why there is a difference of value. If the refinancing appraisal is lower because the property information used by your assessor is inaccurate then yes. You should ask your assessor to visit your property, perform an on-site inspection to verify the inaccuracies, and determine a new value based upon the newly attained description. If your refinancing appraisal is lower because it represents sales evidence from the past 90 days and if your assessment was determined a number of years ago from the last revaluation, then
probably not. Making changes to assessed values because of economic conditions are done in the context of a municipal-wide revaluation so that all property values are adjusted to current market levels and every property owner is treated in a similar manner. This creates and ensures property tax equity and uniformity throughout your entire municipality.

Usually not. Foreclosed properties are being marketed under duress and frequently sell at discount prices. 

In recent downturns, Wisconsin has fared better than most states as real estate values adjust to the economic climate. Just as foreclosure-related sales are frequently not an indicator of market value when values are rising, they are not necessarily an indicator of value in a declining market and are not normally considered by the assessor when determining the market value of property in a community. In fact,
Wisconsin law, appraisal standards, and Wisconsin courts, require very specific criteria for a sale to be considered as a reliable indicator of
market value. Two of the most important of these criteria are whether the sale occurred under duress (such as a forced sale) and whether the
property had adequate market exposure. For example, a property that sells two weeks after it’s listed may have sold quickly because it was
under-priced. This may be an indication of a duress situation, requiring closer review by the assessor, to verify whether is was an arms length
transaction. In most cases, looking at non-foreclosure sales is the most reliable way to gauge what is actually happening with neighborhood values.

There are times when the majority of homes that are selling in your neighborhood tend to be around the same price as foreclosure-related
sales. In this case, they may represent a reasonable picture of market value.