Request for Property Tax Abatements Due in January

At a recent meeting of the Wenham Board of Selectmen, Steve Gasperoni, the town’s assessor and Tom Tanous, chairman of the Board of Assessors, announced the completion of Wenham’s reevaluation process. On average, property assessments are up 20%. A complete listing of property values can be found on the Assessors page of the Town website at www.WenhamMa.gov.

For some homeowners, there will be an increase in their property tax bill dye to the new assessed values. Others will stay the same or decrease slightly. The increased property values, mean the property tax rate in Wenham decreased to 16.25%.

Tanous reminded homeowners that all request for abatements with the Board of Assessors must be filed during the month of Janurary. If property owners feel the assessed value of their home is too high, the abatement process and deadline information can be found on the back of the tax bill or by clicking here.

When filling an abatement it is a good idea to know the sales price of homes that sold in your neighborhood about a year ago and how they compare to your home in style, square footage and lot size. You can find this information on the Southern Essex County Registry of Deeds website at www.salemdeeds.com. It is important to remember that the assessed value reflects the market value of the home on January 1, 2014.