PORTSMOUTH — All valuations for real estate in Portsmouth have been completed and notices of any changes will be mailed out to resident shortly, according to Matthew A. Helfand, the town’s tax assessor/collector.

Property owners will have a toll-free number to call in order to set up informal hearings with the Vision Government Solutions staff in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. Those who wish to use the web access can schedule their own appointments. 

Additionally, all the new valuations and assessment data will be available on the VGSI website with the links shown on the individual notices. Taxpayers should review this information according to Mr, Helfand.

Hearing dates and deadlines to schedule an appointment will be specified in the letter. All taxpayers who have concerns with their new assessments are encouraged to make an appointment with Vision in order to review their assessment data. 

There are three reasons someone should appeal their new valuation with Vision, Mr. Helfand saiid:

• The date on file is incorrect. The data will be reviewed with the property owner and inspections could be scheduled once a hearing has taken place. 

• The individual has recently received a different opinion of value. Examples would be a recent appraisal, or the property being listed on the market for less than the appraised value. If this type of documentation is to be presented, bring a copy of the documents and not your personal copy since they will not be returned. 

• Similar properties have significantly different assessments. 

Once the hearings are completed, a second notice will be mailed to those who appealed their assessments, notifying them of the results. Taxpayers will still have the ability to appeal to the local Tax Assessor and Tax Assessment Board of Review.

Assessments will not be finalized until after the hearing process is complete and all changes have been reviewed and processed.