I was expecting a dogfight heading into my formal appeal for the Allegheny County property reassessment Monday morning.

Instead, the process with my assessment hearing officer was painless and went through with barely a whimper from either one of us.

I arrived about 30 minutes early for my hearing at Kane Hospital near the Jewish Community Center in Scott Township. Rather than waiting around for a while, the assessment officer signed me in and took me to a room with several cubicles doubling as hearing rooms.

Without a lawyer—or even a certified appraisal—I presented my evidence and photos of comparables that were for some reason valued 5 to 13 percent less than my home. I also showed evidence that other homes were selling in 2011 for what I thought the value of my property should be marked by the county.

I’m not sure if I made an impression until the assessment officer asked when I purchased my home. It was near the time of when the assessment values were considered valid, so he took that as part of the evidence and agreed to recommend to the board of assessments that my property be lowered by about 5 percent.

I was in and out in less than 15 minutes.

I’ll learn in a few months whether my property assessment will officially be reduced. But the process of the formal appeal was easy, and hopefully it ultimately will turn out to be successful.

I don’t know if the same can be said for other property owners.

Have you had a formal appeal on your property reassessment? If so, tell us in the comments how it went so others who haven’t had a hearing yet can know what to expect.

This story was first posted on Chartiers Valley Patch.