Issaquah Launches a Speed Camera Program

I can remember back to my days at Issaquah High School. Police were out in force catching speeders as they made their way to and from school.

Now the city has launched a camera program that will photograph and videotape speeders in the act! The city will begin issuing warnings the week of March 16 and the warning period will end the week of April 13. After the warning period, violators will receive fines of $124 for infractions.

For more information, click here.

Did Your Property Taxes Go Up?

Rising property taxes have been a great point of discussion lately and people have been asking me what they can do to appeal. So here is some information that I just received from Commonwealth Title about appealing your property taxes.

The King County Assessor revalues all property in King County each year, notifying property owners of their new value determinations by mail on Official Property Value Notice cards. The Assessor typically begins sending out these revaluation cards in April, finishing sometime in August. These new valuations will be the basis for the amount of taxes due the following year. Property owners who believe the new assessed value of their property exceeds its fair market value have the opportunity to appeal each year following receipt of the Assessor’s revaluation notice by timely filing a petition to the King County Board of Equalization (BOE).

Petitions must be received by the Board on or before July 1st of the assessment year or within sixty (60) calendar days after the date listed on the Assessor’s value change notice – whichever date is later. If submitted by mail, petitions must be postmarked by the post office no later than the filing deadline.

Filing an appeal with the BOE only requires the submission of two sets of the BOE’s petition form. You can download this form off of the King County website listed below. While it is recommended that you provide the evidence you will use to support your appeal as early as possible, additional evidence may be submitted up to seven business days before your future hearing, which is typically several months after you file the appeal. There is no charge for filing an appeal.

If you feel a mistake has been made in valuing your property, it is recommended that you contact the Department of Assessments directly. Review your account information with the Assessor’s staff to make sure an error has not been made. It’s also a good idea to review the characteristics of the Assessor lists for your property to make sure important features such as the property’s parcel size, area of the improvements (residence), views, etc., are accurate. If your objection to the assessed value is that you are being valued high relative to assessments of other properties, this may be due to errors in assessment records. If errors are discovered, the Assessor may be able to correct the data and the assessment without an appeal to the Board.

Once you have submitted your petition to the BOE, the staff will process your petition, send you an acknowledgement letter, and forward a copy of your petition to the Assessor’s Office for their review and response. You should expect a response from the Assessor in two to six months, depending on the volume of appeals. Based on the evidence included within your petition, the Assessor may choose to recommend an adjustment in the assessed value. If this occurs and you agree to the Assessor’s stipulated or recommended value amount, the need for a hearing will likely be eliminated. About 20% to 25% of the petitions filed each year are resolved in this manner.

For more info contact the Board of Equalization or the Department of Assessments.

Board of Equalization
www.kingcounty.gov/appeals
(206) 296-3496
500 4th Ave. Room 510, Seattle

Department of Assessments
www.kingcounty.gov/assessor
(206) 296-7300
500 4th Ave. Suite ADM-AS-0708, Seattle

Great Gift Idea from the Seller to the Buyer

I just finished reading this article in the Seattle Times about a great gift that sellers can give to buyers. What's better than a detailed file of information about the house?

Click here for the full article.