Property Tax Protest Hearing

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: skate1968
Hi JHZ,

Actually, being as you live in Jersey you're relatively close to the situation i am describing in philadelphia

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
You're only looking at one side of the equation. What is the tax rate on the assessed amount? Usually when they reassess around here, the valuation may go up but the rate goes down. Our assessment doubled but our taxes stayed the same.


Yes you are correct.

Property tax RATES in philadelphi are the same. Only the property valuations are being updated and adjusted.


That's still one-sided. Are you saying they are raising valuations but not reducing the tax rate?

So for a property that had a $200 tax burden, assessed at $20k, they had the rate at 10%, but now they reassessed to $288k and the tax burden is now $28.8k?

 

[Blaze]

Curious??....do other states have "Tax Sifter" in their local counties? Here in Wash State we can basicly do our own comparibles and look up parcels and see what their taxes- land/buildings values are.

 

[cptbarkey]

i've done it here in austin. it was a rather one sided affair. essentially you protest, sit down in a preliminary meeting, watch the assessor pull up comps from ACROSS TOWN nowhere close to yours, and come to the same conclusion.

the danger you always run is they "accidentally" find out that their appraisal was actually too low.

in short, your screwed.

you can try to hire a third party to protest on your behalf, but they want the difference in tax savings plus 200 dollars. also usually a waste of time.

my advice, do not vote YES for any bonds, because those are probably screwing you too.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
i've done it here in austin. it was a rather one sided affair. essentially you protest, sit down in a preliminary meeting, watch the assessor pull up comps from ACROSS TOWN nowhere close to yours, and come to the same conclusion.

the danger you always run is they "accidentally" find out that their appraisal was actually too low.

in short, your screwed.

you can try to hire a third party to protest on your behalf, but they want the difference in tax savings plus 200 dollars. also usually a waste of time.

my advice, do not vote YES for any bonds, because those are probably screwing you too.


Wow, TX sounds like a horrid, immoral place to live. NOBODY that we know who has gone through the process has encountered anything of the sort.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
i've done it here in austin. it was a rather one sided affair. essentially you protest, sit down in a preliminary meeting, watch the assessor pull up comps from ACROSS TOWN nowhere close to yours, and come to the same conclusion.

the danger you always run is they "accidentally" find out that their appraisal was actually too low.

in short, your screwed.

you can try to hire a third party to protest on your behalf, but they want the difference in tax savings plus 200 dollars. also usually a waste of time.

my advice, do not vote YES for any bonds, because those are probably screwing you too.


Wow, TX sounds like a horrid, immoral place to live. NOBODY that we know who has gone through the process has encountered anything of the sort.

Try some MA towns. They have had Proposition 2½ for decades but because these buggers are always claiming poverty they override it and/or increase property values.

Boston Property Tax Code

 

[JHZR2]

Dont worry, NJ has the highest taxes in the nation (worse than MA). Im not speaking from ignorance.

Sorry that it is so screwed up there, but youre getting a discount compared to NJ!

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Dont worry, NJ has the highest taxes in the nation (worse than MA). Im not speaking from ignorance.

Sorry that it is so screwed up there, but youre getting a discount compared to NJ!


I believe that a friend of mine lives on Long Island and pays outrageous rates.

 

[sleddriver]

Originally Posted By: 86cutlass307
Has anyone ever protested a dramatic hike in their primary residence property tax? If so, what did you take with you to the hearing...it seems a little one sided to me. I have done no renovation, expansion, etc. Thanks in advance

Don't have time to type out a complete answer. I began protesting mine about 5 yrs. ago and have done well. My first suggestion is to take advantage of the fact that the formal hearings are open to the public. I attended several before my first hearing and took lots of notes. Then coupled that with plenty of research and photos. I went in well organized and won.

Second suggestion is that it's a game: Learn to play it well.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Dont worry, NJ has the highest taxes in the nation (worse than MA). Im not speaking from ignorance.

Sorry that it is so screwed up there, but youre getting a discount compared to NJ!


I believe that a friend of mine lives on Long Island and pays outrageous rates.


I'm sure. All the police officers out there making >250k/yr with all the overtime need to get paid somehow.

 

[sleddriver]

Another point:
To justify raising your value, they need solid evidence. They call these "comparibles". Their computers dig these up. If you live in a neighborhood where the houses are all similar, they have a very easy time of it.

However, in my neighborhood they're all quite different as this is an older neighborhood, that cannot expand due to geography (80' cliffs, only one way in, etc.). My house is now 30 yrs old. Many old ones are being torn down just for the land. My house is also much smaller, with a lower trim level, than the new ones.

Therefore there's no 'comps' in my neighborhood, so the computer digs up another house, in another neighborhood, 10 mi. away.

I argue before the board that this poor evidence isn't sufficient and fair nor equitable justification to raise my value because too many adjustments have to be made to their 'comps' to make them 'fit' my situation. Understand?

In one formal hearing, the auditor in frustration asked me "OK..what do YOU think your house is worth?" Which is a very loaded question I wasn't about to touch. I replied "Whatever someone is willing to pay for it."

She lost and I won the hearing.

Here's two ways to go about this, though there are others:

1. In a neighborhood where all the houses are similar, not many adjustments have to be made to the 'comps', are all the same trim level, etc., if you're overvalued it's simple to bring in sales records to prove otherwise. In other words, you have to bring them evidence.

2. In the opposite case, like mine, you point out that their evidence isn't fair in comparison, too many adjustments have been made to make it fit, comps are in other neighborhoods miles away, comparing your older house to newer houses that are much more expensive, in a different price class, etc. is ridiculous. Therefore, the county has no basis for raising my value until they come up with better data that is more accurate.

I also bring in large (11 x 14) photos that are in focus, well composed and properly exposed. I sat in on one hearing where some guy held his cellphone up to the board sitting 6' away, with it's tiny screen of poorly shot & exposed photos taken to 'make' his case. They laughed at him. Don't do that. Take the time to do it well.

After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. Let the pictures speak for themselves.

 

[PandaBear]

I did, and I won.

Basically you have to find evidence that your property is worth how you think and not how the government think. Usually it is similar home and recent transaction (+- 3 months for my county) average. Simple enough? Yes, but finding these reference homes are the hard part. Zillow is great for this work.

The trick is to find homes that would be in your favor and not your government's favor. In my case I protested the most expensive home out of the 3 that the local gov suggested, claiming that it is in a different school district that is 100k more on average, and substitute it with another home that is identical (1 driveway down) to 1 of the 3 that my gov proposed. They though it was too low, but since it is an identical home to another on their list that they come up with, they do not have any excuse not letting me use it.

It does take a lot of effort finding similar homes that is in your favor (about 20 hours for me), but it knock my home price estimate down 50k and end up saving me about $500 that year.