Property re-assessment time on Hilton Head,SC
HHI Sales 12-07 thru 9/30/09
It’s property re-assessment time on Hilton Head and Realtors’ phones are ringing. Our area performs this property tax re-assessment every five years. This year, due to the change in the market, lots of folks are up in arms. Though Realtors can’t advise on specific remedies, we can suggest:
Ask for an updated market analysis and general market study; the assessments are based not on 2008 sales but based on what your property was valued at on December, 2007. SC law requires a re-assessment every 5 years and the last one was in 2002; however, the result of that assessment was delayed for one year. Rather than using that additional year – which would have taken us to 2008 sales – the SC legislature passed a law allowing the assessor to use closed sales as of December 2007. Our market in Beaufort County, and Hilton Head in particular, was in a slight decline in 2007 but as evidenced on the above chart, certainly not the dip we experienced in 2008 and the continuing change in 2009.
So what can you do as a property owner? Enclosed with your property tax bill will be the appeal form and briefly you should outline a statement with respect as to why you are appealing providing the tax ID number as well as the tax key for identification purposes. You must appeal within 90 days from the notice date shown in the upper right hand corner of your tax bill.
The appeal will be reviewed and a conference scheduled. If the issue is not resolved, you may file a formal protest. The form must be mailed to the assessor within 30 days of the conference. The assessor has 30 days to take a final action; but the matter may still be presented to the Beaufort County Tax Equalization Board in the Administrative Law Court in Beaufort. This is separate from and independent of the Assessor’s office.
There is a tax calculator located on bcgov.net then in the online departments, tax assessor office.
You may also acquire an appraisal. Many of our HHI and Bluffton appraisers can perform this function in an abbreviated format but with applicable comps. If you closed in 2008 or 2009 and the bank performed an appraisal, you may include that information as well.
Legislation was also enacted in 2008 that capped the increase at 15% from the previous year’s tax assessment-so be aware of the difference between the previous assessed value and the market cap rate.
Bottom line, call me for information, I love doing charts for you and have appraiser contacts that I will be happy to refer to you!
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