To do this, the physical description, or inventory, and value estimate of every parcel of real property in the municipality is kept up to date. The property inventory is available for inspection by appointment before the filing of the Tentative Assessment Roll. The assessment roll shows assessments and appropriate exemptions. Every year the roll, with preliminary or tentative assessments, is made available for public inspection. All real property, commonly known as real estate, is assessed.
Real property is defined as land any any permanent structures attached to it.
Before assessing any parcel of property, the assessor estimates its market value. Market value is how much a property would sell for, in an open market, under normal conditions. Using this information, a property's value can be estimated in three different ways. First, property is compared to others similar to it that have sold recently using only sales where the buyer and seller both acted without undue pressure. This method is called the market approach and is normally used to value residential, vacant and farm properties.