Strong Opinions, Open Files

What wins an objection to a municipal valuation, a strong opinion or an open file? Most owners who feel their property has been overvalued have the opinion. Far fewer have the file.

When a municipality publishes a new general valuation roll, owners are given a window to object, and the objection is decided on evidence. Saying the value is too high carries little weight on its own. What helps is a record: recent sales of similar homes in the same area, the size of the stand and the house compared with the neighbours, photographs of problems a valuer could not see from the street, and any feature listed on the roll that the property does not actually have.

The same logic runs the other way. An owner who believes in a number has to be willing to look at the evidence against it, because the municipal valuer will, and so will an appeal board if it goes that far. An objection built on conviction and a few comparable sales tends to be taken seriously. One built on frustration with the rates bill usually is not, even when the owner happens to be right.