King County Assessor Website Tries to Demystify Property Assessments

With news that , you might be wondering how in the world the numbers are actually determined.

We had a nice time chatting with King County Assessor Lloyd Hara Wednesday about this very issue -- what kinds of questions and comments his office gets when assessments are sent out every year -- and he said a lot of people don't fully understand the assessment process.

Which was what spurred him, along with his staff, to revamp the Assessor website and provide good, thorough and hopefully easy-to-understand information about the work that his office does.

We've used the Assessor's site often for research but admittedly didn't notice the row of YouTube videos sitting at the bottom of the homepage (probably because on our browser they sit 'below the fold' and actually require scrolling).

They provide helpful information about the current property tax and valuations, how your property is assessed and what the job of a county appraiser actually entails.

Check them out at http://www.kingcounty.gov/Assessor.aspx. Hara and his staff have made a conscious effort to help demystify the assessment process for property owners and subsequently how property taxes are calculated on the website.

And if you have questions, there's always 206-296-7300 that you can call. Or call the King County Tax Advisor Office at 206-205-6330. This is the County Council's Office of Citizen Complaints-Ombudsman and they answer questions about assessment, taxes, records, and all other things property.

Editor's Note: An incorrect phone number was listed in an earlier version of this post. That has since been corrected above.