The January 1st lift on the three-year assessment freeze means some homeowners could see double-digit increases in property taxes this time around. The government, in a moment of benevolence, has decided to spread such increases over the next four years.

If you recall, the freeze on increases was caused by homeowner complaints that MPAC was conducting unfair and innaccurate assessments. An investigation resulted in 20 recommendations for improvements including some charges to the Crown for the way they communicated with property owners.

According to reports, MPAC has completed 10 of the 20 tasks thus far and is continuing on the rest. Communiction was a vital requirement for MPAC. Their committment, in the form of "If an error has been made, we will correct it. We are also happy to explain howwe arrived at your assesed value and answer any question," appears genuine. That, of course, doesn't mean your assessment will change, just that you'll know how they came to their conclusions. If you then check against procedures and requirements, you can easily determine if your home was fairly assessed.

The MPAC website now offers a lot more info on how properties are evaluated, and has posted many of the above-mentioned procedures online. A new Property Taxpayer Web Portal is also being developed, through which owners will be able to access their Property Profile Report and comparables.

Property owners will be receiving their assessments in August and September. Current taxes are based on market value assessments conducted by MPAC for Jan 1/05. If the estimated value of a property increases at a rate below the city average, the homeowner's property tax will decrease. If not, it will increase. That's when cmparables become an invaluable tool for the owner. The reassessed values, with a valuation date of January 1.08, will apply to the tax years 2009 through 2012.

The key message here? If you don't like your assessment, complain. Use the website and the newly developed portal to reassure yourself that your home has been accurately assessed. At the very least, you will receive explanations as to why your home has been valuated the way it has.

Taxes are a major factor in resale values these days and if your home remains stable, rises slightly, or actually decreases, you have a very viable selling point to add to your marketing efforts.

The website is www.mpac.ca.

Information for this article was paraphrased from an article initially published in Realtor Edge, March 2008. Copyright Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA)