Township- wide reappraisal now underway
By Penny Groff
Dundee Township has recently begun a township-wide reappraisal that will affect all residents of Dundee. The appraisal started two weeks ago and will continue to go on for a while. There is no exact date as to when the appraisals will all be finished.

The appraisals will not affect the property’s taxable value— what the taxpayer pays on the land— but the SEV. The SEV is the State Equalized Valuation and helps determine what the taxes will be set at if the property changes ownership.

Officials from Landmark Appraisal Company, out of Flint, have been going out to properties around the township and making a list of qualities and estimates for each one.

“The process is a long process that needs to be done,” said Dundee Township Trustee Marilyn Larson.

Those who are doing the appraisals will visit each property individually. They will list the pertinent qualities of each property carefully and go over the construction details as well. Then, they will give the property a percentage rating on how it looks, if it’s new or if it’s old, and if there have been any land improvements.

The people who are in charge of the appraisals will come to the property and clearly identify themselves. All those in charge will have a letterhead and they have just recently received a photo ID to help ensure the feeling of security in homeowners. However, the manager of the company declined to have photos taken of the appraisers.

If no one is home, the appraisal officers will leave information about the project and a call back card with a toll free number in case there is any need to verify the information that they’ve left.

The appraisal company has just completed its second week on the job. They’ve already covered most of Plank Road and Bigelow Road. They are continuing to work on the northeast section of Dundee Township.

“The appraisals have been going very well,” said Mrs. Larson. “Though the rain probably hasn’t helped much.”

The Dundee Township has tried to make the task of appraising all properties easier for the Landmark Appraisal company by collecting all the needed information and having it ready for the employees. They’ve given the employees in charge of appraising the township real estate information and section maps that include labels with property identification.

If the appraisal officers should run into a problem while trying to appraise a property, they will come in and verify it with the township office.

“The Township follows up everything that they do,” said Mrs. Larson. “But this is a very acclaimed company we have doing this project.”

The Landmark Appraisal Company has been doing these sort of township-wide appraisals for a while. They recently finished appraising Monroe Township and are currently, along with Dundee Township, appraising Whiteford Township.

“The township-wide appraisal is something that needs to be done,” said Mrs. Larson. “We have to get the property records in tune with state mandates.”

Though the process of getting the appraisals done will take a while, the process of putting all of the appraisals into the computer system will take even longer.

“We have the computers ready,” said Mrs. Larson. “We just have to get all of the information into it so that we meet state mandates with everything that we’ve gotten done here.”

So far, homeowners have been understanding and helpful with the appraisals. If anyone has questions about the appraisals or concerns for the information about their property, they are to contact the township by calling 734-529-2650.