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Tools To Help Homeowners Save Big In Property Taxes
July 16th, 2009
Kim Davidson made something
good out of a bad situation. She lives in
She did it all online and
then walked the application to the mailbox. A month and half later, she
realized that she saved all that money. Ms. Davidson is a 44 year-old account
manager for a business consulting firm. She purchased her home last year and
could not believe how much money she had saved.
Thousands of homeowners
across the country are trying to make something good out of the epic
real-estate crisis. About 23,000 property owners in
In
A large proportion of the
appeals came from recent developments. Ms. Shafe says
that there are people who were paying $400,000 for homes that are now worth
$150,000.
According to Jacqueline
Byers, director of research for the National Association of Counties in
Washington D.C, many homes nationwide were last appraised before the
real-estate crash and are valued (for tax-purposes) at levels higher than
today’s current home prices. Since assessments are done every 3 years and
if the last one was in 2007, your assessment may be based on a much higher
value.
Homeowners who are interested
in appealing can handle the process themselves. Tax-experts say that it is
critical to be prepared if appearing before an appeals board. The alternative
is to hire a property-tax attorney or consultant. The standard fee ranges from
25% to 50% of the amount saved for the first year. In addition, it will cost
you several hundred dollars to secure the services of an appraiser.
There are a good number of
local and national online services that utilize automated property-valuation
models to help consumers learn whether they are able to reduce their property
taxes. EasyTaxFix.com and LowerMyAssessment.com are offering free initial
evaluations. These online services can help assess your situation and typically
‘Show you the money’ or an estimate of how much you could be
saving. An alert by Government Officials claims that scam artists have been
reported to be prowling California and elsewhere peddling fake or phony
property-tax reduction services. Much of their marketing efforts are done
through direct mail.
In March 2009, Nick Osnato, a real-estate appraiser living in Egg Harbor
Township, N.J. managed to approve his appeal which resulted in a reduction of
$30,000 thus saving him $150 per-month in property taxes.
Mr. Onato
looked for similar properties which were similar in size, lot and within close
vicinity of his own property that had lower assessments. He estimates that home
values in
In order to secure a winning
appeal, you will need to convince the tax assessor or an appeals board by
providing enough evidence that your property assessment was based on inaccurate
or outdated information. You can also try to prove that it is unfairly high if
compared to other similar properties. In some regions, homeowners have only 2
weeks to file a notice of appeal after receiving their tax bill. 30 to 60 days is
usually the normal average and homeowners will have to act fast once they
receive their tax bill.
Homeowners who are 65 years
and above may qualify for a special property tax reduction program which
includes special exemptions. Be sure to examine property records to verify
accuracy of square footage. Assessors keeps in file a property record-card of
your property which contains information of your lot number, zoning category,
address, sales records, land value and dimensions including important features
recorded by the town appraiser. Check to see if there are any other errors of
inaccuracy including descriptions of the property. For example, it may indicate
a four car garage instead of a two. Also check to for significant defects of
the property have been recorded. A leaky basement for example can help reduce
the value of the property. Today, many municipalities provide all this
information online.
Don’t forget to check
your assessor’s calculations with respect to formulas. Some regions use
full-market value, replacement value or sales price while others use a fraction
of the market-value.
Next step is to identify 3 to
5 comparable properties and check your property against them. Be sure to make
adjustments for the differences. Sales information and data are normally
available through your local government or a licensed real-estate agent.
If you feel that your
property is unfairly valued high, then you should contact your local assessor.
If the property information on record is inaccurate, the local assessor can
likely lower your assessment without a formal appeal. But if you are required
to appeal before an equalization board, you will have to produce evidence to
support your case. Additional ammunition will be beneficial such as bringing
along an appraiser report (if you have one), records of comparable sales,
photos, surveyor’s report and contractor estimates.
If you need more information
on how to file for an appeal, you can get a brochure for $6.95 from the
National Tax Payers Union at www.ntu.org
If you have recently made
some improvements to your property and they were not formally recorded with
your town, you may not receive a reduction but rather an increase assessment.
According to Robert Chambers,
administrator of the Cuyahoga County Board of Revision that specializes in
handling appeals in the
He also mentioned to avoid
using the hearing as a forum to vent your anger of high taxes.
Comments
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