Taxable/Assessed Value Appeals

Parkanzky · Feb 28, 2015

I can't do anything outside of the formal appeal process because I don't have time. The appeals have to be submitted by Thursday, which doesn't give me a chance to talk to anybody in advance to resolve this.

Country Geek · Feb 28, 2015

PILOON said:
We are in cottage country and evaluator has no access to interior.
Evaluator measures and assumes that you have a full basement just because there is a window and drawn shades, while in fact ceiling is 6'2" and only 1/3 of the area the rest being mere crawl space.
He lowered my valuation considerably.

Another time they measured a log cabin using the overall lengths which were notched at the corners.
That resulted in the dimensions being 2 ft longer and wider.

Yes, you can sometimes win.

You can win fairly easily on factual errors that can be objectively proven...wrong measurements, area assessed as finished is actually unfinished, etc. It's a lot tougher to win on subjective things like which comps are appropriate or what level of customization and finishes are in the house. But you can if you keep track.

In my county house quality is assessed with a letter grade. C is normal, B is a 10% uplift, A is a 20% uplift, etc. My house had always been ranked a B and then in one assessment cycle it changed to A. All I had to do was show them that the grade had been changed with no upgrades to the house except it's now older and they changed it back without any argument. I don't know if it was an honest error or they were trying to slip that by lots of people hoping they wouldn't notice.

David P · Feb 28, 2015

Our township had us assessed at nearly $100,000 more than we paid for our parcel (vacant land). I went to the March Board of Review but they didn't change it a single dollar. I then appealed to the Tax Tribunal, paid for an appraisal and got the land reassessed to what the exact dollar amount I sought. You can go in very prepared for the MBOR but it seems like this level can be a bit more political so results can vary quite a bit. When you go to the Tax Tribunal you can either represent yourself or hire an attorney. I represented myself and had my appraiser go to the meeting as well. Good luck.

300UGUY · Feb 28, 2015

I had the same problem here in Michigan. I bought the house in September, the tax appraisal was quite a bit higher than what I paid 5 months earlier. I was told, "we can't help if you got a great deal!!"

2458n · Mar 1, 2015

Appeal. You have nothing to lose. Little known fact that many are successful. Do your homework and find value of like homes. My house is different and it helped me.

Kenneth in Texas · Mar 1, 2015

They just go fishing in most instances and sit back and see who pays up. Had one appraiser smilingly tell me out of a 100 increases only about 25% ***** and demand a reduction which in most cases they get, the others just pay the increase and go on.

They key is to be prepared and appeal, appeal and appeal some more the value.

TomSeller · Mar 1, 2015

My brother and I own 5 acre parcels on a fishing creek separate from my farm. He appealed his and used my assessed value (which was lower than his) as one of his items to compare. They thanked him for bringing the discrepancy to their attention .... then raised mine.

mddorange · Mar 1, 2015

My property taxes were the same as during the property bubble before prices dropped drastically. The property had set for several years and had become a HUD dump property that I got for less than half of what the previous owner still owed. I took the HUD appraised value that I paid for it and made them drop the appraisal down to what I paid plus what I had put into it to make it livable for a big drop in taxes.

Cat_Driver · Mar 1, 2015

Parkanzky said:
I can't do anything outside of the formal appeal process because I don't have time. The appeals have to be submitted by Thursday, which doesn't give me a chance to talk to anybody in advance to resolve this.

Try this - Type in your address here and get comps here. It's something any way.

Zillow: Real Estate, Apartments, Mortgage & Home Values in the US

PILOON · Mar 1, 2015

One neighbor did a spread sheet on all 75 neighbor taxes.
They basically raised each land value by 20% if over 1 acre and 10% when under.
Since we are lakeside we can not contest as the waterfronts actually sell for 2-3X more if and when you find a vacant one for sale.
What was odd is that 2 houses that are brick on poured foundations (not blocks) and in top maintained condition went down in value with the land going up.