We are in CA and 2 years ago built a large guest house. The tax assessor personally rang our doorbell the day after the COO was signed. It was summer, the kids were home and I was in my robe about to take a shower ... I not so nicely told him that since they had our name/number at our local City Hall, the least he could have done was called to make an appointment. Took his card and closed the door!

Tax assessors and real estate taxes work differently in every state.

In my state we pay our taxes in arrears. That means in 2014 I pay my taxes for charges and assessments from 2013. It sounds like that is what happens in your state also.

All re-assessments must be completed by the end of March here on a yearly basis. New construction is assessed when it is completed or soon after. Only your tax assessor can tell you when it would be assessed. Your builder and banker are probably correct, but I would make a call to confirm this.

Check with your town to be sure. As rrah said, it will vary state to state and in our case, county to county. Where we live, assessments are as of April 1. Taxes are due twice per year (June 1 and December 1) and each of those are for 3 months in arrears and 3 months in advance.

We had a year where we paid for the vacant lot but lived in the house. Actually, I think it was two years since properties are only assessed every few years here. However, clearly every area is different.