Percentage increase:

A common mistake is to just look at the percentage increase between last year's assessment and this year's assessment.

• This is not good evidence as it does not account for any errors in the last year's assessed value.
• Also, the market values of properties like yours may have changed by a different percentage than other properties.
   

No evidence to support your arguments:

Make sure you provide your own evidence.

• Do not simply criticize BC Assessment's evidence or numbers.  If you do not provide anything better, we may agree with BC Assessment.
• You must get your own evidence.  We will not do the research for you or BC Assessment.
   

Inferior evidence: 

Watch the quality of your evidence. If BC Assessment has provided some sales , ask yourself: 

• Can I provide better evidence?
• Are my sales more similar to my property than BC Assessment's sales?

Keep in mind: listings of properties for sale are usually weaker evidence than actual sales of similar properties. 
 

Small adjustments:  

Do not expect us to make a small adjustment to your assessed value (e.g. a few percent or less).

• Estimating market value is not an exact science.
• We usually cannot say precisely what your property is worth.
• It is often more reasonable to say your property value is within a range of values.  For example, it is worth from $375,000 to $400,000.
   

Assessment comparisons:

Do not simply compare your assessment to other assessments. For example:

• It is not enough to say your neighbour's house is assessed $40,000 less than yours.
• Maybe this property is worth less.  It might be smaller, poorer quality, or have less view, etc.