Rickswantmoney,

If you go down to your local village office and look at similar houses around you in sq. footage, age, condition, # of baths/rooms, etc. in their book and see that similar homes are going up THE SAME OR NEAR THE SAME in property assessed value, you cannot do much about it besides bitch. But, in my case where my house was smaller sq. footage with less rooms and baths, etc., the assessor cannot justify to me why my taxes went up 100's more and even assessed higher house vs. house than my neighbors just because it is 5-7 years newer. If you look at all our houses on the block, they look to be built all about the same time and 5 years difference should not justify that much difference in assessed value. Good luck and do the research on similar homes in your block before you complain to back up your statements with examples.

... and those paying taxes.

Keep in mind that declining property values is only 'on paper' and is not a big deal to most property owners. It mostly affects those who are buying, selling, or refinancing.

Macdaddy, there's a difference between the assessment and the mill rate. If assessments go up, the mill rate goes down = same money collected.

i just get frustrated because it is like they "count" on the increase to meet budgetary items and don't want to face reality. No one wants their property to be worth less than this time last year. But it really irks me that i have to pay more in taxes, because the city says it went up in value, when i did no improvements whatsoever.
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A gross injustice indeed.

We just refinanced our house THREE months ago.. the BANK said it was worth $230,000..we got our appraisal from the village... $270,000. How in the blankity-blank-blank can there be a $40,000 discrepancy? (I almost typed "disCRAPancy"; I think I should have left it that way.) Of course, we're going down to "City Hall" and whining, but I doubt it'll help. Thanks for listening to my whine! (Yes, I'll have some cheese with that.) :)

Macdaddy, cookiedough, and others: You're exactly right that there is a gross injustice when the real estate values used for taxes keep on going up even as our housing prices keep going down. It's outrageous!

The Gazette should write a story on this. All you need to do is to get the governmental data on housing prices and compare it to the tax assessed value. One can graph how the one goes up and compare it to the other. The graph will show clearly that the tax assessed values continue to go up, perhaps by the same percentage, even as the home values go down. You can, also compare these values to the foreclosure rates for a slightly different angle.

you can also look up the assessment online for rock county

http://68.249.68.135:8080/servlet/Attrib...

Property taxes go up almost every year no matter where you live in the state of WI even though value's of homes are going down all over the place, not just Janesville. The assessors better not increase property values in the next few years or they will get a few choice words. I had the value of my house re-assessed several 1,000 dollars lower after I found out my house was the smallest on the block, but the newest at 16 years old which I don't consider that new as compared to the other houses next to me similar size and shape but a little fancier and bigger by a little only being 5-7 years older than my house. I asked the assessor why my house property taxes went up 100's more than my next door neighbors houses and she gave me a B.S. stating my house was newer. I said, no fricking way, that my house ONLY being about 5-7 years newer BUT the key was 300-400 less square footage and ONLY a 1 1/2 bath vs. the neighbors houses having 2 baths and both side houses next to me added addtl. living space in their basements the previous year of assessments to make well over 500 more sq. foot of living space. The assessor was going to blow me off, but I told her name one house in the immediate area my sq. footage although 5-7 years older homes and show me ONLY 1 house that their assessment went up more than mine did. You, as a paying taxpayer, have a right to look at your neighbors assessed value and amount paid in property taxes at your local village office in case anyone disagrees.

If your assessment went up, unless you renovated or added-on, you probably have a good case to contest it. I don’t see how an assessor can possibly show that any Janesville area homes have increased in value since GM tanked.

Amazing, because my tax assessment went up. Hope the assessors are reading this.

Yes, property values are down but imagine how much the value of a home 1000 foot from a wind turbine or several wind turbines would be.
If you were house hunting would you choose a house close to wind turbines?
Are you a NIMBY?