DRAFT Fact Sheet - General InformationDRAFT - CITY OF JANESVILLE CITY ASSESSOR’S OFFICE
Common questions about the City of Janesville’s Assessing program
The City of Janesville Assessor’s Office is underway with the implementation of the City’s next revaluation. A
citywide residential and commercial revaluation has not been completed since 2002 and the state
Department of Revenue requires we complete one for 2011.
What is the purpose of the City Assessor’s Office?
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The City Assessor’s Office has one main goal: Ensure a quality assessing program that the community has
available online.
confidence in.
Specifically, the department will:
Provide professional accurate collection and analysis of property data to insure a fair and equitable value
setting outcome.
Provide Janesville property owners with sufficient information so that they may understand the
assessment process and also encourage their participation in the process.
Ensure that Janesville property owners’ participation in the process is handled with the highest level of
professional courtesy and integrity.
What does the City Assessor’s Office do?
The City Assessor’s Office has three major duties; to collect data, verify the data, and use that data to value each
residential and commercial property in the City. The Assessment Office checks to make sure measurements,
ownership, and other property information is correct and current. The City currently contracts with a private
appraisal firm to fulfill the role of Statutory Assessor and conduct independent review of the valuation process.
Why does the City value my property?
Every year, each local government district (City, Village, Township) is required to establish a value for each
taxable parcel within their jurisdiction. Those values are subsequently used in the process of distributing and
collecting the property tax.
Will my taxes increase?
Not necessarily. Taxation is determined through spending choices of officials in many taxing jurisdictions, such
as the State of Wisconsin, Rock County, Janesville or Milton School District, Blackhawk Technical College and
the City of Janesville. Once the jurisdictions decide how much funding needs to be obtained through taxes, each
property owner’s tax bill is developed using the assessed value of the property as the guide.
How is property valued?
Wisconsin Law requires property assessments to be based equitably on fair market value. Estimating the market
value of your property is a matter of determining the price a typical buyer would pay for it in its present
condition. Your assessment is based on two things: 1) detailed information about your property and 2) local real
estate market conditions.
If you have taken out a building permit or recently purchased your home, you may remember being visited by a
representative of the Assessor’s Office some time in the last year or two. The representative, or “data collector”,
came to your property to gather information about its size, age, number of rooms, when it was last sold, etc. At
the same time, Assessment Office appraisers were researching local market conditions that impact your
property’s value --- such as building materials and labor costs, depreciation factors, and local real estate sales.
The findings of the property inspections and market analysis are then entered into the City’s Computer Assisted
Mass Appraisal (CAMA) software. The result: An estimate of your property’s fair market, or appraised value.
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You didn’t visit my property why did my value change?
The law requires that property be valued from actual view or the best information available. The Assessor’s
Ooffice attempts to physically review all property at least once every 5 years. If for various reasons the Assessor
cannot enter a property, the assessment must still be reviewed based on the existing records and other sources of
property information. If physical data supporting a value change is discovered, the Assessor is required to
change the value. The Assessor’s preference is always to be able to physically inspect a property rather than be
required to estimate its value based on old data or other sources of information.
Several homes in my neighborhood have foreclosed and the banks sold them for much less than what I
paid for my home. Does the City consider foreclosures when determining my property’s value?
No. The Assessor’s Office uses only “arm’s length” sales when determining a property’s value; “arm’s length”
are only those sales that are voluntary and have independent sellers and buyers. Foreclosures, bank-owned home
sales or sales to relatives are not included. While there are many news stories about foreclosures and they have
become very prevalent in other parts of the country, foreclosures and bank-owned home sales are still a very
small percentage of the Janesville real estate market. Therefore, the Assessor’s Office does not use them as
appropriate comparables when determining property value.
The economy hasn’t been that great in the last few years and homes in my area aren’t selling quickly.
Why is my assessment higher than it was previously?
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The chart below depicts how the value of an average priced home in Janesville would have appreciated if the City
had revalued the property every year. In the early 2000s, property value rose steadily, while in the late 2000s,
values began to decline. Please notice, however, that in comparison to 2002, average priced homes are still valued higher than
what they were in 2002. We expect this same trend to occur throughout Janesville.
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Caption: In the early 2000s, property value rose steadily, while in the late 2000s, values began to decline. Please
notice, however, that in comparison to 2002, average priced homes are still valued higher than what they were in 2002.
I’ve heard in the news that more and more people are walking away from paying their mortgage. Does
this affect the value of my property?
No. Similar to foreclosures, there are many news stories about people walking away from their mortgages;
however, these activities are still a very small percentage of the Janesville real estate market. Therefore, the
Assessor’s Office does not use them as appropriate comparables when determining property value.
Why is the City’s assessed value different from a private appraiser’s estimate of fair market value I
obtained recently?
In general, both estimates of value are arrived at using the same general principals, but can result in different
figures because the purpose of each is different The pPrivate (Fee) appraiser is completing a site specific single
property appraisal usually for a mortgage lender as an estimate of the property’s value on that specific date for
use in determining the appropriateness of a proposed loan. The City Assessor’s office is completing a mass
appraisal of approximately 22,000 properties at once in order to value all properties for tax equity purposes. The
Ffee appraiser typically arrives at a value by comparing your property to three similar properties that have
recently sold and then adjusting those sales prices based on the way your’s differs from those properties.
Recently The fee appraiser may be also useusing some foreclosure sales when making estimates; whereas, the
Assessor’s Office does not include those sales when determining value. The Assessor’s office generates a value
for your property by first calculating the cost to replace your home with an identical new home and then
adjusting that Replacement Cost New value for age and condition depreciation and in revaluation years,
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appreciation or depreciation derived from analysis of associated with market conditions resulting from
(comparing to all valid potentially hundreds of sales within your neighborhood properties).
In addition to variations in the process, another major factor resulting in different values is the date of the fFee
appraisal versus the date of the City Assessment. By law the assessed value should represent the market value as
of the 1 January of the most recent revaluation year. The private appraisal will specify the actual date of the
value estimate. Thus in periods of an active real estate market, it is logical that a 1 January 2006 2011
Aassessment will vary from a private appraisal completed on 12 December 12, 2006 2011 or some other date
after the assessment date.
1.For more information:, these are a few good places to start:
City’s website -
1.Assessor’s Office – www.ci.janesville.wi.us/assessor - detailed information about property assessment in
Wisconsin; videos and presentations about Janesville’s Revaluation; and an online tax calculator are
available
2.State Department of Revenue - www.revenue.wi.gov/
3.Various printed information is available by calling the City Assessor’s Office at
(608) 755-3045 or the State Department of Revenue at (608) 266-2772.
City of Janesville City Assessor’s Office
City of Janesville
P.O. Box 5005,
Janesville, WI 53547-5005
Phone (608) 755-3045,
Fax (608) 755-3196
Web www.ci.janesville.wi.us/assessor
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