PRESS RELEASE

Robert Bellmer	James O'Meara	Max McChesney

Cedar County Assessor, Linda Griggs, is announcing that door-to-door inspections of all rural residential and agricultural dwellings in Cedar County will begin approximately June 5, 2023. This project will start with the northern townships and proceed south over the next year. 

A reappraisal project was approved by the Conference Board. Periodic inspections and reappraisal of properties is necessary as all types of properties do not increase or decrease in value at the same rate. Some properties physically deteriorate faster than others, and in many instances similar homes located in different areas of the county will differ greatly in value due to economic factors. 

Representatives of Vanguard Appraisals, Inc. in conjunction with the Cedar County Assessor’s Office will be conducting this project. Data collectors with photo ID signed by the assessor will attempt to perform interior and exterior inspections of all rural residential and agricultural dwellings.  They will be compiling information to be used to estimate the fair market value of each property.  Information to be collected includes type of construction, type of interior finish, physical condition of the property, age of structures and exterior measurements.

 Property owners are asked to cooperate by allowing a complete inspection of their property and providing accurate information so that a fair and equitable assessment may be determined for each property.  No estimate of value will be given at the time of inspection.

 After the data collection is completed a full sales analysis, along with local construction costs, and economic conditions are considered when setting values. 

Notice of final value estimates will be mailed to each property owner after January 1, 2025.  The property owners will have an opportunity to meet informally to discuss their revaluation in the spring of 2025.

 The new assessed values will be effective for January 1, 2025, for taxes payable in the fall of 2026 and spring of 2027. 

All law enforcement agencies as well as the Cedar County Assessor’s Office will be apprised of the areas where data collectors are working.  They will also have a listing of names and license plate numbers of anyone involved in the project. 

If any property owner has questions regarding the reappraisal project, they are urged to contact the Cedar County Assessor’s at 563-886-6413 or email: lgriggs@cedarcounty.iowa.gov