The four objections — and the lines that hold up.
You've filled the packet. You've filed the protest. The morning of the hearing, the assessor's job is to push back on your number. These are the four pushes you'll hear, and the four short responses you read straight from the page. No legal advice — just the rehearsed lines a prepared homeowner walks in with.
What the assessor says — and what you say back.
- OBJECTION 01
“Your comps aren't comparable — they're a different neighborhood, a different vintage, a different grade.”
The three comps on page two are inside the same neighborhood code and the same grade band as the subject. The worksheet flags any comp that doesn't pass that bar before it goes into the packet. The adjustment grid addresses the differences that remain, with a defended dollar value per line item — time, site, GLA, condition. If the board wants one defended comp pulled, point me to it and I'll answer line-by-line, but the math holds either way.
- OBJECTION 02
“The market's been flat since those sales — your comps are stale and your number is high.”
The county's own sales records for the same neighborhood code, covering the same twelve-month window, support the level of value in my evidence packet. Time adjustments are applied on the adjustment grid, not buried in narrative. Pulling two or three of the county's own sales side-by-side with the comp set and the subject shows the trend line holds — and the only way the trend supports a higher number is if the assessor is rejecting their own data.
- OBJECTION 03
“Your GLA, condition, or feature count differs from your comps — the value isn't apples to apples.”
The record-card audit on page one matches the assessor's own record card line by line. The comp selection rule applies the same GLA range, the same condition band, and the same feature count before a comp is admitted to the roster. The adjustment grid accounts for any remaining line-item differences. If a specific line is in dispute, point me to it and I'll defend the adjustment with the source — parcel record, MLS field, or photo — rather than a guess.
- OBJECTION 04
“Sales prices understate value; we use cost, and the cost approach supports the current assessment.”
The three approaches to value are sales, cost, and income. The packet builds the case from the approach your county recognizes as primary — and reconciles the others on the same page. If the assessor leans on cost to defend the current value, the rebuttal is the income and sales evidence already in the packet, not a new argument. The line that closes the hearing: 'Which of the three approaches do you want to argue against, and what's the source?'
You've got the packet and the deadline. Now keep the savings.
Read this once the morning of the hearing, not the night before. Bring the packet, bring the deadline calendar, and bring the four lines above. The rest of the case is already in the file — the script is just the rehearsed answers.
Bring the packet, the deadline calendar, and the four lines above. The rest of the case is already in the file — the script just keeps the answers rehearsed.