Property Tax Appeal

For a year or so, every time the Property Tax Statement came in quarterly, we'd look at it, curse the high taxes we paid, see the inflated assessed value of our house/property because the last appraisal was done near the height of the boom, see that statement about our right to appeal, talk about how we should do it, then decide against it for one reason or another.

A few months ago, as the value of our house continued to stagnate, we took the leap. Went on line, downloaded forms. Read them carefully and filled them out, found comparable recent sales that indicated that our house's assessed value for taxes was ridiculously inflated and sent in the paperwork. We were seeking a reduction of about 30%.

A few weeks passed and we received a notice of our hearing date. A few weeks before our hearing date we got a notice that the township was willing to offer us about a 10% reduction and they included some recent comparable sales that they felt supported their assessment value. Looking over them, the lowest comparable was 20% less than the price we were assessed at, the property was also about 25% bigger than ours and the structure had 200 more square feet. The rest of what they saw as comparable were significantly more property/structure, some double the size in either land or building, and the most expensive was still 5% less than what we were assessed at currently. We decided to risk it and not accept their offer.

The hearing date came and I went in, basically stated my case about the comparables I presented and the ones they did. The town's lawyers tried every which way to disqualify our claims. They questioned my standing to present our case because my wife had bought the house prior to our marriage and it was in her name only. We had already gotten permission for me to attend the hearing though as she was going to be away. Then they tried to claim that they didn't have any record of her actually buying the house. Turned out that the records on the houses' history had multiple pages and they stopped at the first page. Then they tried to (and successfully) knock down a couple of my comparable houses as short sales or sales below market value, like a parent selling their child a house on the cheap. I pointed out again that even their comparable houses supported my claim as well.

The hearing was just to create a statement of facts and counter points which then went to another committee that ultimately used that evidence to make their determination. So another month passed. Saturday I got the notice in the mail about the decision. They lowered my property's assessed value by 22%. It'll save me about $1,200 per year on property taxes. If anyone has been thinking of appealing their property tax assessment, I strongly recommend it. You have to be thorough, but all the information you need is readily available online. If anyone has any questions about the process, feel free to ask here or PM me.

I have been thinking of this as well, was there a huge fee for it? That is what we have been told that its a pretty big fee they charge you, and you still have to pay if you lose. I am on Long Island, so does it matter or change anything depending on where you live?

Yeah, I would imagine every place is different as far as the actual paperwork, fees, etc. I live in Monmouth County, NJ. The filing fee was based on the current assessed value of the property. $150K - $500K was a $25 filing fee (this is where I fell). The maximum fee for properties over $1M was $150.

Here's Nassau County's site on the process:

http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/ARC/challenge.html

It says there is no fee to file. They have a bunch of tools there to help you like searches for sales by block/lot or street. It appears that during certain time periods, you can file the appeal online.

It also states that they can't raise your assessment based on your appeal.

Yeah, I would imagine every place is different as far as the actual paperwork, fees, etc. I live in Monmouth County, NJ. The filing fee was based on the current assessed value of the property. $150K - $500K was a $25 filing fee (this is where I fell). The maximum fee for properties over $1M was $150.

 

Here's Nassau County's site on the process:

 

http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/ARC/challenge.html

 

It says there is no fee to file. They have a bunch of tools there to help you like searches for sales by block/lot or street. It appears that during certain time periods, you can file the appeal online.

 

It also states that they can't raise your assessment based on your appeal.

This is what I was worried about. I'd like to appeal just because, I'm not sure that my taxes are even significantly higher than anyone else on my block, but it's worth it just to take a shot.

It isn't even necessarily about what your neighbor's taxes are. They might be overpaying as well. What matters most is when the last assessment took place. If it was at the high of the boom, then your property assessment is likely much higher than fair market value now. If you appeal and win, you'll get a lower assessment and pay less in taxes. Eventually they'll do a reassessment and everyone will be brought back to fair market value.

It's pretty easy to determine around what fair market value is as well. Most towns have a lookup to see property records and you can usually get a list of ones that sold recently. Then just go through them and look for ones in your town that have similar property and square footage and what they sold for. If they are significantly under what your assessment is, you can use them as comparable properties. Also, my town has a listing of what they call UC's (Uncomparables) which are things like Short Sales, forclosures or sales that were vastly under market value for one reason or another. Also consider if a house is on a busy street and yours isn't, that could effect it as a comparable.

Heck, PM me your address and I can probably quickly figure out whether your current assessment is reasonable.

Im in suffolk and was considering hiring someone to handle this. I get letters from lawyers every once in a while saying my house was assesed too high, and they dont get paid unless you win the appeal. It doesnt mention how much they get though.

You can of course hire someone, but the paperwork was fairly straight forward and if you're good at using the Internet, finding comparable houses is fairly easy. The hearing is a little nerve racking, I ended up having to go first so I didn't get to see the process before I was in it. They did provide a run down. It was nothing that an intelligent person couldn't handle so long as you're right in the fact that your house is assessed to high.

It isn't even necessarily about what your neighbor's taxes are. They might be overpaying as well. What matters most is when the last assessment took place. If it was at the high of the boom, then your property assessment is likely much higher than fair market value now. If you appeal and win, you'll get a lower assessment and pay less in taxes. Eventually they'll do a reassessment and everyone will be brought back to fair market value.

 

It's pretty easy to determine around what fair market value is as well. Most towns have a lookup to see property records and you can usually get a list of ones that sold recently. Then just go through them and look for ones in your town that have similar property and square footage and what they sold for. If they are significantly under what your assessment is, you can use them as comparable properties. Also, my town has a listing of what they call UC's (Uncomparables) which are things like Short Sales, forclosures or sales that were vastly under market value for one reason or another. Also consider if a house is on a busy street and yours isn't, that could effect it as a comparable.

 

Heck, PM me your address and I can probably quickly figure out whether your current assessment is reasonable.

PM sent.

For a year or so, every time the Property Tax Statement came in quarterly, we'd look at it, curse the high taxes we paid, see the inflated assessed value of our house/property because the last appraisal was done near the height of the boom, see that statement about our right to appeal, talk about how we should do it, then decide against it for one reason or another.

 

A few months ago, as the value of our house continued to stagnate, we took the leap. Went on line, downloaded forms. Read them carefully and filled them out, found comparable recent sales that indicated that our house's assessed value for taxes was ridiculously inflated and sent in the paperwork. We were seeking a reduction of about 30%.

 

A few weeks passed and we received a notice of our hearing date. A few weeks before our hearing date we got a notice that the township was willing to offer us about a 10% reduction and they included some recent comparable sales that they felt supported their assessment value. Looking over them, the lowest comparable was 20% less than the price we were assessed at, the property was also about 25% bigger than ours and the structure had 200 more square feet. The rest of what they saw as comparable were significantly more property/structure, some double the size in either land or building, and the most expensive was still 5% less than what we were assessed at currently. We decided to risk it and not accept their offer.

 

The hearing date came and I went in, basically stated my case about the comparables I presented and the ones they did. The town's lawyers tried every which way to disqualify our claims. They questioned my standing to present our case because my wife had bought the house prior to our marriage and it was in her name only. We had already gotten permission for me to attend the hearing though as she was going to be away. Then they tried to claim that they didn't have any record of her actually buying the house. Turned out that the records on the houses' history had multiple pages and they stopped at the first page. Then they tried to (and successfully) knock down a couple of my comparable houses as short sales or sales below market value, like a parent selling their child a house on the cheap. I pointed out again that even their comparable houses supported my claim as well.

 

The hearing was just to create a statement of facts and counter points which then went to another committee that ultimately used that evidence to make their determination. So another month passed. Saturday I got the notice in the mail about the decision. They lowered my property's assessed value by 22%. It'll save me about $1,200 per year on property taxes. If anyone has been thinking of appealing their property tax assessment, I strongly recommend it. You have to be thorough, but all the information you need is readily available online. If anyone has any questions about the process, feel free to ask here or PM me.

Good job! Between mortgage rates and tax assessments homeowners get the shaft on many occasions. It's good to be on top of stuff like this as in your case it saved you big time. Like I said in the other house buying thread, I'm always studying neighborhood sales and home values to keep abreast of things. My wife and I were able to squeeze in a refi on our home in the start of 2013 that saved us close to $350 a month.

Luckily out here in PA, property taxes are very reasonable. I own a property/house roughly the same size as my parents property on Long Island and I pay 1/3 what they do. Crazy!

Depends where you are though pars. Being up in collegeville, everything is very reasonable, but commute 30 mins southeast to blue bell and you're in the shit.

Dave, I'm going to pm you my address too. Thanks very much for this.

Depends where you are though pars. Being up in collegeville, everything is very reasonable, but commute 30 mins southeast to blue bell and you're in the shit.

 

Dave, I'm going to pm you my address too. Thanks very much for this.

Sent a PM back. Sorry to Peetie and Chappie. Your towns assessments are like 15 years old so they're ridiculously low. While the town might have adjusted the tax rates to be fair, it's just very hard to compare properties when the tax assessments are so old. And at least in Monmouth, the one piece of vital information that has no bearing on a tax appeal is the actual taxes of comparable houses.

That means two houses next to each other on the exact same size lots with the same exact houses can be worth $400K each, one can be assessed at $300K and the other at $200K and the fact that that they're both worth the same but one pays significantly more in taxes isn't able to be considered in the appeal. Just that the $400K house is worth more than the $300K it's assessed at.

PM sent.

Me too

Depends where you are though pars. Being up in collegeville, everything is very reasonable, but commute 30 mins southeast to blue bell and you're in the shit.

 

Dave, I'm going to pm you my address too. Thanks very much for this.

Oh, for sure. Paoli, West Chester, Malvern.....big difference. But, considering I'm just 30 miles or 40 minutes from Center City, what I pay seems reasonable. It's not like I live in Gilbertsville out in the middle of nowhere.