Assessor&Rsquo;S Office

Property Value Grievance Information & Application

The Board of Assessor’s has developed this application to help the board make a fair decision of your property appraisal value. Property values, derived from record owner data, are generated as of April 1 of each year. The value of your property is based on fair market value. The considered methods to generate property value are: the sales comparison approach, the cost approach, and the income approach.

As of this years deadline - May 18 at 4:30p.m. the Assessor's Office is no longer accepting applications or scheduling appeals. If you wish to be heard you will need to come into the office during our hearing time set per this years notice and ask for a walk in hearing. If the BOA is sitting for hearings they may accept your walk-in request on the same day of you may need to come back another day until their is a spot for you in that opens within the planned schedule. 

According to state statute, VSA 32 § 3481 (1), the assessor’s are required to estimate fair market value of your property. Fair market value is defined as “...the price which a property will bring in the market when offered for sale and purchased by another, taking into consideration all the elements of the availability of the property...” One of the components of determining a fair market sale of a comparable property is a transaction in which the property has been placed on the market for a reasonable duration of time and neither party is under duress to sell or to purchase a property.

Property should be appraised at a uniform ratio of fair market value. If property appraised values in Burlington indicate a level of 90% (for example) to similar type real estate sales than the appraised value of your property should have a similar level of appraisal.

The Board of Assessor’s will review the accuracy of the data from the property record card. Occasionally, errors are found such as: building measurements, number of baths, basement finished area, and other data that may affect the value of your property.

Please take the time to review your property record card. In addition, you should review sales of properties similar to your property. The Assessor’s Office has information on your property and recently sold real estate within Burlington. This information is available for the public to view. If you are providing information, regarding sales of comparable properties, please attach these copies and their corresponding property record card(s) with the application form.

If your property is a commercial property or an apartment building with four or more units, your assessment will be based primarily upon the income approach. In this instance, we request that you complete an Income & Expense Survey. You may also provide comparable sales if you choose.

Consider meeting with the Assessor's Office? - If you have come to this site prior to February 15th of the year, consider speaking directly to the assessor to review your valuation issue(s) before filing a formal grievance application. The assessor encourages property owners to review their property valuation concerns prior to February 15th.