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14 | Page <br /> APPEAL THROUGH THE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION <br />North Dakota law directs all real property in the state to be assessed as to its value on February 1st of <br />each year. Assessment officials around the state spend most of January, February, and March <br />preparing these values by studying costs to build new, the areas marketing of existing property, and <br />how these factors affected the current valuations. The assessor must notify the property owner <br />whenever the true and full valuation increases by more than 10 percent and $3,000 over the last <br />assessment. The property owner shall receive a mailed written notice at the property owner’s last <br />known address at least 15 days prior to the local board of equalization. The notice must provide the <br />true and full values used by the assessor along with the dates, times, and locations of both the <br />Jurisdiction and the County Board of Equalizations. <br />Cities are required to hold the City Board of Equalization on the 2nd Tuesday in April and Townships <br />are required to hold the Township Board of Equalization on the 2nd Monday in April. The County Board <br />of Equalization shall hold its meeting within the first ten days of June. The State Board of Equalization <br />meets the 2nd Tuesday in August. <br />A property owner who has questions about their valuation should contact the Assessment Department. <br />They may appear before the Local Board of Equalization and the County Board of Equalization. Either <br />of these boards may reduce the assessment of the property. A property owner can only appeal to the <br />State Board of Equalization if they have appealed to both the local and county boards of equalizations. <br />The decision of the State Board of Equalization is final in this appeal process. <br />UNDERSTANDING YOUR ASSESSMENT <br />Most property owners are concerned about the rising property taxes. To express their concern <br />effectively, a property owner must understand the two parts of the property tax system: <br />TAXATION and VALUATION. <br />WHAT CAUSES PROPERTY VALUES TO CHANGE? <br />The most obvious reason is that the property itself has changed. An addition to the property, <br />basement finish, or rehabilitation of the property are some of the more common reasons. A <br />less obvious, but more frequent, cause of change is that there was a change in the market itself. <br />If a major employer leaves the area, property values can collapse, or if a once blighted <br />neighborhood with good starter homes sparks interest to young first-time homebuyers, prices <br />can start to rise. Additionally, larger and more expensive homes may take longer to sell, <br />resulting in reduced prices to allow for a quicker sale, while at the same time more affordable <br />housing in high demand creates an increase to value. In a stable neighborhood without any <br />undue influence from the market, inflation alone may increase property values.