Revaluation Firm Explains Process to Residents

Inspectors from Appraisal Systems, Inc. are currently in the process of visiting every property in Westwood as part of a revaluation.

Representatives from the company explained the process of inspecting homes and assessing their values during three presentations for residents last week.

Westwood last had a revaluation done 10 years ago and the values of different types of property were likely affected differently during the real estate boom and crash in the time since, according to Appraisal Systems President Rick Del Guercio.

Borough properties on the market this year have been selling, on average, at 87.81 percent of their assessed value, he said.

"The assessments that are in place now are, in effect, stale," Del Guercio said.

During the first part of the revaluation, inspectors from the company will visit every property in Westwood and look at both the inside and outside of homes and other buildings. The inspectors will come between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., according to Appraisal Systems Vice President Jason Cohen. The inspectors — whose photos can be viewed here — will all be carrying Appraisal Systems IDs. Residents can call the Westwood Police Department if they have any suspicions about someone claiming to be an inspector. The department's non-emergency phone number is (201) 664-7000.

If no one is home when the inspector first visits, he will leave a card with a date and time for an evening appointment, as well as a number to call if the time is inconvenient.

If no one is home after the inspector's second visit, he will leave a card with an estimate of the home's value based off just an exterior inspection. Cohen said that inspectors have to estimate the value to the home's "highest, most reasonable potential" if they don't get to look inside, meaning they treat it as if bathrooms and kitchens had been remodeled, basements were finished and other details that increase the value of a home.

The inspections are set to all be done by October 1, after which the company's appraisers will factor in items about homes and their surrounding neighborhoods to assess their values. 

The preliminary assessments will be sent to property owners, who will then have a chance to meet with company representatives to discuss any issues or errors with the assessments.

The new assessments will affect property taxes starting next year.

Mayor John Birkner said the borough had to do the revaluation this year because Washington Township is also having one done and funding for the Westwood Regional School district is based on the total assessed values of properties in the two towns.

"If the township did it and we didn't, the school funding could have had a drastic impact on Westwood residents," Birkner said. 

The presentation about the revaluation process can be viewed online here.