Revaluation in Process: Here's What to Expect

Data collectors have now visited about half of all homes in Scarsdale and are moving toward the May, 2013 deadline for the completion of home visits and data collection. Work in Edgewood is complete and Edgewood homeowner will receive their property description forms in the mail this week. The form documents the most basic information about a home and rates its "overall condition" on a scale of one through five.

Village Assessor Nanette Albanese and Eric Hardy from Tyler Technologies met with representatives from the media to offer an update on the process and explain what residents can expect.

We had the opportunity to preview a sample data collection form and were surprised to see that it offered little in the way of qualitative data on the homes. Instead it provides information such as the address, property size, the home style, heat type, year built, square footage, number of bedrooms, bathrooms and fireplaces. Homeowners will have the opportunity to review this information, correct any inaccuracies and mail it back by the deadline shown on the mailer. For Edgewood residents that date will be February 15.

However, the information on the form is not all that will be considered when property appraisals are done later in the process. According to Hardy, the data collector makes notes that are included with the record but cannot be seen on the form. Other factors that will go into formulating the assessment include location, the presence of other features such as a pool, garage, or basketball court, the neighborhood, and recent sales data. However, residents will not see all of this information on their data sheet. These are additional criteria that will be factored into the model later on.

Hardy says that property size and the size of the home are the most important factors that will determine the assessed value – and though the condition of the house, and vintage of the bathrooms or kitchen will be considered, these will not move the appraisal up or down in a significant way. Instead, these are considered when assigning the home an overall condition rating that ranges from poor to excellent that is just one factor in the appraisal.

So, if you haven't yet had a visit from a data collector, when should you expect to see one? Data collectors are now working in Fox Meadow and have also begun work in Heathcote. If data collectors make two attempts to get into your home without success they will mail you a first class letter and ask you to schedule an appointment. If they don't hear from you a second letter will go out to you by certified mail. And if you fail to make an appointment after receipt of the second letter, the data collector will do what they can to complete the form without a visit inside your home and will rate it in excellent condition and will assume that there is a new kitchen, new bathrooms and a full finished basement.

The schedule now calls for all properties to be reassessed in 2014.

To learn more, visit www.reassessment.scarsdale.com/ or call the reassessment offices of Tyler Technologies at 914 722-1324 or 1326 between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm Monday through Friday.