Special to the Times Vedette
The Guthrie County Assessor’s office announced door-to-door inspections of all commercial, industrial and residential 3-plus properties (multi-family dwellings with three or more separate living units, such as apartment buildings or row townhouses) in Guthrie County will begin in October 2025.
The project was approved by the Guthrie County Conference Board in 2022. The last such reappraisal of these types of property in Guthrie County was in 2013. The Iowa Department of Revenue recommends having a complete revaluation every 10 years.
Periodic reappraisals are necessary to update information and adjust for market conditions that affect property values. The purpose of a reappraisal is not to increase assessed value but to establish equitable assessments that represent the market value of each specific parcel and to acquire accurate information.
Representatives of Vanguard Appraisals, in conjunction with the Assessor’s Office, will be conducting the project. Local law enforcement agencies and the Guthrie County Assessor’s Office will have a listing of names and license plate numbers of anyone involved in the project.
Data collectors with photo IDs signed by the assessor will review exterior information such as measurements, type of construction, age of structures and physical condition, as well as interior condition and type of finish. A complete sales analysis, local construction costs, and economic conditions will also be used in addition to the data from the collector’s inspection to arrive at a value. No estimate of value will be given at the time of inspection.
Property owners are asked to cooperate by allowing a complete inspection of their property and providing accurate information so that a fair assessment may be determined for each property.
The preliminary data collection process will begin sometime in October 2025. The project is scheduled for completion by Dec. 31, 2026.
Notice of final value estimates will be mailed to each property owner after Jan. 1, 2027. The property owners will have an opportunity to meet informally to discuss their revaluation in the spring of 2027.
The new assessed values will be effective Jan. 1, 2027, for taxes payable in fiscal year 2028/2029.
Property owners with questions about the project may contact the Guthrie County Assessor’s office at 641-747-3319 or email: assessor@guthriecounty.gov Additional information will be on the Guthrie County website as it becomes available at https://guthriecounty.gov/assessor.