<p>Has anyone ever challenged their property tax rate? Learnings? Ideas?</p>
<p>These folks are criminals! Since 2003, our annual tax has gone up 168% and our taxable market value has gone up 112% I know life is not fair, but my goodness we built a home within our means and they are taxing us out of it.</p>
<p>Neighbors on either side - annual tax up 33-68% and value up 22-40% Another neighbor bought a home 2 doors down previously valued at $300,000 more than ours in foreclosure and that reset their tax base to the foreclosed rate. I am just venting, but this is sucky!</p>
<p>They say we are taxed at a higher rate because it is more expensive. </p>
<p>The assessor is coming over on Friday and I want to be prepared with a list of negative things, that may sway her in our favor. I really didn’t want them in our home, but it is the required step before filing a formal appeal.</p>
<p>Find the property tax code, find any and all cases which might have been filed in court, find out what if any constitutional issues may apply. Lots of times government entities get away with things which are not actually legal just because they aren’t challenged. (Not saying this is the case since I know nothing about the particulars of your state.)</p>
<p>For any CA residents…THIS is why we need to keep prop 13!</p>
<p>We never challenged the rate (I think it is impossible), but we did challenge the value. It was not anything formal. I called the assessor and offered to sell the city the home for assessed value. He came out the following week, looked around (did not go inside) and lowered the assessed value.</p>
<p>I have challenged property assessments numerous times, both for clients and for myself. I have no idea how one could challenge the rate; in our state that is set by the state based on the township/taxing district’s approved budget. We can appeal the assessment.</p>
<p>If your state has a property tax “card”, the first step is to make sure everything is correct–SF based on floor of house, bedrooms, bathrooms, dimensions, A/C, etc. If it is, I think your best bet is to have comparables–like houses similar to yours in all attributes and neighborhood. Show how their assessed value differs from yours. Show how recent sales are below your assessed value. Some of our state’s value is based on “subjective” factors–condition of house, neighborhood rating, etc.</p>
<p>Know and understand your state’s property tax assessment manual. Our state’s is incredibly lengthy and complex; there is no way you could accomplish this by Friday :)</p>
<p>If the amount is truly onerous and out of line, and you feel like someone with more experience might have better results, hire someone to assist you in the appeals process. The state manual should also list the specific appeals process. There are often very strict time deadlines.</p>
<p>Isn’t each state/locality potentially different? Around these parts (Mecklenburg Co. NC) they valued every property as of Jan 1, 2011, so anyone filing an appeal based on value had to be very careful to provide evidence and comparables for January 1, 2011. If you made the case that your house is worth far less than the valuation TODAY, or used comparable sales that took place after Jan 1 2011 they could throw out your appeal purely on technical grounds. The square footage of our house was recorded too high for some strange reason with the county so I hired a guy for $50 to measure my house, sent in the “certified” square footage and had my assessment reduced. It was an easy one for them to approve.</p>
<p>Great replies and if we don’t get a reduction in assessed value, we are looking at hiring a property tax specialist. </p>
<p>One issue we have is that we live on a lake. When they do the “comparables” they have to go way into the more expensive lake shore neighborhoods. There is simply no way our house can compete with these comps. Instead of a market assessment, i asked if they could do a cost assessment - where they would compare lakeshore land only and adjust for our neighborhood and then compare the building only with other homes in our area. They said no. </p>
<p>I got a chuckle out of head of the assessor this morning when he told me that 2 indicators of higher end interior finishes are european cabinet hinges and built in book cases. Seriously…these 2 items will automatically put me in a higher price per square foot. I am going to run to Home Depot and hot glue some little wheels on the front of my bookcases…</p>
<p>Cost may have little to do with the value of a property. In most cases, the assessed value is supposed to be related to the market value of the property (with the exception of farmland and similar exemptions). We have challenged the assessed value of our residence, retaining a lawyer who specializes in these things. The deal was on contingency - the lawyer paid all the up front expenses of the appeal and kept 1/3 of the first year of tax savings. We’ve kept the lower assessment for the past 4 years, so it was a good deal for us.</p>
<p>We had exactly the same problem (we are on the lake). The assessor first laughed at us too, but when offered to buy our property at assessed value, actually came out to look around.</p>
<p>I have challenged on one rate reductions a couple of times. I had friend that is a realtor help me get comps of homes sold in our area over the last year with similar sq footage. I took those with me as well as looking up online my neighbor’s rate.</p>
<p>Assessments are usually increased based on a sample for the neighborhood. We’ve refinanced and we were able to get the assessment lowered to the appraisal price. Hopefully, when they come out, they’ll see that your property doesn’t fit the other lake houses you’re being compared to and will adjust your value.</p>
<p>There are local quirks to property taxation, but generally it works pretty simply.</p>
<p>If a house two doors down sold at a price that indicates your assessment should be lower too, that’s pertinent. My question would be whether the lot is the same, and whether the structures are different in size or age. Do they have the same size garages? What about a pool?</p>
<p>Normally, houses in the same neighborhood will change value together. You typically don’t see one home rise in value by 100+% and the neighboring house rise only 30% unless that house is undergoing continuing neglect. The land component, which is usually broken out, must necessarily move together.</p>
<p>I wonder about the other houses in the neighborhood. Maybe your neighbors house got a break for some “special” reason. He’s not the brother of the assessor is he? Or the retired mayor? In any case, if the other dozen houses near you moved in value like yours, your neighbors house isn’t going to be that useful as a comparable.</p>
<p>dadx - we built a rather large new home in 2000 on a smaller first tier suburb lake. With the exception of the larger one that was foreclosed and 2 other smaller new homes we are in the middle of a 1940’s to 1970’s neighborhood. There is one that we thought would be the perfect comp, but I guess in order to build closer to the lake they left a closet standing on the tear down so it is listed as a home built in 1958 vs. 2003.</p>
<p>We knew we were potentially “overbuilding”, but we built within out budget and never dreamed that ours would be the only one on the lake to have it’s assessed value increase by 112%. I guess we were naive in assuming that the tide would lift all boats!</p>
<p>There were 7 lake homes in our preferred price range that sold in my tax are during the past year. None can be used for a comp because they were foreclosure sales.</p>
<p>While I must say that property taxes are the most “local” of all taxes, and therefore are not going to be the same everywhere, in my county it pays to challenge your assessment at each tri-annual reassessment. The best and most successful way to challenge is using a specialized attorney who limits his practice to real estate tax assessment appeals. During reassessment, you will receive several solicitations from these attorneys. These attorneys have large staffs and big computer programs that can find the appropriate comps in minutes. They also have reputations with the Board of Appeals that can have a positive impact.</p>
<p>Here in Cook (“Crook”) County Illinois (Chicago and its inner suburbs) homes are reassessed, using computer models every three years by the township assessor. However, it really seems to be a “game” here. I have challenged and won tax appeals at each reassessment - four times over the past twelve years. My annual savings have been between 1,200 - 1,800 per year each time I have won an appeal. I believe most of the “savings” is due to the county not changing their assessment program to reflect the previous lowering of assessed valuation. So, after winning, your assessed value three years from now seems to go up by the amount of your previous reduction + little more for inflation. </p>
<p>To win at our system you really need an attorney since my victories have been at the Board of Tax Appeals, not at the initial township assessor level. At least in our area, it is almost useless to appeal to the local assessor. This is where the do-it-yourself guys try and most get turned down, or get just a few bucks off their tax bill. The Board of Tax Appeals is much more formal and unless you appear pro se, you must be an attorney - no CPA’s, real estate tax consultants, appraisers etc. allowed. And you really should not go pro se since they have to hold you to the same procedures, detail and expertise of an attorney. The Board knows these specialists since they are in front of them all year since the reassessments are throughout the year. There are dozens of these specialized attorneys who do nothing but protest taxes for an almost uniform contingent fee - 1/2 of one years savings. (A few charge $50 or so in filing fees) Its a no-brainer since if you win a $1,000 reduction per year you are saving $3,000 and it costs you only $500 and the price of a stamp. If you don’t win, you are only out the cost of the stamp and maybe a small filing fee. Even attorneys I know use these specialists - since they get results.</p>
<p>Is this the way it should be? I would say no. The system ensures plenty of work for the Board of Tax Appeals and local assessors offices and lifetime employment for those specialized attorneys. BUT, if you know how the system works, you are a fool if you don’t take advantage of it.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the problem with “overbuilding” is exactly what you are experiencing now. There are no similar comps in your lake neighborhood, you are assessed at comparable building size etc. in a more expensive neighborhood, one that you could not have afforded to build in 2000.</p>
<p>Comparables of similar properties. Verification of the features of your home. Identification of any deteriorated homes very close by that would negatively effect your market value or negative circumstances such as a park that plays loud music, or traffic circumstances that a new purchaser would find undesireable etc.
If all else fails list your house on the market for what they have assessed it for and don’t budge on the price. If you go a listing period with out receiving any full price offers you could use that to support that their value was to high. That is extreme of course.
The best thing to do is to be very pleasant to your assessor and have conversation with them providing your thoughts.
You could also have an appraisal done with an appraisal firm that is highly regarded. Sometimes that is enough, sometimes they discount the appraissal assuming that the appraisser prepared it to your benefit.</p>
<p>We had a meeting scheduled with the county’s field appraiser, but I wanted to know specifically what the criteria was for valuing our house. The person I talked to on the phone kept saying the same thing over and over “it is only on square feet and then the computer decides what else to tax you on”. I kept pushing her on this issue and though she held firm, she understood that I was not pleased. To my surprise the head of the department phoned. We had a nice talk and he was genuinely concerned that I was so frustrated. He gave me his number which I shared with Mr. Kajon - rational, level headed corp lawyer type. </p>
<p>Both the field rep and the head appraiser/assessor came to our home. After 2 hours of providing non emotional and counter arguments to their reasoning, we stuck the knife in a bit further and took them for a drive around the area. Based on the glares the field rep was giving her boss every time he agreed with us, I honestly don’t think we would have been successful if boss man had not been part of the discussions.</p>
<p>This morning they called. Not only are they reducing next years assessed value by $227,000, they are also going to file an abatement for us to reduce this years assessed value by $84,000. This results in about $9000 into our pockets! </p>
<p>Congrats. Next January, we will be appealing our assessed value unless the appraiser comes up MUCH higher than the prior appraisal we had done, which was MUCH lower than anything we’d be willing to sell the properties for.</p>