Good Governments Do Not Do This

The deception and unethical practices in the Assessing office must stop now. The assessing office has a history of using fear and intimidation to deny citizens the opportunity to become educated about their property assessment and prevent them from filing abatements. I have visited properties and have focused on the assessments of homes purchased in the last 18 months. Many of these properties are grossly over assessed. 

I spoke with a property owner who moved to Nashua a year ago and believed they were over assessed (their gut was correct). When they called the assessing office, a staff member informed them that their assessment could actually be raised if they filed an abatement. Here is the problem with the statement. The property owner had purchased the home within 6 months and the assessing office qualified the sale. The Assessor checked the card and the MLS online pictures and verified the accuracy. 

The property was purchased for $546,000 and was assessed for $550,000, slightly more than they paid for the home. With the level of assessment for the City around 82%, this property should be assessed for around $448,000 not $550,000. This difference would result in a 2020 tax rebate of about $2,000 and this lower assessment would be applied for the 2021 tax year.

Why does an office clerical staff member tell the owner that the property assessment could go up? Because they are protecting some lazy assessors who simply do not want to do the work. The property owner should be speaking with an assessor who should pull up the card and quickly review the assessment level. When an assessors views a 2020 property assessment for a 2020 qualified property sale that is over 100%, that is a problem that needs fixing. Have the owner file an abatement and come to the office if assistance is necessary. Instead, some of our lazier employees deliberately scare the property owner hoping they will go away and continue to overpay. ASSESSORS NEED TO DO THEIR JOB. 

If there is any increase to this property, it will be to the market value to adjust for the April 1 date when all properties are inventoried. However, the state ratio will then be applied to the assessment because the last time our properties were updated was 2018 and our overall assessments are no longer at 100% of the market value; values are almost 20% lower. 

Here is another common scare tactic employed by assessors, “looks like we will have to raise your neighbor’s assessment.” DO NOT FALL FOR THIS. These are deceitful, unethical tactics that should result in job termination rather than continued taxpayer funding. Do not be afraid to question your assessment.

To file an abatement that is based on sales evidence, the law requires you to consider the sold properties within your neighborhood. You are not raising your neighbor’s assessment; you are simply lowering your assessment based on market data.

It is high time and long overdue that the Nashua Assessing Office service the taxpayer in an ethical and professional manner. We pay very high property taxes and we must get these assessment levels correct. The certification standards of all assessors require that they educate the public on the process of assessing and they are able to justify the assessment level created for all properties. 

Let us hope the new assessing chief firmly and quickly eliminates these tactics; threatening and intimidating property owners is not how good governments work. As property owners we should educate ourselves on this process, remembering we are literally all in this together. Only then can we hold our assessing officials accountable.