Avoid These Property Tax Appeal Problems!

When owning a house it is important to observe and pay attention to all the property tax bills that are sent to your address. It is important to record the fluctuations in the yearly percentages you pay because your home may eventually be worth less than the local tax assessment. This situation, which although yields a smaller tax bill, can pose a problem down the road. A gap in tax payments could yield tremendous interest payments which are held against your property. Failure to pay such fines can result in foreclosure or a domino effect of increased mortgage payments. Unless the local assessor individually updates the property values against the levy, it is up to homeowner to initiate a property tax appeal.

Property taxes vary widely based on the localities tax laws; as a result it is important to become well-versed in your town's particular property tax laws. How the property values are assessed, how that assessment is taxed, the length of time between assessments, the process of property tax appeals, and the laws that govern these various regulations will all differentiate between local governments. Mistakes are commonly made, especially with rental property, so understanding property tax appeals can mitigate the problem.

Typical problems that warrant property tax appeals include the following:

· Errors that are made in the description of your property on the tax bill

· Comparable homes in the area which have sold less than your appraised value can warrant an appeal. Additionally, any assessments that are made which do not take into account a major aspect of the property.

· Neighbors with varying assessments on similar houses. Some homes can retain the same assessed value for years and assessed values often don't rise in proportion with market values or home sale prices.

· Depreciating factors, such as age, the quality of materials, inefficient heating, deterioration, chronic defects, or structural cracks.

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