I don't know about you, but my home assessment has been going up pretty consistently over the past few years. I haven't had the time to check it against comparable sales/housing prices in my town, but I suspect the assessment is climbing faster than my home's value. I need to do something about it at the next assessment.
Some of you may be in the same situation. That's why I wanted to share this article from Bankrate.com about how to contest your home assessment. The article comments:
Anyone can fight City Hall, but your odds of winning get a lot better if you're organized, polite and familiar with the system.
They start by asking you to find out what the assessor says your house is worth:
For the most part, when homeowners contest a property tax bill, the point of disagreement is the value the assessor placed on the home. So if this year's bill seems high, look at the value the assessor has placed on your home.
In some cases, the amount of the assessed value will be printed directly on the paperwork you get from the local assessor. On other bills, it's not as easy. You'll have to do a little math to figure out how much assessors estimate your home is worth. If it's not explicit, call the assessor's office and ask them how to use your bill to calculate your home's value.
Once this is done, they recommend you ask yourself two questions:
First, could I sell my home for more? If the answer is yes, you probably should not appeal.
Second, is the value in line with similar homes in the area? Unless all the homes have been overvalued, or unless your home's condition warrants lowering the value, there's probably not much you can do. But if the value is out of line with similar homes in the area, you may have a case for reduction.
If you do have a case, here's where to start:
Your local assessing organization will have a system for correcting or contesting assessments. The process can vary widely by jurisdiction. Understanding how the system works will give you a huge advantage. "I would recommend that they find out through their assessor all the required deadlines and retrieve all the required forms up front," says Paul Damato, partner in the Long Island law firm Murphy & Lynch PC and a practitioner concentrating on property valuation and assessment reductions. "You don't want to learn this as you stumble through."
And here are the three most likely reasons that your assessment will get reduced:
1. The assessing office has incorrect information about the characteristics of your property. "Go over the property characteristics and make sure they are correct," says Welcome. Does the assessor have the correct square footage, lot size and number of bedrooms and bathrooms? Is the garage size correct? Could he be counting unfinished space in a basement or attic as finished, which adds to your square footage? Is he including improvements or options, like a pool or bonus room, that you don't have?
2. Your property needs significant repairs. The condition of your home can also affect the value. If your castle is worth $200,000 but you need $20,000 worth of repairs, that will impact the value. In this case, your job will be to document your home's condition and the repairs that are needed. "Take pictures," says Welcome.
3. Your property is not valued similarly to comparable homes in the area. This is a trickier proposition to prove. And "a lot of people think their house is just like the others, but it's different," says Welcome. What are the assessed values of other homes in the neighborhood? In some cases, you can get the information online from the assessor's Web site. In others, you may have to go into the assessor's office. You can consult a local real estate agent, although he or she will have access to sales prices, not assessed values. You may also have to pay a small fee, says Damato. You can also hire an appraiser to do the heavy lifting for you. Appraisals often include value figures for several similar houses in the same area. (And if you've recently purchased or refinanced your home, you probably have a recent appraisal.)
If you hire an appraiser, it could cost $300 to $600. But, "an appraiser will do a far more professional job than you will," says Damato. And the more well-documented and presented the information, the more likely it is that you will achieve a reduction, he says. What you need in comparables: "You want to look at the big things," says Lumley. Check square footage, lot size, location, condition and options. Also try to find similar styles, he says. "You want to compare a ranch to a ranch."
If you think you want to challenge, here's what else you need to do:
Start gathering information as soon as you get your first notice. You want to give yourself plenty of time to do a little leg work. "A week or more," recommends Damato. "I wouldn't count on getting it done all in one day."
Schedule a convenient time to talk with someone in the assessor's office will be easier "earlier in the process," says Welcome. "Also the staff isn't worn out."
Keep the process as informal as you can, says Welcome. Some jurisdictions will let you make an informal request first. "Try to resolve it as best you can at an informal level," he says.
Then here's how to handle it once you get ready to present your case:
When you talk to the assessors, be prepared, professional and polite. "Prepare like you have five minutes to make your point," says Welcome, who estimates that in his jurisdiction, 40 percent of homeowners who appeal get some sort of reduction. "Hit your bullets, make your point and make sure your property characteristics are correct."
Also "don't expect an answer right away, because they'll probably have to do some research," he says.
I'm going to take them up on this advice the next time my assessment comes up (next spring) and see what transpires. Stay tuned.
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