The relationship between your home鈥檚 annual assessment and property taxes, and the effect that valuation may have on the market value of your home, can be confusing.

For example, changes to the assessed value of your 91原创 area property don鈥檛 necessarily send your municipal property taxes up or down. Not only that, the assessment can be far different than the price your home could sell for, says Matthew Rufh, with the and Royal LePage Wolstencroft.

鈥淎ssessments went down in some parts of 91原创 and actually went up in others,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f your assessment has gone up but the selling prices of homes in your neighbourhood have come down, there may be a good argument to appeal.鈥�

To dispute or not to dispute?

You鈥檝e got until Jan. 31 to with the B.C. Assessment Authority, but is it worth it?

and having him perform a complimentary comparative market analysis/home evaluation (CMA) can be the best way to answer that question. He鈥檒l turn around the CMA in less than 24 hours, leaving you enough time to appeal online or through B.C. Assessment鈥檚 toll-free phone line at 1-866-825-8322. 鈥淎 CMA can give homeowners a good idea where they鈥檙e at in the marketplace and where their home currently sits for value,鈥� he says.

Sellers vs. buyers

Changes in assessments sometimes lead highly motivated parties to take steps to get into or out of the market, Matthew says. 鈥淎ll my sellers want to get out before it goes down like it did this year, and buyers question the selling price when the assessment drops significantly.鈥�

He explains that B.C. Assessment uses an algorithm and sales data from the previous July, data that may not reflect the current market. Sitting down with an experienced professional can give you a clear picture on which to base buying or selling decisions. 鈥淚t always comes down to education, providing people with good, accurate, up-to-date information,鈥� Rufh says.

Assessments seldom affect refinancing bids

If you鈥檝e built equity in your home and want to use it to finance renovations, travel, opening or expanding a business or even going back to school, you should know that financial institutions don鈥檛 use your home鈥檚 assessment to approve or reject a refinanced mortgage, Matthew says.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e trying to get a line of credit or doing debt consolidation and you want to leverage your property, the banks will not look at the assessment,鈥� he says, adding lenders use independent appraisers to thoroughly evaluate your property.

Want to learn more about assessments or get a CMA done? Contact Matthew at 604-506-1664, visit , or drop by the office at in 91原创 City. And follow the latest and pages.