Why does the Town Assessor visit my property? (2/19/2024)

The Town Assessor visits properties in Barrington to determine and update assessed values as required by state law and the Assessing Standards Board.  They visit properties following sales, building permits or abatements, during revaluations, and at least every four years as part of a cyclical review (details below).

In New Hampshire, schools and local government are funded largely through property taxes.  This system ties the taxes you pay to the value of your property (not the services you receive).  The Town must determine each property's market value which is used as the basis for taxation (RSA 75:1).  This is the function of the Town Assessor.  

There are four primary reasons the Town Assessor visits a property:

1. Following the sale of a property
   1. A Town's property assessment is a mass appraisal process in which our goal is to be at market value during a revaluation year.  True market value is determined when a buyer and seller agree on a price. The Department of Revenue measures how close we are to market value every year through an equalization process.  It is for that reason that the Town's Assessor follows all property transfers in Barrington and compares the sale price with the assessed value.  They are required to visit the property (inside and out) after a sale to verify that the property record card depicts what is actually at the property and what attributes contributed to market value.  The Town's Assessor will compare the property details to the property record card and update as necessary.
2. In conjunction with building permits or abatement applications
   1. Modifications and upgrades to properties affect their market value.  The Town Assessor will visit properties to determine what the status of the permit is as of April 1.   RSA 75:8 requires that the assessment inventory is accurately updated based on the April 1st date of each year.  They will want to see the work that was performed pursuant to the building permit.  While we are at the property we will ask to measure and inspect the entire property in order to capture any changes that have occurred since out last visit. 
   2. If a property owner files an abatement application, the Town Assessor will want to visit the property to ensure the accuracy of the property record card.
3. Cyclical inspection process
   1. The Town Assessor will visit all properties at least once every five years.  This cyclical inspection process distributes the Town's 5,000+ parcels over time.  During a cyclical review, the Town Assessor will want to see inside and outside of the property and will compare the property details with the property record card and update as necessary.  They will verify the data on the property record card.  They will check measurements of all of the buildings, verify the condition, check finished basement areas, decks, outbuildings and any other information that may have changed since the last visit.  Note, visits by the Town Assessor following a sale or building permit do not 'reset' the clock for cyclical inspections.
4. During a revaluation
   1. At least every five years per RSA 75:8-a, the Town Assessor updates the baseline values used in the mass appraisal process.  Property visits as part of a revaluation (or partial statistical update) frequently do not require visits inside the property.  As part of the process the Town Assessor will view properties from the driveway or road as part of verifying the property record card for any inaccuracies.

• Assessing Reference Manual - ASB 2018
• Assessing Review Standards - ASB 20130522
• Assessing Review Standards Chart - ASB 20180511
• Equilization Manual - ASB 20230414

Note: On rare occasions, an assessor from the State Department of Revenue Administration will visit your property.  They perform sporadic evaluations of municipal assessing and visit properties to compare their assessment with the Town's.