Property Tax Attorney

Don’t wait for that next property tax bill - it’s time to appeal now!

Most property owners don’t consider an appeal of their property tax assessment until they receive their tax bill and are blindsided by the increase. The problem is that once the bill comes, it’s too late. Appeals are based on assessments, and the governing authorities (usually counties) provide you a short window in which to file for an appeal. The amount of your tax is calculated on the assessment and the size of the tax levies.

Unless the assessor performs a wholesale re-assessment for all properties in their jurisdiction, it’s up to you to make sure your property value is correct. Even when the assessor does change your valuation, in many cases, their value is incorrect.

“An overvalued, over assessed property is one of the most common and successful grounds for challenging your tax bill,” according to Eric Cunliffe, senior vice president at www.RealEstate.com.

As we all know, real estate prices have taken a hit in the last few months. Undoubtedly, valuations will be down. Unless a county-wide reassessment is in the works, your value will likely be higher than it should. Even if the county reassesses all their properties, that doesn’t mean their tax levies will stay the same. In fact, they will likely increase - to make up for the reduced overall valuation of all properties - such that your total tax bill will be even higher than before.

According to the National Taxpayers Union, as much as 60% of all properties are assessed at higher amounts than their true value. There are numerous clerical mistakes as well according to the American Homeowners Association.

Look for the tell-tale signs of assessment errors:

• Drop in selling prices of homes in the neighborhood.
• Errors in the real estate description on your property tax statement.
• Neighborhood changes that affect all property values such as storm and sewer problems, increased traffic, rezoning, and so on.
• Depreciation of your property, including roof aging, foundation cracks, HVAC needs or other defects.

For more information on property tax information, bookmark www.PropertyTaxAttorney.info

Author: Michael Korbe

Contact a property tax attorney if you are delinquent in your property tax payments.  You do not want to ignore this issue, you can end up risking your property or home.  Property tax attorneys can assist you with getting back on track with your taxes and even assist in winning an appeal for a reduction in property taxes if the value of your home has decreased.  You need to get rid of the stress of this tax debt and move on with your financial future.

If you have properties subject to property tax, then you are compelled to pay for it. However, tax is not your only concern here. There are other finances you have to pay. The most basic expenditures must come first in the budget such as the basics. In that case, you’ll end up with delinquent property taxes. The bad thing about not paying is the chance of forfeiture or the worst, foreclosure of your property.
Read more…

A property tax attorney can be an amazing investment in ensuring that you are not overpaying your property taxes.  Why?

Recent values of property and homes have plummeted in some areas across the US, losing an incredible amount of value.  Your property taxes need to reflect that revised value.  When property values are on the rise, does the tax man wait to collect those additional taxes?!  However, when those property values are on the way down, the tax man does not act as quickly to revise your taxes down!

This is where a property tax attorney can assist you, make sure that the assessed value of your property and or home is accurate and assist you in making the appeal to lower your property taxes accordingly.  I recently had a shocking conversation with someone who is a small business owner and very smart, savvy person.  She and her spouse had not yet appealed nor revised their property taxes.  Why?  They simply did not truly understand that they have the power to do so, that knowledge is indeed power, and that getting that reduction could save them a great deal of money over the years until the real estate market makes its much needed turn around.

Most state and local governments are claiming a budget crisis, but a look at tax collection revenues show that they’re certainly not suffering from a lack of financial resources. Examining public records, we find that tax collections are still on the rise. While most of us believe we can’t do much to avoid paying fewer tax dollars, save for cutting out trips to the mall or moving our families to offshore tax havens, there is still the likelihood of reducing our property taxes. In fact, while home values have been falling nationwide, state and local governments are still billing most of us for home values that far exceed realistic market prices. Here’s a look at property tax collections according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and information on how you can exercise your right for a fair property valuation, saving you hundreds or potentially thousands of dollars each year.
Read more…

A property tax attorney can assist you in not only understanding what property taxes you should be paying in relation to the value of your home, and help you get your property taxes current, but can also help you to decipher where your taxes go.  Indeed, property taxes, like city property taxes, go toward funding key programs in your area.  We do not advocate eliminating property taxes by any measure, but we do advocate consumers knowing where their money does go, and you have power as a citizen to ensure that your taxes are well spent.

City property taxes are a very important means of collecting much need capital for your local neighborhood or city. Although nobody really likes to pay taxes, we realize that have to, or else we face legal troubles. What many people do not realize, however, is exactly what your city property taxes are used for. And people also fail to realize that without such taxes in place, your city might literally fall to pieces.

One of the biggest things your city property taxes go for is the upkeep and maintenance of your city’s streets and roads. For some areas, road repairs can be a very costly and time consuming job, as well as a huge inconvenience to commuters. But this is a job that is absolutely necessary, however. Without it the roads of our nation’s cities would be lined with potholes and lose stones, all of which can severely damage your car and even increase the risk of crash. So next time you curse your city property taxes, just remember that some of the money will be used to improve some roads that you may drive upon every single day in the city.

A good portion of your city property taxes is also used towards city greening projects, too. Because the nation is becoming more environmentally aware, and we know recognize the need for designated city park areas and adequate green space, more and more funds are being put into the development of such areas in cities all over our great nation. Since it is your tax money that is being used for these projects, you can just consider it your way of helping to save the environment. Isn’t that a much better way of looking at city property taxes?

After this, your city property taxes go to essential city services, as well. Things like keeping the roads clean and clear of snow, ice and road kill, maintaining public restroom facilities and a lot more. Without the revenue generated by city residents paying their property taxes you would find that all roads become a slippery mess in the winter months, and in summer they are littered with rotting meat from all sorts of different small animals. Without workers to take care of such hazards, the roads become even more of a danger to everyone who is driving on them.

City property taxes are also used to maintain sewer lines, electrical lines and telephone lines throughout your neighborhood, too. Without these things you would not be able to flush your own toilet, turn on the light or talk on the phone - and it is quite hard to imagine where we would be without any one of these things, let alone all of them. But by paying your city property taxes on time, telephone and sewer companies can make necessary upgrades to their existing lines, and they can better serve you if a problem does arise.

So while you might not like paying city property taxes, they are essential to the operation of our country. Everybody has to pay them, there are no exceptions - you may as well just grin and bear it.

Author: John Parks

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Parks

If you are making upgrades to your hojme, rental property, condo, or other property you own, you should contact a property tax attorney to see if you should apply for a property tax abatement.  A property tax abatement is an arrangement in which your property taxes are lowered, even though you are making those improvements.    A property tax abatement is basically an incentive to revitalize communities, and with the number of investors and home owners alike scooping up depressed foreclosures, you may qualify for such an abatement if you are making improvements to that property.

You may have heard the term ‘property tax abatement’ and wonder what it’s all about. Basically, to abate something means to reduce (or eliminate) it. So property tax abatement is a short-term or long-term arrangement in which your property taxes are lowered despite your making improvements to the home. Under normal circumstances, when you increase the value of your home, you also raise the taxable value. With abatement, this increase does not occur (or at least not as much). Usually, a waiver is issued as an incentive to encourage town revitalization.

Property tax abatement is offered to owners of homes, condos, duplexes, multiplexes, apartment buildings, and commercial buildings being converted to residential homes. To qualify, the value of your home must be at least 115% of its value prior to remodeling. Abatement isn’t something you will automatically receive. To earn it, you must apply for it. The first step is to contact your local court house, municipality, or town hall and ask them about it. They will have information available, as well as forms for you to fill out. They may also be able to arrange for an assessor to come out and evaluate the value of your home before and after the updates.

If approved, you will have taxes waived on most of your upgrades. These include roof repair, exterior siding, lawn and garden upgrades, driveway repair, room remodeling, resurfacing, plumbing, and electrical repairs. The only thing it doesn’t cover is the addition of actual rooms, showers, porches, and fireplaces. This reduction will stay in effect for as long as your locality provides. Generally, the tax is raised back from its lower rate to the new rate over a period (for example, 5 years). Your locality can provide you with the details.

Keep in mind that even if you are approved, there is no guarantee your taxes won’t go up. It just means they won’t go as high as they otherwise would. You may still see a raise, especially if you make enhancements to your home not covered in the list of improvements eligible for tax abatement. Still, property tax abatement is a nice way to save some money when upgrading your home or residential building.

Author: Matt Murren

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Murren

A property tax attorney can help you ensure that you are indeed paying the right property taxes, especially with the recent impact in housing prices across the US.  Living here in California, I know that I have had to do some work to get my property taxes reduced, as the value of my home plummeted in the explosion of the housing bubble.  The investment you make in the legal counsel of qualified property tax attorneys may save you an incredible amount of money over the years you own the home, and wait for property values to stabilize and rise once again!

Certainly you have heard some variation of the popular statement, “Knowledge is power!” Well, in the context of lowering property taxes on your home, knowledge is power and can translate into some serious money. California property owners can benefit over the next several years with a little knowledge and some capitalistic motivation.

In the state of California, property owners may request a decline-in-value of the assessed value of their home and lower property taxes they pay.

Around every opportunity to save or make money, depending on your perspective, sprouts new entrepreneurial endeavors to capitalize on such an opportunity. I am in full support of businesses being created around a developing need in an economy, but do not believe creating new businesses is always a desirable outcome when a need develops in a market. Instead, I am in full support of individuals proactively capitalizing on these opportunities themselves, especially when our government, of the people, provides a mechanism to do so.

Regarding property tax appeals and reassessment of home values, I encourage a philosophy and practice of do-it-yourself. With a little education and direction, most if not all people would be able to successfully lower property taxes in this real estate market. If you want to learn what needs to be done and how it needs to be done, look up the Property Tax Appeal Copilot. The program is a training workshop for homeowners looking to do-it-yourself. Paying for expensive property tax consultants promising to do what you can do in 2-3 hours is a waste. And waste is abhorred in the field of economics - certainly in these times.

Of all the capitalists out there I consider myself one in the truest form. As such, I am the first to propose that more people become entrepreneurs. What do I mean by this? Well, I am certainly not advocating droves of employees resigning from secure employment to try a risky endeavor for the shear fun of the experience. I am suggesting people become “home entrepreneurs.”

A home entrepreneur endeavors to explore opportunities that arise in the context of home economics. Balancing a checkbook and buying groceries are everyday mundane tasks done in the household, but researching new ways to increase the wealth of your home is the job description of a home entrepreneur. After discovering hidden ways of increasing the wealth of one’s household, a home entrepreneur must educate himself and learn what is necessary before acting. Empowered with knowledge and information, a home entrepreneur can act and benefit from opportunities that such an individual sought out and went after. For example, California homeowners researching the law regarding property decline in value applications for a decrease in property taxes will find with proper knowledge and information, they can increase the wealth of their household tremendously.

Many may argue against my do-it-yourself approach by citing the benefits of delegation and time management. By devoting yourself to work at which you are proficient and well informed you create a value greater than doing work at which you are less proficient or skilled. Under this axiom, one will only do tasks he is skilled and proficient, then delegate tasks to which he is less skilled to others. However, the benefits of a small time and energy commitment on the part of a home entrepreneur with a substantial value have the greatest value before the negative effects of decreasing marginal utility take hold. In regards to property tax reassessment of one’s home, it is far beneficial to do-it-yourself and invest the time and energy to reap the rewards of lower property taxes.

Now you may find yourself asking the question “how do I reduce property taxes on my home, and can I really prepare a profession property tax appeal and be taken seriously?” The answer is “Yes you can! With a little help!” Check out the Property Tax Appeal Copilot program, and find out just how easy it really is to save thousands of dollars of your home this year, and in the coming years.

Author: Robert Wall

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Wall

A property tax attorney can assist you in better understanding a variety of property taxes that can impact your wallet and your bottom line if you own rental properties.  Don’t leave money on the table, a small investment in legal counsel with experienced property tax attorneys may save you far more money over the years, if not decades, of paying property or rental property taxes!

Whether you own one rental property or fifty you should take a hard look at your real estate taxes. And we are not referring to income taxes but rather the rental property taxes. Many people are not aware that you can “appeal” these taxes and save hundreds to thousands of dollars per year, per property (or more).

Of the investors that are aware of the appeal process many assume it would be too cumbersome in both time and research to bother. Others are intimidated by debating their city and would rather stay “under the radar.” Here are a few facts that may make this more interesting for you:

1. It is estimated by industry experts that 65% of all properties are over assessed (both commercial and residential, owner occupied or investment).

2.Less than 2% of all property owner’s appeal their taxes.

3.70% of the 2% that appeal win some type of rental property reduction.

These stats came from the National Tax Payers Union. The first thing to do, is figure out if your city claims that your property is worth more than it actually is. Don’t let the city’s jargon throw you off with all of their various terms (Many people believe they do this on purpose). That is what this is all about, i.e. is your property worth less than what they report it is, and what the tax it off of?

Rental Property Tax - Assessed Value

Every state and city has an assessed value and an assessment ratio. The ratios vary from state to state and often from town to town. Some city assessment ratio equals the actual market value (their opinion of it) with others; it’s a percentage of the market value. A 2 minute call to your city will determine the answer.

In the state of Michigan, for example, the Assessment Ratio is 50% in every jurisdiction. So, if a Michigan city claimed the assessed value of a property is $400,000 that means they think the market value of the property is $800,000 (.5/$400,000).

Say on that same example that we knew three other properties that where similar, that recently sold for $600,000; we would know that the property was being over taxed and would deserve a property tax reduction. The savings on that example would look like this.

$200,000 (over valued amount) x .50 (the assessment ratio of 50%) = $100,000 over assessed

$100,000 x .052 (our local millage rate for rental properties) = $5,200 of annual real estate tax savings.

Note this annual saving normally goes on year after year. And if you really learn what you are doing or hire someone that does, you can show an over payment in previous years and potentially qualify for a rebate. For example if you can prove that you over paid $5,000 per year for five years you would technically be owed $25,000 from your city. Also, note that the annual tax savings has an interesting affect on your net operating income, and actually theatrically increases your properties value by getting the reduction on the rental property tax. It’s found money.

Author: Jeff Rauth

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Rauth

Property Tax Attorney presents the following advice on how to handle deliquent property taxes.  You need not represent yourself on your own, you can get the counsel and representation of a property tax attorney to ensure that you are well-prepared and represented to resolve your property tax problems. 

If you have properties subject to property tax, then you are compelled to pay for it. However, tax is not your only concern here. There are other finances you have to pay. The most basic expenditures must come first in the budget such as the basics. In that case, you’ll end up with delinquent property taxes. The bad thing about not paying is the chance of forfeiture or the worst, foreclosure of your property. Make an action now if you don’t want your properties to be taken away from you. If you’ve been defaulting in the payments, you will surely receive notices from the government.

A tax collector might be knocking on your door for a reminder. It is better to establish good business relationship with collectors. Don’t you dare run away from the collectors. There’s no use in running away from your obligation. Even if you keep ignoring it, your liability to the government will remain to subsist. Instead, find easy ways on how you can solve your problem regarding delinquent property taxes. There are lots of remedies you can utilize in order to pay your taxes. First, you must inquire the total amount you are required to pay. It’s not only the usual amount but including all the interest and penalties.

You might as well ask the tax collectors about some solution. They are more knowledgeable than you regarding tax matters and they might be of help. Better ask them about the interest imposed on your taxes- ask for the exact rate. If the interest rate is higher than the general loan rate, it’s advisable to get a loan. Because you cannot pay the amount from your own money, you can borrow from private lenders. You can avail of a personal loan from lending institutions to pay off those delinquent property taxes. You will be saving a lot because you’ll be paying for a much lower interest in the said loan.

The problem you are carrying right now will be lessened. Dealing with property taxes is never an easy thing- your properties are at risk here. After paying the said liability, your only obligation left is with regards to the loan. It will depend on you though- better pay on time or you’ll end up with the same problem again. It’s not very ideal to have so many liabilities because it will make you feel stressed. Aside from availing loans, there is another thing you can do to deal with your delinquent property taxes. You can pay your taxes on installment.

Just prove to the tax collector your determination to erase all your obligations. You can do that by saving a small amount from your salary. It can do wonders on your tax due, even in just a small amount. Maybe the tax collector will consider your effort and not consider selling your taxes at Delinquent Tax Lien Sale. The problem with the sale is the property will be at risk. Some buyers might be willing to pay your taxes and your property can go to the buyer. You won’t even consider it of course- you will simply find a way to pay back delinquent property taxes.

So, you better think twice on what to do with your problem. You have the options to choose- just make the right decision.

Author: Rick Goldfeller

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rick_Goldfeller