a few years back, I bought a rental and decided that my property taxes are too high. I paid $ 16,000 for the place (remember those prices?), but the county's property appraiser pegged the market value of $ 18,400. Each spring, the county is the day when one could appeal the assessment in person, so I made my case one of the designated "judges ."
I made a closing statement, confirming what I paid for the property and mentioned that I was not in connection with the seller, and that he was trying to sell the property for six months. $ 16,000 I paid was clearly a fair market price. Immediately reduce the assessment and subsequent taxes, and the entire process lasted only a few minutes of your time. Sometimes it can be so easy.
This is a different story when my wife and I bought a house in Montana. We bought it in 2002 from the bank for $ 17,500 (I have a history of buying cheap real estate), after the market for several months. According to estimates it was worth $ 35,000 - exactly double what we paid for the home, and we were taxed accordingly - more than $ 800 a year
.I gathered information about other sales in the neighborhood, which shows that the value was not high (the town was economically depressed). I sent this information with a copy of our closing statements and opinions of our real estate agent to the appropriate agency of state government that deals with complaints, also pointing out that we did not know the seller (or even use their bank). But they would not budge on the estimates.
Apparently, when you realize property taxes in Montana, they are not considered to be the value of what people will actually pay for a home. Maybe what they want to raise taxes in the basis of the appraised value. Even after we fixed up the house and was sold for $ 28,000 I do not think they lowered estimates for the next owner. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do with this kind of dishonesty in government. Fortunately, they are more honest in most places, and if you have proof that your assets are too high, you can get your property taxes reduced. A few tips to follow.
Reducing the property tax
If you think you're paying too much in property taxes, go to the assessors office and look at your "property card", or whatever they call the record that shows what is used for the assessment of your home or other real estate. Make sure the information there is accurate. Maybe too many square feet of floor area are listed, or garage that no longer exists is used in the detection value. Make note of any deviations caused by higher ratings. Measure house, for example, or take photographs to show the errors on the form.
See also assessed values of properties around yours (this is public information in most states). If you are smaller, see if you can determine why, or if yours is just too high - and take notes. Each state has its own way of recording this information so that you May need to ask for help deciphering the figures.
Get information on recent sales in your neighborhood to show the current value of your home. Do this with the help of a real estate agent, or the county office, where they retain ownership of biscuits (it might not be the assessor's office). real estate agent can tell you how to make a simple analysis of the market based on "comparable sales" to determine the value of your property.
In some states, property tax assessment appeals process allows. Since it will probably cost you $ 400 or more, be sure to be accepted as part of the appeal process. You should also take into account how much you'll save on taxes before paying the assessment on your house or other real estate. Bring everything you can to the Appeals Board, or whoever handles complaints, and be polite, but definite.
is another way to reduce property taxes: You May want to consider developments in the area where the lower. In Canon City, Colorado, for example, we only pay $ 300 a year on our home, which is valued at approximately $ 67,000. This is the tenth of the rates we paid in Montana (or fifth "official rate" in any case ).
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar