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Your property tax bill arrives and you cringe at the total amount,
but you pay it, because there's nothing you can do about it...or is there?
An online service called ValueAppeal can help you evaluate
your property and create a custom property tax appeal report.
"The assessed value of your home should be approximately
equal to the price you could sell your home for on the open market as of the
assessment date each year." says the website.
As seen in an article by Andrea Brambila for Inman News, ValueAppeal says that approximately
25% of homes are over-assessed and, using their proprietary Assessment
Analyzer, they have saved property owners thousands of dollars.
The analysis consists of running a valuation of homes in the
county using several factors including number of bedrooms and baths,
construction, age, condition, square footage and any exceptional amenities and
views.
Colorado allows homeowners to appeal their taxes themselves at
no cost. There is a short window of opportunity to do this; you can check when
that is by contacting your county assessor's office. Also, some counties allow
a re-assessment every year, while others might only allow it every other year,
or more; which makes it even more important to try to lower your taxes.
The appeal process would be to submit comparable sales of
similar properties to your county's assessor's office. Most counties do not allow comparisons of
homes selling at the time of assessment. Then if the assessor does not agree,
the next step would be to file an appeal with the board using similar
information. The homeowner can even hire
someone to represent them at the hearing.
ValueAppeal charges $99 for their custom appeal and they
offer a money back guarantee if the appeal is unsuccessful.
"Our average customer so far saves $839," said Charlie Walsh,
founder of ValueAppeal. "The algorithm takes into account how many data points
are available in a certain county and the preferences of the local board of
equalization or appeals board. For example, some boards do not allow tax
appeals to compare one-story homes with two-story homes, while other counties
don't track stories at all. "Foreclosures are usually not considered a
comparable either but the assessor's response varies from county to county.
In Colorado, these major counties show a large proportion of
over assessed houses, per data collected by ValueAppeal.
ValueAppeal offers a discount code for realtors to pass
along to clients. This is a great way to
keep in touch with past clients.
The appeal process is a win-win. Lowering your taxes means you can afford to
pay more on your mortgage and when it comes time to sell, a lower tax bill is
more appealing to the buyer.
Read the full article at Inman news.
 photo credit: Dave Dugdale: Dave Dugdale website: www.learningdslrvideo.com
Posted on March 14, 2011 08:47:09 by  Scott.Shields
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