2025-26 Town-Wide Reappraisal Process
In the spring of 2025, Calais began its town-wide reappraisal of properties. Every Calais property will be inspected by representatives from our reappraisal firm, the New England Municipal Resource Center, and property values will be recalculated based on current market value.
To access your individual property account, please go to: https://www.nemrc.info/Calais/
The following are some frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding reappraisal:
PROPERTY ASSESSMENT PROCESS
- Will this affect my 2025 property taxes?
No, the reappraisal process will not be completed before 2025 property taxes are calculated. - How will I know when the assessors are coming to my property?
You will receive a postcard in the mail letting you know the window of dates that the assessors will be coming to your property. If you are not present when they come, you will be provided with information for contacting them to arrange a time for an interior inspection. -
Am I required to allow access to my property during a reappraisal?
You are not required to permit them to enter your home. However, their sole purpose is to collect the correct data to assist in providing a fair and equitable value of the property. You may be required to answer a number of additional questions about your property if they are not granted entrance. You will also be given an opportunity at the end of the process to challenge the new assessed value.
The State of VT Property Valuation and Review Tax Department has certain criteria and stipulations for when a municipality is conducting a reappraisal. The state’s purpose for this is to set the education tax rates for all municipalities. One of these criteria is the collection of physical characteristics. Characteristics include square footage of buildings, land size, numbers of bedrooms, numbers of bathrooms, and the quality and quantity of amenities. Assessors will be making their way through town, visiting every parcel, verifying measurements of buildings, taking a photo of the front of each building, and correcting property data when needed. Data collectors may also ask you questions about your property as it relates to property value. In addition, the quality of materials in the interior, as well as the condition of the interior predicts the amount of depreciation to apply.
- The assessors have visited my property. What happens next?
At the time of inspection, you'll be given a personal code for your property. You can go https://www.nemrc.info/Calais/ to enter that code, and then you'll be able to see the data collected on your property. If any of the data is inaccurate, you'll be given an email address for contacting NEMRC to let them know of the changes that need to be made. - My assessment changed substantially. Does that mean my taxes will increase/decrease by the same amount?
Not necessarily. Taxes are determined by dividing the total town budget (approved by the voters at Town Meeting) by the total assessed value of town properties, and the total grand list will change in the wake of the reassessment, so it is likely that most or all town property values increase.
Assuming no change in the town budget, if the assessed value of your property increases in exact proportion to the total valuation of all properties, your taxes will not change. If your property value increases more as a percentage than the town average, your taxes will increase, and if your property value increases less than the average as a percentage, your taxes will go down (again, assuming no change in the town budget).
- I have not done any improvements to my house, but I have performed maintenance to keep it in good shape. Why did the value go up or down?
The real estate market has changed a lot since the last reappraisal in 2015. While the town listers have made ongoing updates to individual property values as land has been subdivided or combined or residents have reported major changes to their properties, there has been no effort since 2015 to update all properties with reference to current market value. The purpose of the reappraisal is to bring the values established several years ago to current market values and to establish equity across parcels. The 2015 reappraisal was an update of values rather than an inspection of properties. We are being asked to complete inspections for the 2026 reappraisal.
- How did you determine my value?
The property characteristics of each property were entered into a computerized assessment system. Property sales in the Calais area over the past three years have been examined to develop a model used to predict the market value of the properties that have sold. After fine-tuning the model, it is applied to all property in the town to establish an updated value, which is used to generate an updated grand list.
- How come my property value went up or down more than other people I know?
The purpose of a reappraisal is not only to update the values to current market values, but also to equalize the values across town. Some properties may have physically changed since the last reappraisal (bought or sold land, added or removed finished area).Other properties may be located in areas where the market value has changed at a different rate relative to most properties (developments, commercial properties). Still others may have been incorrectly assessed during the last reappraisal (wrong square footage, wrong land size, incorrect bath count, incorrect quality grades, and incorrect land values). Therefore, comparing percent changes in value across properties is not a measure of equity because of changes in properties and changes in the base due to actual sales.
- What if I am unsatisfied with the updated property value?
The Town will hold hearings to allow property owners to express dissatisfaction with new property values. We'll share more information about that after the assessors have completed their initial work.
Please contact the Town Office at townclerk@calaisvermont.gov or 802-456-8720 if you have additional questions or concerns.
You can also take a look at this handout from the International Association of Assessing Officers: