Appeal property tax assessment, or not?

[ua_guy]

We bought our house last year on a short sale. It felt like an OK value when we bough it, but it needed a bit of work since it had been sitting vacant on the market for a very long time.

The county tax assessor's postcard came in the mail yesterday with valuations for the land and buildings/improvements. I almost fell over. According to the county tax assessor, the value is up almost 20%, or $100k. I couldn't believe it.

It's been a year since i've paid any attention to the local real estate market, comp data, or anything else. Sure enough...getting another $100k on top of what we bought the house for wouldn't be out of the question in today's market. Unbelievable. Thrilling, actually.

But that's all on paper, and my property tax is going to go up as a result. In reality, none of the home's major components have been updated and we've made no additional improvements other than general maintenance and upkeep. I'm not familiar with the appeals process, so I'm not sure on what grounds I'd contest it, other than that. Has anyone had any luck contesting a property tax evaluation?

[bigdaddybus]

I have. We purchased a home from an estate that needed some work. The first years assessment came back as what the previous owner paid not the purchase price. I fought it and had our property taxes dropped $1960. It was worth my time to fill out a few online forms, print them off, and mail them certified mail to my assessors office.

[bigdaddybus]

Also, i read somewhere that 4% of homeowners ever fight there assessments. I would guess your assessment has a website on it with info on how to appeal it. Good luck

[snafu]

You need a lot more information. Is property assessment based on 'current market value in your region? What is the criteria? Size of property [land] plus external dimensions of house and any other structures like garage or shed? Number of bedrms & bthrms? Lower level development? Outside finishings like brick or aluminum siding etc? Roof materials?

In our area assessments seem based on square footage of 'solds' in about a 1 hr distance. We have to pay a fee and present written 'evidence' along with our verbal presentation that there has been an error as the address is wrong, the dimensions of the land or dwelling or other structures were incorrect. There must be something incorrect about bedrooms or lower level development. If there is some external feature that affects 'value' like a fire hydrant, bus stop or major throughfare, business operation, not on the appraisal you will need photos to support your statements.t

Before I decided to 'appeal' the assessment on our previous house, I went to a 'hearing' mostly because I had the impression that I needed to hire an assessor or a lawyer to present my case. I discovered that the people who spoke on their own behalf were more likely to win their case if they had the info needed. The 'Assessment Board' made the decision within 30 minutes of presentation but I expect it's different in each jurisdiction. I think the Board here is a political appointment rather than bureaucrats...I'm not sure.

[Bright]

Here we go to what is called an "open book". You go sit down and they show you all the info they have. In our case it was very easy. They actually had some wrong info! Took all of 30 minutes.

[ua_guy]

I've looked into it more, and here it's apparently an e-file process. There aren't any real good guidelines as to how to appeal-- just that there needs to be substantial information to demonstrate the government has incorrect data, as they are assumed to be correct in their assessment. Oh, balls.

The increase in value is actually $140k, a 23% increase over last year, yet nothing about the configuration or materials on the house has changed. Our property taxes are already over $8,000/year and that really chaps me. We're not on county-maintained roads, and the nearest fire hydrant is 2 miles away. The plot is < 3 acres and it also doesn't have city water or sewer.