CANNON BEACH Appraisers from the Clatsop County Assessment and Taxation Department will inspect residential, farm and business properties in the Cannon Beach area over the next year as part of a comprehensive reappraisal in the entire county.

The appraisers physically inspect every property in a selected area to determine the condition of the land and all improvements, and to verify the accuracy of county records regarding those properties. The county uses on-site appraisals, coupled with real property sales data and other information, to determine a propertys real market value.

The county taxation department performs on-site appraisals of new construction and improvements as they are completed. But the department had not conducted a lot-by-lot appraisal in most of Clatsop County since the 1990s. State law and Oregon Department of Revenue rules require all property to be valued at 100 percent of real market value.

In 2011, the department launched a comprehensive reappraisal of property throughout the county as part of its plan to return to a six- to eight-year countywide appraisal rotation. For the next year appraisers are handling the Cannon Beach area.

Appraisers will visit neighborhoods in vehicles bearing the Clatsop County logo and will carry official county identification. They will go door-to-door to each property in the area if the owner is home, the appraisers will identify themselves, explain the purpose of the visit and ask if they may view the inside of the home or other structure. If an owner declines, the appraiser will conduct the appraisal from the exterior of the building and/or the nearest right-of-way.

If the owner is not home, the appraiser will leave a yellow door tag containing contact information if the owner wishes to schedule a visit at a future time, and will conduct the appraisal from the building exterior and/or off the property.

During their visits appraisers will look for improvements and additions not noted in county records and note the quality and age of those changes, as well as look for signs of depreciation or problems such as leaky roofs. They may measure buildings and will take photos.

For more information on the appraisal process and property taxes, go to Assessment and Taxation on the Clatsop County website, www.co.clatsop.or.us