If you filed an appeal of property taxes – or more appropriately, on your property tax assessment – but you have been losing it, year in and year out, you’re likely committing one or a few of these mistakes. Of course, each case is different but these are common mistakes that you should be on the lookout for, especially when you’re dealing with the appeal process on your own.
This could be the root of your losing streak in the property tax appealprocess. You’re well-advised to hire a trustworthy property tax consultant with extensive experience whether it’s for a residential home, farm, or an apartment complex. Your risks of running into these issues will be reduced, if not eliminated, when you do.
Solution #1 Argue Based on Comparable Sales
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No wonder that you have been on the losing end when you appeal property taxes! You have previously been focusing on assessments comparisons instead of on sales price comparisons. You cannot win on the former alone since you also have to argue based on comparable sales of similar real property. Of course, you cannot be blamed for thinking that assessed value comparison is the way to go because it seems logical. You’re appealing a property assessment, after all, so assessed value comparison follows.
But when you’re appealing property assessments, the best primary evidence is the fair market value – or what the real property can be sold for in an arms’ length transaction. You can use the uniformity argument, too, but this isn’t sufficient on its own in most cases. You don’t have to engage the services of an independent licensed real estate appraiser either, unless you already have an appraiser’s report from a refinancing, for example.
Solution #2: Stop Relying on the Price/Square Foot Argument
If the price per square foot is the only factor considered in determining your property’s assessed value, then using it as part of your argument will make sense. But it’s not the only factor so it’s not an argument that should be at the center of your argument for a reduction in your property’s assessed value and its tax. You mayuse it as part of your ancillary evidence but be sure to point out the other factors, such as functional obsolescence, that affect your property’s fair market value.
Solution #3: Start Being Nice
When it comes to a few things in life, being nice will, indeed, get you something better! Your property taxes can understandably become a source of your stress but there’s no sense in becoming too upset about it. You shouldn’t get angry because you can get even, so to speak, by filing a formal appeal on your property’s assessed value.
During the hearings of your appeal, you should avoid getting angry, upset and frustrated – and worse, expressing these emotions in front of the board members, hearing officer, arbitrators, and Superior Court judge. Let your tax advisor and/or tax lawyer handle the case and keep your emotions in check.
Plus, it pays to be nice to the tax assessors. You will find that calmly explaining the errors on your property card may even get them corrected, thus, saving you the hassles of a formal appeal.
Conclusion
Again, we cannot overemphasize the need for hiring an experienced tax advisor for a winning appeal of property taxes. You can let him be your advocate and argue your cause in the proper appeal venue!
