The Town of Scarborough has not had a town-wide revaluation since 2005. It is important to have a
revaluation to ensure that town assessments reflect current market values.
Why is the revaluation focused on commercial and industrial properties?
This is a two-phase revaluation that will include all classifications of property. Phase one will focus on commercial and industrial properties and phase two, to be completed in FY2019 (July 2018 to June
2019), will include all of the residential properties. The decision to address commercial and industrial
properties first recognizes that these classes of properties show the greatest disparity between
assessed value and fair market value. Sales analysis suggests that these two classifications are, on
average, about 20% undervalued.
When will phase one take place?
We intend to begin phase one of the revaluation in March 2018 with the intent of finishing phase one by mid-August 2018. The new values will be used to calculate property taxes beginning with your
October 2018 tax bill.
How will this phase of the revaluation be conducted?
The Town is contracting with KRT Appraisal (KRT) from Haverhill, MA for phase one of the revaluation. KRT will conduct an on-site exterior measurement and interior inspection of all commercial and industrial property located in Scarborough. All KRT staff will have proper identification as well as a letter from the Town with a vehicle description and purpose for visiting the property. These visits will provide KRT with the opportunity to verify all of the information on the existing property record card and to take updated photos of each property. When data collection is complete KRT will notify each property owner of any changes in assessed value and provide time for informal hearings with property owners that disagree with the new assessments.
Are my taxes going to increase?
If your property is assessed below the fair market value, you will likely see an increase in property taxes in FY2019. The amount of this increase is not possible to predict. Though no one likes to pay more in taxes you may take some comfort from knowing that if you have an increase it is because your property asset has increased in value. To find out what your current town assessed value is please check out the Town Assessors page of our website, http://www.scarboroughmaine.org/departments/assessing. If you are leasing your property how the new assessments affect you will depend on your contract with your property’s owner.
How can I share my thoughts about this process?
Looking for more information on revaluations in Maine? Check out this fact sheet from the Maine Property Tax Division.
