The upside of the slow housing market. This is one you need to get on QUICKLY! Calling for help!? Help is here!

Read carefully and run for the paperwork!

The deadlines DO VARY from state to state and county to county.  Read the fine print. Do you hate the paperwork of something like this? It IS worth it! And NO, there is NO cost to you. This is all done directly with your Tax Appraiser’s Office.

Run! Run! Run!

With the housing market not as “happy” as it has been in the past years,  that makes the housing cost drop. What does that mean to you if you don’t plan on moving and your are making your payments? Even if you are in an area that is supposedly doing well,  someone, somewhere was affected, and if you decide to sell your house right about now, the value of your house will be affected too. All it takes is one foreclosure in your area.

Down to the nitty gritty. This is how you can lower your taxes.          

7 Steps on Appealing your Tax Property Appraisal

1.    Get the COMPS – Ask you friendly Real Estate friend to send you the COMPS for your property. They are more than familiar with this and most likely have already provided it to many many people in the past weeks.  COMPS will consist of:

a.    CMA Customer Report (Competitive Market Analysis)

This will show the houses that were sold in the past months in your area. Observe closely and compare; the square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the $/SqFt – cost per square footage, and the final sale price.

b.    Customer Brief with Remarks Report

These are the houses around yours that are currently for sale. Observe the same data above, in addition, observe the two numbers for LP (list price) in comparison to Orig LP (Original List Price). That will bring to light how much they have already gone down in price. The longer a house is on the market, higher the tendency to lower that price.

c.    Customer Full Report

Same as the Customer Brief with Remarks Report yet with a full blown version of details on the house.

2.    Know your stuff – Get your PROPERTY TAX APPRAISAL that was sent to you by your county.

Read the fine print, not just the main titles, regarding the deadlines and how to do the appeal. It is absolutely better to do this in person!

3.    Analyzing your Comps –  Become very familiar with these documents. The main COMP sheet will show several houses, some bigger, some smaller. See how much the other houses that are comparable to yours in the adjacent neighborhood are going for. This is the hard part, realizing they are going for less than you would wish.

Focus on the square price. Some quick math to use in your Appeal:          

a.    Average out the square footages of all the houses and obtain an average $ Sq Ft cost.

b.    Average out only the square footages that are most like your house and obtain that $ SqFt cost.

c.    Compare, which is the best to show and use as an argument? Have these notes ready!

4.    Show it – Print out everything your realtor sent you and take it with you!

5.    Down sell your property – This is a time to “downsell” your house to the TAX APPRAISER! Does your property back up to a commercial building, or a busy street, anything that could bring down the value of the house? This is what will get your Property Taxes to be lowered.  Use Google Maps satellite view of your address. That will show the commercial property adjacent to your property. Print it out.

6.    Be Organized – Have your ducks in a row. Have a good attitude. Firm attitude. Remember you are not the only one there arguing this. Start nice, be firm, escalate as needed.

7.    Personal Touch – Gather ALL your papers and head down to the TAX APPRAISERS office. YES, in person. You will get much more bang for your buck!

Good Luck, Relax, eat some chocolate and enjoy the savings on your Tax Property!