The county assessor says the value went up from 180k to 197k since 2014. The reported sq footage, number of rooms and bathroom numbers do not include the finished basement (finished about 3 years ago with 2 new rooms and a bathroom). This estimate raises my annual property tax from about 950 to 1050 annually. I have the ability to dispute it until June 1. I would have to submit my claim as to the home value and then give some explanation for it for them to consider. This is the first time the house has been sold since it was built in 2003 so it seems the 227k purchase price was the obvious indicator they needed to raise their assessed value of the home for tax purposes.

My first question is, why doesn't the asssessor's report show the right numbers for sqft, rooms, baths, etc? Do I just let it ride in order to prevent my tax from going up even more based on that?

My second question is, if there is a valid reason for his report to show those numbers, then do I have any recourse? I can search their database for the same recent sales that they used for their estimate and I can see how they came to it, but it is based on those smaller numbers.

What is going on here?