DIY Home Improvement Forum banner

Property tax grievances

2K views 13 replies 10 participants last post by  ednamae 
#1 ·
I keep getting those mailings in the mail and started to look into it. I know I'm over assessed and I know I can do this myself or allow one of these companies to do it for me, but my question is about the assessors. I've read some stories where people try to get the property assessment redone and the assessor wants to enter the property for appraisal. The story that worries me had the homeowner refuse and the city just said then we'll assess you at the highest possible amount since we can't see inside. Is this a legitimate concern? I called one of the companies and they said that doesn't happen, they just do "desk assessment" and wouldn't be allowed to raise the assessment no matter what.

Thoughts? Thanks.
 
#2 ·
These mailings are in about the same category as people who promise to fix your credit instantly . The don't work.

In our town there is formal assessment appeal process. You can do it yourself unless some part of the assessment Is more complex such as determine the value of a shared driveway, easement etc. then you should be hiring a attorney who specializes in real estate .

If I believe that my house is over assessed (or, I suppose I could complain under assessed but why would I do that 😉 ) I need to demonstrate why. For that I might need to hire a real estate appraiser who will indeed want to view the property and the interior of our house and then compare that with similar properties. I then take that information to the board of appeals. Even if the town doesn't do its own inspection which it has every right to do , there will pictures in the documents from your private appraiser. Or I could avoid hiring an appraiser if I was pretty clear why I was over appraised . For example if the majority of the like houses in my area have granite countertops, ceramic tile kitchen floors , hardwood flooring and upgraded efficient heating systems but my old house has Formica counters, sheet vinyl floors, outdated bathroom and a 40 year old boiler then it is not average. If the assor doesn't know that , he will assume it does. So the only to prove it to him is a onsite inspection. If you have something to hide then perhaps the sleeping dog be left alone and accept the assessment .

In our town you get on onsite inspection every other assessment. I suppose you could refuse. Seeing has my house is as stated on the town records I see no reason not to let them in. Takes about 10 minutes.
 
#3 · (Edited)
These mailings are in about the same category as people who promise to fix your credit instantly . The don't work.
Agree with entire post but especially this^^

In our town you get on onsite inspection every other assessment. I suppose you could refuse. Seeing has my house is as stated on the town records I see no reason not to let them in. Takes about 10 minutes.
No one from my town asked or set foot in my house in the 15 years we've been here. How does your town determine your assessment? My house is a % of full market value, while my shop, different town, is 100% of market value.
 
#4 ·
The story that worries me had the homeowner refuse and the city just said then we'll assess you at the highest possible amount since we can't see inside. Is this a legitimate concern? I called one of the companies and they said that doesn't happen, they just do "desk assessment" and wouldn't be allowed to raise the assessment no matter what.

Thoughts? Thanks.

Never had one offer to come out. The only time it ever happened was when I insisted that he come. Won that one BTW.

If you call and challenge you will almost always get some reduction in the assessment. The ROI on time invested is something like 12-24 times current CD rates. I don't need a false inflation of my unrealized net worth so I always challenge.
 
#5 ·
I had a reassessment done back in the 90's, and yes, a pesky civil servant came to my home with his little clipboard and had to look in every room on every floor, into every closet and every bathroom.

Also beware that any improvements for which permits were not obtained, or were not needed, perhaps at the time, can increase your assessment.

My assessment was lowered about 10% as a result.
 
#6 ·
Ayuh,..... 'round here, the reassessment a few years ago was 2 folks sittin' in their car at the end of the driveway,....

I went to a town tax challenge years ago,...
My cottage burnt down, 'n my taxes stayed at the same value,... Raw land,...
It was assessed at 'bout $10,000.....
I had visited the tax collector, 'n see my file card, $10,000, land value, $400.00....
The lady says she thinks $10,000 is a fair value for 40' of water front, so what did I think the assessment oughta be,...
Of course, I replied,... $400.00,.....
Gasps all 'round, the lady says, "That's a ridiculous number, don't be silly, where did you conceive such a number",..??.
I answered, "Right off that card yer holdin' in yer hand",....
She says, "Oh yes, I see that,... We'll let you know by mail",...

They accepted, they Had too,...

Since then I've built steel docks,... No sheds, No roofed structures,...
Taxes, even with inflation, are still dirt cheap for bein' on a pristine Adirondack spring fed lake,....
Well, outside the blue line by a mile or two,... still a nice mountain lake,...
 
#7 ·
I haven't gotten an assessment yet on my new house (should be interesting), but I did manage to reduce the square footage. They go by the outside of the house, which is 1445 square feet. But mu ICF walls are a foot thick, so I lose 150 square feet of living space. Since they define it as 'heated square footage', I pointed out that my R-27 walls are not heated to the outside, nor can I live in the walls, and they agreed and went with 1295 square feet- the inside dimension.
 
#8 ·
I took issue with my property valuation several years ago. I completed all the usual paperwork, took photos of the house inside and out and delivered all to the assessors' representative who then came out and did a look-see outside my house. He did not go inside. I prevailed and received what I think was probably a reasonable appraisal value.
 
#9 ·
When I moved into my current house, I promptly challenged the assessed valuation. It took some doing and 2 visits to my house by the county assessors staff, but I convinced them that my property was overvalued by 50%.

The bureacraps use canned and very simplistic comparable valuations rather than the actual market price of each individual house. They look at the prices paid by my neighbors and average them out, but they do not take into consideration the actual price paid by home buyer.

I was able to convince them that my house was substantially different than my neighbors' homes, and it should be valued at the bargain basement price that I actually paid for the house. At first they disagreed, but then I declared that I would appeal their ruling to the county Board of Supervisors and they said, ummm, we really don't want to take the time and effort to justify our valuation to the Supervisors, so you win!

You can fight City Hall.
 
#11 ·
mikegp said:
I believe the legit ones do what they say they do. The only thing is that the homeowner can do it themselves. I know I'd probably never get around to doing it so if they keep half of the first year's saving I'm fine with that. I know people who have done it in Long Island and saved a few thousand dollars. I just know I'm not allowing anyone in my home and want to make sure that won't hurt me somehow. I also figure having a middle man might help me avoid the issue. If they want to come in I can either ignore the grievance company or have them take issue with it. I did recently read something stating that NY has laws that prevent any municipality from raising taxes due to a grievance. So it either goes down or stays the same. If that's true it sounds like a win/win unless the company you use has shady hidden upfront costs. Most say they charge nothing unless you win a reduction.
My point was more simple I guess that they can't do anything you can't do on your own. And of course they charge a fee. Which is my issue. And I being the property owners am still the one that needs to appear before the board of appeals if it comes to that. Hence my comment about being useless. The only thing credit repair companies can do is write letters to credit bureaus to try and get incorrect times of your record. Again nothing you can't do yourself. If had a real. Issue, I would be more comfortable paying an appropriate attorney.
 
#14 ·
I protest every year. in Texas it is difficult because we have closed records so Until Redfin we could not find actual sales records to show properties in the area sold for less than the appraised ...which is the best arguement. I got 10k off for providing a foundation report showing my slab was unlevel. I have gotten s
Iwer amount showing a settlement sheet with the price I paid. I have gotten a lower amount for showing someone with same or more square footage was appraised at less. And someone with a shed or pool aporaised at less or the same but theirs was newer. i got 10% off for showing a neighbor was a registed sex offender. You can also argue lot size. Proximity to a busy street, anything that makes your house less desirable than the neighbors'.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top