published on BNET.com 10/07/2009
Hear that sound? It’s the thunder of angry homeowners stampeding to city hall after receiving their property tax bills. In Florida, condo owners are banding together to file joint challenges. In New Jersey, the state with the highest property taxes, appeals by Middlesex County residents tripled over the past year. And get this: The city fathers of Oshtemo Township, Mich., imposed a 1 percent fee to cover the costs of all the local tax appeals.
Though home prices have fallen roughly 18 percent a year since 2006, property taxes have actually risen # by more than 7 percent annually on average. Lately, cash-starved municipalities have had to compensate for reduced state aid in order to avoid slashing their budgets. So they’re trying to hold the line on assessments. The trouble is that many of the tax bills are flat wrong. The National Taxpayers Union estimates that 60 percent of taxable property is overassessed. Even accounting for the NTU’s antitax leanings, that’s a stunning statistic.
If you think your assessment is out of whack, fight back. As economist John Maynard Keynes said, “The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that carries any reward.” Although you can’t reduce your tax rate, you can challenge your assessment, which is the municipality’s estimate of the value of your house. A successful dispute could cut your property taxes by hundreds, even thousands, of dollars right away. “If you make a solid case for a reduction, you have a very good chance of getting some relief,” says Avi Spira, a New Rochelle, N.Y., attorney. “I’ve gotten reductions of $4,000 to $10,000 in my clients’ tax bills.” The best part: Those savings repeat year after year and could add up to tens of thousands of dollars over time.
Call ATLANTIC PROPERTY TAX CONSULTANTS today for an evaluation.
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