The purpose of the appraisal is to estimate the fair market value of the real estate. The effective date of appraisal by statute is October 1st of each calendar year.


Annual Equalization:
On March 28, 2003, Lee County was ordered by then Commissioner of Revenue Dwight Carlisle to appraise all property located in the county according to its fair and reasonable market value as of October 1, 2003 and shall implement annual equalization every year thereafter with the appraisals being completed no later than June of each year. The appraised value shall become the basis of the assessment of property in this State for purposes of ad valorem taxation. The appraisal program in the county shall be managed by the Lee County appraisal official under the guidance and supervision of the Department of Revenue. The county appraisal official of Lee County is ordered to conduct a field review of real property consisting of at least 25% of the parcels of land in the county, per year.


What is Market Value:
"Market Value" is defined as the most probable price, expressed in terms of money, that a property would bring in a competitive and open market under all conditions requisite to a fair sale, the buyer and seller each acting prudently and knowledgeably, and assuming the price is not affected by an undue stimulus. 


 Analysis of Market Values:
Once market values have been calculated based on information gathered by the property appraiser, the values are analyzed to determine how accurate and equitable they are. The property appraiser does not create market value. The buying and selling of property by the general public establishes the value of property in the real estate marketplace.

A comparison of appraisals to sale prices is performed to determine ratios, which are then used to measure the levels and uniformity of assessments. Sales ratios studies by neighborhood, type of property, and other characteristics are performed on a regular basis to assure uniformity in values.

Staff appraisers visit properties when new to measure and inventory construction components.  Staff appraisers also review for changes based on applications for building permits, recent sales, at taxpayer request, etc. Lee County is divided into four sections and each parcel is visited at a minimum every 4 years .


Sales File:
The appraisal department mails sales questionnaires to the buyers on all new deed transactions to request information concerning the sale or transaction. The appraisal department has an inventory of theses sales stored in a CAMA (Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal) database.  This data is collected on an ongoing basis. The county is unable to share this sales information due to confidentiality issues.