Property Revaluation
Understanding Sampson County Property Revaluation
What is Revaluation?
Revaluation ensures your property tax reflects the current market value of your land and buildings. It applies to homes, apartments, offices, stores, and warehouses – essentially all real estate. This process does not affect personal property like cars or boats, which are valued annually.
Why Revaluate?
State law mandates counties to reappraise real estate at least every eight years. North Carolina recommends a more frequent approach, every four years. Following this guidance, Sampson County moved its next revaluation from 2027 to 2024 and adopted a four-year cycle.
How is Property Value Determined?
Values are based on "fair market value," which is the estimated selling price in a competitive market. Appraisers consider recent sales of similar properties, replacement costs, potential rental income, and other factors.
Why Appraise Property?
Appraisals ensure a fair and balanced tax system. They determine each property owner's share of taxes that support schools, roads, public safety, and other services. The tax amount you pay depends on both your property value and the tax rate set by elected officials.
Benefits of Revaluation
Revaluation adjusts values to reflect current market conditions, creating a fairer tax system. This ensures all property owners contribute their fair share.
How is the Appraisal Conducted?
Sampson County hires a qualified, state-registered firm to conduct reappraisals. The first revaluation in 2024 was a desktop appraisal, meaning appraisers used data like recent sales and property characteristics without physically visiting each property. However, the 2028 revaluation will involve in-person inspections of all improved properties.
The Appraisal Process Explained
Appraisers consider various factors, including:
- Building dimensions and square footage
- Construction type and quality
- Heating, cooling, and plumbing systems
- Age, condition, and desirability
- Potential property uses
The appraisal firm uses three recognized approaches to determine value:
- Market Approach: Compares your property to recent sales of similar properties.
- Cost Approach: Estimates the current cost of replacing your property.
- Income Approach: Considers potential rental income (primarily used for commercial properties).
The firm analyzes county sales data to create a Schedule of Values (SOV). This schedule establishes rates used to estimate the market value of all properties in Sampson County. The Board of Commissioners must approve the SOV before it is applied.
Property Reappraisal Effective January 1, 2024
Sampson County's last reappraisal of all real property was effective January 1, 2024.
2024 Revaluation Q&A document.(PDF, 145KB)
What is revaluation?
Revaluation is the process that matches your tax value with what your property is worth on the open market at the time of the revaluation. It covers all residential and commercial land and structures, such as homes, apartments, and office buildings, stores, and warehouses. It does not include what is known as "personal property", such as cars, boats, and airplanes. The values for personal property are adjusted annually.
Why do we do this?
State law requires every county to reappraise real property at least once every eight years. The North Carolina Department of Revenue (NCDOR) published reappraisal standard and guidelines in 2017 and recommended that each county complete a reappraisal on real property every four years. Per NCDOR recommendations, Sampson County moved up the next scheduled reappraisal effective January 1, 2027, to January 1, 2024, and adopted the recommended four-year cycle thereafter.
What determines my value?
Property is appraised at "fair market value", which is the most probable price a property would sell for in a competitive and open market. Property values for revaluation are determine by comparing sales prices for similar properties, what it would cost to replace your property, the potential income for your property and many other factors.
Why appraise property?
An appraisal provides the basis for determining a property owner's share of the taxes that supports schools, roads, parks, public health programs, libraries, and police and fire protection. The amount of taxes you pay depends on both your property value and the tax rates set each year by elected county and city/town officials.
What's the benefit?
The readjustment in values makes the County's tax system fairer and more equitable, because the values are based on what the property is worth on the open market. This ensures that all property owners are paying their fair share of taxes.
How is an appraisal done?
Sampson County contracts with an outside firm registered with NCDOR to conduct reappraisals of real property in North Carolina. The firm completed a desktop reappraisal effective January 1, 2024. Sampson County will contract for a 2028 reappraisal that includes a field visit to all improved property. The appraisers review basic characteristics such as building dimensions, total square footage, type and quality of construction, type of heating and cooling, plumbing, age, condition, desirability, usefulness, etc. The firm will use the three recognized approaches to value in the appraisal industry to determine value.
- Market Approach: Compares property to recent sales of similar properties.
- Cost Approach: Determines current cost of replacing property.
- Income Approach: Considers how much income the property could produce (commonly used for commercial properties).
The firm is responsible for analyzing all sales within the county and developing the Schedule of Values (SOV). The SOV contains the rates to be applied to land and buildings to estimate the market value of all properties in the county. The Sampson County Board of Commissioners must approve the Schedule of Values created by the appraisal firm by January 1 of the year they are applied.