Have you ever challenged your property tax assessment?
Only about 1% of property owners do. The other 99% are leaving money on the table. Here’s how we know.
Rhonda is a county worker in the mid-west. She deals with various aspects of property tax assessments for the county.
Rhonda says you’d be surprised how often people win property tax assessment challenges.
99% of property owners never challenge assessments they can win.
Here’s what we learned from Rhonda:
• Like other interactions with the government, timing can be everything. In most cases, the best time to challenge your property tax will be shortly after the assessment has been issued.
• But you have to do your homework. Before you go to the time and effort of challenging the assessment, calculate an estimated difference between what the assessment is and what it should be.
• There are certain circumstances where you are likely to prevail. For example, when the size or other aspect of a property is lower or less than what the assessment is based on.
• If you plan on doing repairs for damage to the property, you should do so AFTER you challenge your tax assessment.
Here are the sure-fire steps to challenging your assessment and winning!
1. Do your research. Before you plan a challenge, you should see what comparable homes in your area have been sold for recently. And don’t forget the “old fashioned way” of just talking to your neighbors to see what kind of taxes they are paying.
A lot can be learned from comparing notes with others in your neighborhood. You can also find out what your neighbors are paying by researching online. You should also document anything that makes your property less valuable—any flaws or problems with the property.
In any case, all this should take place BEFORE you think about challenging your assessment.
2. Do the math. Once you have some solid numbers for comparison based on your research, you can then estimate your savings and the cost of challenging the assessment. You’ll probably need to get an appraisal, which will generally run a minimum of $300. If you are currently getting any tax breaks on your property taxes (which are common for certain categories of people and for certain categories of property), you will want to consider the impact those will have.
For example, you may be getting tax breaks that do more for you than challenging the assessment would do. In this case, wait until the next assessment and enjoy the discount in the meantime.
3. Decide on the basis of your challenge. You should decide on the exact reason for your challenge. What is your argument? Was the assessment based on incorrect information? Is the property overvalued compared to others in the area? Are there problems with the property that would aff ect the assessment? Have values recently dropped? Here is a list of possible problems that could be the basis for your challenge:
• Poor layout (“functional obsolescence”), or other features that are “neither practical nor desirable.
• Pre-bubble assessments
• Assessed value is considerably higher than recent appraisal
• Location-related problems (something that makes the particular location of your property less desirable than others in the same area—such as being located at a bad intersection, at the end of a runway, or 30 feet from busy train tracks)
• The property information that the assessment is based on does not reflect reality (differences in square footage, design, size of the lot)
• Damage or deterioration that has not yet been repaired (important: if you plan on doing repairs, challenge the tax assessment FIRST!)
4. Determine the proper procedures for challenges/appeals. The procedures for appeals vary from place to place. You’ll need to find out the exact procedure for your location.
5. Challenge the assessment. In some cases you can just walk into the assessor’s office without an appointment and tell them about the mistake on your bill. And believe it or not—in some cases they’ll adjust your tax bill right then and there! Other times you’ll have to go through an appeals process that will include hearings and other red tape. If you have decided to challenge your assessment, don’t let the red tape scare you off .
Follow the procedures specific to your location for appeals and challenges. If the discrepancies are large enough, it could warrant enlisting professional help (i.e. appraisers, engineers, surveyors, and attorneys).
When you follow the steps outlined above, you should have plenty of research and documentation to make a solid case. The key to winning is to follow the process through to the end. A lot of people avoid it because they think it will be too difficult or because the process scares them.
“There’s nothing to be scared of, though,” Rhonda assures us, “people challenge their assessments… and win!”
Chances are, it will be worth the effort.
Take a good hard look at your situation. Just $500 in savings per year can really add up. In 10 years, that’s $5,000.
And with all the various municipalities scrambling to make ends meet, you can bet they are counting on most folks simply paying the assessment without a challenge.
Don’t be afraid to walk in their office and show proof why your assessment is too much, because in many cases, it is.
This report was taken from the complete “Real Cash Secrets” Home Study Course. To receive “13 Real Cash Secrets” FREE, please visit: http://ZodiPublishing.com/