# MPAC Assessment challenge



## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

was worth it....

Back in March I took advantage of my banks wanting to up my HELOC limit (they offered a free appraisal)
Appraisal said 15% less than MPAC's number, so I completed the RFR and attached the appraisal
An MPAC assessor did a walk around the house in early May with a clip board. 
Just got notice that they lowered the assessed value 7%

They make an "offer" with this letter and you take it or appeal it.

They obviously calculate your threshold for tolerating further red tape very well and they threw me this 7% bone knowing I would probably take it....and I did

better than nothing... it will save me a couple hundred in property taxes annually


----------



## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

Go on line and check the details of your property asessment. (They don't send you the details in the written notice - they should be required to.) I found they made a fundamental error in the gross floor area (They added the garage to the first floor area, and to the basement area) and successfully appealed. Look up "Your Property Profile" and Property Assessment Details". The garage should not be included in any of the building areas on the Property Profile, but an adjustment is added in the Property Assessment Details page for an attached garage. 

Look for other errors. Also under the "Neighbourhood Properties" tab you can see the assessments of other houses in your area.


----------



## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

I did all that before the appeal. My detached garage is valued at $18K and absolutely counts in the value of the property. The woman who did the walk around noted that an audit must have been done since I had that garage built in 2008. 
but neither of us recall any such thing.

My neighbours really need to appeal their assessments. Most are 50K higher than mine was. and I thought mine was high...


----------



## GeniusBoy27 (Jun 11, 2010)

How long did your MPAC assessment take. Mine's been going on 5 months now (believe it or not) ...


----------



## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

took about 3 months.

I just checked online, and they still show my original assessed value (obviously as I only mailed the acceptance a few days ago), but I wonder if it will be amended for my neighbours to see....

I will check in a few weeks again.


----------



## GeniusBoy27 (Jun 11, 2010)

Thanks ... that's immensely useful. I've been talking to MPAC every month. It's just taking forever, but my area is in an area of property value flux ...


----------



## Dana (Nov 17, 2009)

These asessments can work for you or against you. We have a neighbour who owns another property about 2 hours north east of us. A few years ago he appealled his MPAC assessment. He had assessments of comparable houses in the area as well as an appraisal of the property. After months of back and forth his assessment was increased instead of decreased as he had hoped. One of his neighbours was also increased and blamed our friend for drawing the attention of MPAC.


----------



## mrcheap (Apr 4, 2009)

hystat: I had the exact same experience as you. Appealed the assessment, they offered me a lower assessment that was still higher than it should have been, but I took it to avoid the PITA of going through a formal appeal.


----------



## Addy (Mar 12, 2010)

Sorry, I know this isn't keeping with the thread completely, but it is related. Are you able to view assessments of other properties in Ontario? I don't own property (yet) in Ontario but am curious to find out the assessed values of a few. Is there anyone here willing to log in and check out two or three addresses for me? It's purely just to get some additional information in general about an area we're considering purchasing (no real estate agent yet, don't want one quite yet).


----------



## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

Addy you can only check your own.


----------



## Addy (Mar 12, 2010)

Thanks Berubeland. That is weird though; it seems on the mpac site they say, or perhaps just alluded to that you could check any property in ontario if you own property. They even stress that as tenants you can use the site, but if you rent you can only check the property you reside in.

In Winnipeg we can check the city's website and view any assessment as it's public information.


----------



## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

I think you can use property sales data for comparative purposes from the MLS registry. Assessments are often incorrect whereas sales data is reality.


----------



## GeniusBoy27 (Jun 11, 2010)

You can check other properties around your neighbourhood via the MPAC assessments. But MPAC assessments and the retail sale value can be quite different.

BTW -- I finally got back my MPAC assessment, and they downgraded the value by 20%, which is wonderful for my property taxes!

But what it sells for is a totally different story!


----------



## Addy (Mar 12, 2010)

To clarify, I'm not looking for what the property has sold for or what it's 'market value' is. I'm looking for what the property was assessed by the city/municipality.


----------



## GeniusBoy27 (Jun 11, 2010)

MPAC only allows you to check for neighbouring properties within your vicinity.

(It feels like it's about a 5-10 km radius) ...


----------



## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

yeah, that's my experience too... I can go about 3 streets away only (rural)

BTW, I rec'd notice from the municipality last week of a tax credit, so my acceptance is final. 
I went on line to check "my property" just now - still shows the higher value... suspect they wont rush to update that in case my neighbours are comparing and thinking about doing RFR's


----------

