Condominium assessments: your best comparables are in your own building
Units in one building share everything except floor, view and finish — which makes the comparison unusually clean.
Condominiums are the easiest property type to argue uniformity for, because the comparables are identical by construction.
Why it is clean
Units in one association share land, age, construction, class and location. Differences reduce to floor level, view, square footage and interior finish. Everything else that normally muddies a comparison is held constant.
How assessments are usually set
Commonly by applying a rate to unit square footage with adjustments for floor and exposure. That makes errors visible: compute assessed value per square foot for every unit in your building and sort.
What to look for
- Identical stacked units — same line, different floors — assessed inconsistently.
- Your unit's square footage on file versus the declaration or floor plan.
- Parking spaces and storage assessed separately, or assessed twice.
- A percentage-of-ownership figure that does not match the declaration.
Appeal together
Many associations appeal collectively where the whole building is out of line. That spreads any cost and presents the board with one coherent argument instead of forty overlapping ones. Ask your board whether it has been done before.