Travis Bunn
Founder, AppealDesk · Published February 28, 2026
Enter your address to see if your home may be overassessed. Takes 60 seconds.
$49 flat fee · No percentage of savings · No hidden costs
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Updated March 2026
Your dream home is finally complete. Then the first tax bill arrives and your stomach drops. The assessment is 30% higher than what you paid.
Welcome to the hidden cost of new construction that builders don't mention: systematic overassessment.
Counties love new construction for one simple reason: it's easy to overtax. Here's why your new home is likely overassessed:
Counties assume every new home has:
Reality: Most new homes have basic finishes to hit price points.
Common "features" counties add that don't exist:
Counties apply "new development premiums" assuming:
But you're paying for promises, not reality.
This document is gold for appeals:
Pro tip: Counties rarely have these details.
Document everything that's basic:
New construction comps must be:
Get an instant estimate of your potential savings. Takes 30 seconds.
Understanding timing is crucial:
Month 1-6: Under construction
Month 7-12: First full assessment
Year 2+: Annual adjustments
Key insight: Appeal immediately. Don't wait for errors to compound.
While your house gets full assessment, builders often get reductions on their models. Same house, different tax bill.
Paid $15,000 extra for a cul-de-sac lot? That doesn't mean your house is worth $15,000 more than your neighbor's.
That "future shopping center" or "planned pool"? You shouldn't pay taxes on amenities that don't exist.
Show what you really got:
Find real comparables:
Document what's incomplete:
Check for these common errors:
Square Footage Inflation
Feature Assumptions
Timing Issues
Enter your address for a professional evidence packet. Flat $49 fee.
New construction overassessment is especially damaging:
Year 1: Pay extra on inflated base Year 2-5: Increases compound on wrong base Year 6-10: Nearly impossible to fix original error
Example: $50,000 overassessment costs:
That's a car. Or a year of college.
Many new construction owners think:
Truth: It gets worse, not better. Appeal now.
If your new construction is assessed above purchase price:
The evidence packet you need includes:
New construction appeals require specific evidence builders won't provide. AppealDesk specializes in documenting the difference between what counties assume and what you actually bought.