Preview Assessment Letters - What is this?

Like many of you, I received my assessment for the 2014 year in my mail today. This is the assessment of your home for the 2014 and 2015 year. It is based on the market value of the property as of April 1, 2012.

These are general assessments, meaning just that. The City has not gone to every home and taken into consideration all individual circumstances for that home. They may not be aware that your basement foundation is cracked, that your home is shifted, that your roof has caved, etc. Not everything may be wrong in a negative way with your home; if you did repairs and you feel that your home is worth more than this assessment, you can also let them know that!

Assessments can affect your taxes, but not always. There is a general assessment that the entire neighbourhood or City will go up by. If your assessment increased by under the general assessment of the area (explained below) then you can see a decrease or no change in your property taxes. If your property increases more than the general assessment, then you can see an increase in your property taxes. 

Some information from the City's website regarding the average market value change is:

The change in the overall assessment due to the 2014 General Assessment cannot be calculated as this time as non-residential properties have not yet been valued. However, the assessment value increase in residential properties only resulting from the 2014 General Assessment ranges between 9% and 18% depending on the market region. Again, this relates only to residential properties and not the overall assessment roll increase for all properties.

Until information is provided regarding the overall general assessment it can be difficult to determine if you want to proceed with any changes to the proposed market value. At this time, the City is meeting with people at Burton Cummings Community Centre (960 Arlington). Call 311 and they will book an appointment for you to discuss your property with an assessor. The appointments are in 15 minute blocks and can be booked between Noon and 8 pm on Nov. 19, between 9 am and 8 pm on Nov. 20 - 22 and between 9 am - 4 pm on Nov. 23. 

You will need your preview letter and any documentation/photographs that you would like to bring to show your concerns. These amounts will not be finalized until June 2013 though once the assessments come out, the next step is an appeal, which is $50 (unless your property is assessed at $600,000 or more!)

Do you want to know about homes selling in the 'Inner City' area? Check out http://winnipegassessment.com/AsmtTax/pdfs/SelfService/sales_book_market_region_4.pdf

Halloween Contest Entries!

The amount of decorations up and around within the neighbourhood was wonderful! We have selected 30 addresses to vote on for prizes.

Voting will be on November 21 at Ralph Brown Community Centre at 460 Andrews at 7pm. Our meeting is afterwards and you can feel free to stay if you would like!

Everyone who was nomiated will receive a card in their mailbox with the details. Voting day will have pictures of all the homes entered and everyone will get three votes to stick next to the homes they like (one vote per house). Even if you did not decorate or get nominated, come on down to vote for your neighbours and friends.

Halloween Howl is less than a week away!

Looking for something to do this Saturday, October 27? Halloween Howl is a Halloween celebration geared to children ages 6 - 12.

There will be spooky stories, ghoulish games and a creepy craft. It will be held from 2 - 3 p.m. at St. John's Library. Grab your best costume, call 204-986-4689 to register, and have an awesome time at your local library!