Property assessment appeal deadline extended

With the deadline so close, owners who want to appeal should either call the county assessor’s office and ask a staffer to fax the proper forms, or they should pick up the forms at the office.

The number to call is 702-455-4997. The assessor’s office is on the second floor of the Clark County Government Center, 500 S. Grand Central Parkway in Las Vegas.

Appeals must be postmarked by Tuesday if mailed. Or they must be dropped off at the assessor’s office by 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Forms aren’t made available online. This helps the assessor better track the volume of appeals and prepare for handling them, Assistant Assessor Rocky Steele said.

Those filing appeals should make copies for their personal records, Steele said. And they should gather evidence to back up their claims, he said.

For homeowners, the most common method is to go on the assessor’s website and see how their assessed values compare with those of neighboring homes.

Recent foreclosures, short sales or bargain-basement deals in a person’s neighborhood also can be used as proof that a house is assessed too high, officials said. By law, the assessed value can’t exceed the market value.

Last year, about 8,300 owners filed appeals, topping the 6,082 appeals filed in 2009. The volumes in both years eclipsed the 1,370 appeals in 2008 and the 725 in 2007.

As of Thursday afternoon, the assessor had received about 3,000 appeals, a volume similar to last year’s record pace, said Steele, who predicts his office will be bombarded with appeals next week from last-minute filers.

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.