Assessed value is not the current market value. What you have to do is crunch the numbers to see how the municipal appraisers "assessment" stacks up against the actual market value.

Ask for the current assessed valuation for your land as well as the amount of assessment for improvements (your house) and the total value for both. Obtain the legal description of your land known as the lot and block number or parcel identification number (PIN number).

This information should also be on your tax bill. Calculate the total assessed value of your house and property (add them) and divide the total assessed value of your residence by the sales ratio to determine what your tax appraiser thinks your house and property are worth.

For example: 

   $25,000 land
+ $193,000 improvements (residence)
   $218,000 total assessed valuation

Total Assessed Valuation divided by sales ratio = what they think your land and dwelling(s) are worth but not always what it will sell for in the marketplace.

If the sales ratio for the year was 71.7%

$218,000 = $304,044.63
.717

Now you are armed with what the taxing authority thinks your residence is worth. You can now compare this figure to the actual amount your property and house would get in the open marketplace. If this figure is more than the fair open market value for your house, you are over assessed and chances are favorable that you have a case.

At this juncture you may have only a ball park notion of what your house is worth. If that figure is out of line with the assessor's figure, you should proceed with a residential market analysis of your property's actual worth.

Discover how to use the right numbers to make your figures hold up in our  How To Prepare a Winning Property Tax Appeal

You need to find comparables. You must drive by the comparable and note how your home compares to it. Then you need to make plus or minus adjustments. We show you what percentages to use, what to look for and how to do it right at Property-Taxes.us