The assessor is a State Certified professional whose duties are to discover, list and place a value on all taxable real and personal property in the city, in a uniform manner. The assessor is not involved in the collection of property tax.

Wisconsin Law requires that property assessments be based on fair market value. Estimating the market value of your property is a matter of determining the price a typical buyer would pay for the property in the present condition.

Some factors the assessor considers are: what similar properties are selling for, what it would cost to replace your property, what rent it may earn as well as any other factors that affect its value.

It is important to remember that the assessor does not create this value, but rather interprets what is happening in the real estate market.

Generally speaking, improvements that increase the market value of a property will increase the assessed value. The following are typical items that will increase the assessed value of your property.

Addition of rooms, garages, porches or decks
Aluminum or vinyl siding
Substantial modernization of kitchens or baths
Central air conditioning
Fireplaces
Extensive remodeling
Swimming pool
Basement finishing (family room, den, bathroom, etc)

Good maintenance will help retain the market value of your property. Generally, your assessment will not be increased for individual minor repairs such as those that follow; however, a combination of several of these items could result in an increased assessment.

Repairing concrete walks or driveways
Replacing gutters and down spouts
Replacing hot water heater
Repairing or replacing roof
Repairing porches and steps
Repairing original siding
Patching or repairing interior walls/ceilings
Exterior painting
Exterior awnings and shutters
Replacing electrical fixtures
Replacing furnace
Weather stripping, screens, storm windows and dorms
Exterior landscaping including lawns, shrubbery, trees, flowers

General economic conditions such as interest rates, inflation rates, and changes in the tax laws, will influence the value of real estate. As property values change in the market place, those changes must be reflected on the assessment roll.

Wisconsin law requires that whenever an assessment is changed, the owner must be notified. Assessment notices are generally mailed in late April. In the year of a city-wide revaluation, assessment notices are mailed to all property owners.

There are differences between individual properties and between neighborhoods. In one area the sales may indicate a substantial increase in value in a given year. In another neighborhood there may be no change in value or even a decrease in property values.

Different types of properties within the same neighborhood may also show different value changes. For example, one-story houses may be more in demand than two-story houses, or older homes in the same area may be rising in value more slowly than new homes.

There are numerous factors to be considered in each property which will cause the values to differ. Some of the factors which can affect value are location, age, condition, size, quality, number of bathrooms, basement finishes and garages.

Just as in many other fields, computers are also useful in the assessment process. Assessors are trained to look for associations or relationships between property characteristics and market value. By analyzing these characteristics, and studying sale prices, assessors can begin to predict or estimate value by developing formulas and models.

Computers are much faster and are capable of advanced analysis in this area. But despite these capabilities, common sense and assessor judgment are always required to verify our assessments. We ask the assessors most familiar with the neighborhoods and properties to review all computer-generated values.

When an interior inspection is not allowed, the assessor will attempt to update our records by looking at the property from the outside and using any other available information.

To ensure an accurate assessment, it is to your advantage to allow the assessor inside your property when an inspection is requested. By denying an inspection, you may lose the right to appeal your assessment to the Board of Review.

You should first attempt to decide for yourself what your property is worth. This can be done by looking at area sales, contacting appraisers, and comparing assessments of similar homes. Assessment information is available in our office and open to the public for review during regular office hours.