In the county we live in, we were able to file a rebuttal on our assessment. We were then given an appointment to meet with the assessor downtown at the tax office & supply them with our reasons why the assessment was incorrect--photos/GIS map, location, appraisal from when we purchased the property (it was within 5 years from the date of the assessment), recent similar sales, access, busy road, large creek with flood plain that cut the entire property in half, etc. Approximately 6 weeks later, we received a letter from the assessor stating the new assessment at the amount we paid for the property (we bought it as a foreclosure so that was a sweet deal). Mom & Dad built their house 4 years ago. The tax assessor in their county started coming out to the building site every month or so about 3/4 of the way through the build to see what was going in. As Mom & Dad were acting as their own GC they were on site and told him he could stay outside but he had no business inside. Afterall, assessors don't go inside your house when they reassess every 10 years and take into account that you've upgraded your 30 year old house to granite & hardwoods from the original early 1980's linoleum & speckled formica. Too, with the current mortgage crisis and so many foreclosures and values falling, you may not want to let the assessor be privy to your costs & finishes upfront. You may want to wait and see what he values the house at first (without giving him a list of finishes / letting him inside the finished house if at all possible if you're going with some higher end finishes like hardwoods & granite). Then if he comes back with an unreasonable value, file a rebuttal. Just my 2 cents.

mrs_mack, I'm pretty sure that you did not pay any sales tax on your pool. Sales tax is always noted as a specific line item in any sales contract I have entered into that is not considered a home capital improvement. The reason why the company that you used for your cover is suggesting that you fill the form out is because they are not in a business that typically does "capital improvements". The reason why you may be able to gain an exemption on the 7% sales tax on the cover is because is is a custom cover for the pool, which itself was the capital improvement (you can't move it)....trust me, though, the state, county, municipality and your school district(s) (we're in NJ, right....more school districts than most any other state....many towns have 2) are getting their share each year through your increased property taxes. One way or the other the "leaders" of this state get their take for the bloated state pension funds. (sorry for the rant....schools opened late here due to delays in a new school building that led to a $1000 property tax increase in addition to the increase from my pool)

There is a fabulous nonprofit group here in Atlanta called the Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation. I found out about them by accident, and attended one of their classes last month. The class was taught by a former tax assessor, information they provided was very useful in regards to how taxes are formulated, how to appeal if you think your assessment is out of kilter, and how to gather your information for your appeal. Although their name is "Fulton County", the info they provided was valid statewide, and they welcomed anyone from any county in the state. It was well worth two hours of a Saturday morning to attend, and the class was free. See if you have a similar group nearby. BTW, they had no political orientation or agenda that I could determine. They presented purely property tax related information. Here is a link that might be useful: FCTF Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation

The Robert Fortune quotes have lots of information I did not know, interesting. What struck me with the Francis Parkman quotes is the fact that only a century later, so much had changed. Really enjoyed the Laurence Peter quotes, all of them. Some I knew, but had forgotten, thanks for the refresher course.