Posted February 22, 2024
Question: What is a revaluation?
Answer: A revaluation determines the assessed value of all properties in a county.
Question: Why is Granville County doing a revaluation?
Answer: Revaluations are required by the State of North Carolina at a minimum of every 8 years. This is done to ensure that all tax values are more or less aligned with their value on the open real estate market.
Question: Why is the revaluation happening after 6 years instead of 8?
Answer: Granville County last completed a revaluation in 2018 but the dramatic changes in property values that began in 2020 created a situation where the vast majority of property sales transactions no longer had any relation to their assessed value. The North Carolina Department of Revenue urged Granville County to take immediate action and complete a revaluation as soon as possible. Waiting an additional 2 years would likely have led to even more dramatic increases in tax value.
Question: Why did my assessed value change so much?
Answer: Though less volatile than it was from 2020 to 2022, property values continue to rise in Granville County to levels never seen before. Recent data shows that average sales price
for all homes in Granville County has increased by 27% since 2021 alone.
Question: What about new homes? Why did their value change so much?
Answer: When new homes are built, their assessed value is set by the formula used during the most recent revaluation. For example, a new home built and sold in January 2023 would be assessed as if it existed in 2018 (the last revaluation). This could lead to a dramatic change in assessed value during the 2024 revaluation as the tax assessor adjusts the property to the 2024 market value instead of 2018.
Question: I think my assessed value is wrong. What do I do now?
Answer: Visit www.granvillecounty.org/reval and read the information on this page. You may also search for your home in the Comparable Sales Search tool to gain additional context on how your property compares to similar ones that have sold in recent years.
Question: I checked the Comparable Sales Tool and still think my assessed value is wrong. Now what?
Answer: You can file an appeal with the Granville County Tax Administration Office as soon as you receive your assessment notice until the first Board of Equalization and Review (E&R) hearing scheduled for April 29, 2024. Property owners will be able to meet with staff one-on-one to present additional data to support their appeal. For example, assessors do not go inside properties and rely on building permits and other public data to assess property values as well information they can gain about a property from the road or satellite view in the county GIS system. Property owners may have additional information about the condition of their property that can be provided to the assessor to adjust the value.
Question: I appealed to the Tax Assessor and disagree with their decision. Now what do I do?
Answer: If you disagree with the Tax Assessor’s decision, you can appeal to the Board of E&R. These appeal hearings will begin on April 29, 2024, and continue into June. The property owner can present evidence to the Board of E&R who can overrule the Tax Assessor’s decision if the evidence satisfies NC General Statute requirements. The Granville County Board of Commissioners also serves as the Board of E&R.
Question: I disagree with the Board of E&R decision. Now what?
Answer: The final appeal that property owners can make is to the North Carolina Property Tax Commission. This commission may override the previous decisions made by the Board of E&R and the Tax Assessor if they determine that the property has satisfied legal requirements for a successful appeal. A decision issued by the Property Tax Commission can only be appealed through an action filed with the North Carolina Court of Appeals or the North Carolina Supreme Court.
Question: Now I know my assessed value, but what does that mean for my tax bill?
Answer: This will be decided during the Board of Commissioners annual budget process, which begins in February with a 2-day retreat and ends in June with the approval of the new fiscal year budget. The Granville County fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.
Question: Will the tax rate change? If so, how much?
Answer: Based on the dramatic increase in assessed value in Granville County, and in all other counties that are conducting revaluations this year or in recent years, the tax rate will likely decrease dramatically. This will be decided no later than June 30 during the approval of the annual budget.
Question: What is a revenue neutral tax rate?
Answer: As part of the revaluation process, the Budget Officer must identify a “revenue neutral tax rate.” This is the tax rate that would produce the same amount of revenue for Granville County as the previous year, after adjusting to natural changes in population.
Question: Will the county adopt a revenue neutral tax rate?
Answer: The final tax rate will be decided at the conclusion of the budget process once the Board of Commissioners has been able to fully evaluate the needs of all departments and other entities like the Granville County Public School System. The new tax rate is likely to be much closer to the revenue-neutral rate than to the current rate.
Question: What else do I need to know about my next tax bill?
Answer: The final tax bill is calculated differently depending on where you live. All Granville County property owners pay the County Tax Rate. Those who live inside the city limits of Butner, Creedmoor, Oxford, Stem, and Stovall also pay taxes to their municipalities as determined by each of their governing bodies. Those who live outside of a municipality in “unincorporated” Granville County OR in the Town of Stovall also pay a Fire District Tax, which can only be used to fund fire service protection. All three tax rates (county, fire district, and municipal) will be determined no later than June 30.
Question: I am on a fixed income. Are there any assistance programs available?
Answer: The State of North Carolina offers three tax relief or deferment programs for seniors and disabled veterans. More information is available on the Granville County website: https://www.granvillecounty.org/government/tax-department/assessment-and-listing/property-tax-relief/ or by calling 919-693-4181.
Question: I still have questions. Who do I talk to?
Answer: The Granville County Tax Administration Office can be reached at 919-693-4181 or reval.2024@granvillecounty.org. You can also visit www.granvillecounty.org/reval for more information.