In Snohomish County you must send in the petition to the Board of Equalization within 60 days of receiving your tax valuation change notice in the mail -OR- by July 1st, 2009, whichever occurs LATER.   Check the county you live in to verify if this is similar to your county guidelines (King and Pierce appear to have similar deadlines for filing).

Because Snohomish County has experienced declines in home values it is more important than ever to appeal your property tax valuations.   The county assessor states that the assessed value is supposedly a “true” reflection of market value.   This is a benchmark that is very difficult to achieve.   If you do nothing, you will be guaranteed that you will pay property taxes on a valuation that is probably innacurate.   For example, the market has deteriorated substantially since valuations were formulated for paying 2009 taxes (used early 2008 sales comparables for the 2009 tax valuations).

The County will always be playing catch up.  In a market where we have experienced lower housing values, it is important to be proactive.    Below, I have provided links to the forms to print out (.PDF documents) for Snohomish County, King County and Pierce County to appeal your property taxes.    If you need assistance in finding “like” property home sales, otherwise known in the industry as “comps” or comparable property, please contact your agent, a certified appraiser or contact us for assistance (we charge a small nominal fee for our time and so will your agent).

If you live in a County not listed, please search your county on Google or contact tim@legacyescrow.net for assistance.

Snohomish County

King County

Pierce County

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