Rant -Property Tax Bill -

[PonyKiller87]

Ok last year when tax time rolled around the check I got from the bank for my tax bill was about $300 short and I had to shell it out. Right about that time I refinanced my loan to get a better rate and in the process I told my mortgage guy to up the escro amount so that I wouldn't get stuff paying out of my pocket this year for taxes. Well got my tax bill for this year and guess what this year I gotta shell out $500 because its short again WTF! on top of that the bank sent me a letter saying they are decreasing my escro amount for next year because they felt it was to high, again WTF!

So looking at my tax bill I notice that my Estimated Fair Market value (the amount you get taxed on) is way high, in this market theres no way I could sell for anything near that amount. Anyone know how to go about contesting that? know if I can do it for last year too?

I think now that the whole real estate / mortgage thing has blown up the cities need to pull their heads back out of thier asses and tax based on real property value.

[Karps TA]

You should be getting taxed at the assessed amount not the equalized/fair market value amount.

If you think your homes value isn't accurate you can go and debate it. Find what similar houses are not only assessed at but what they sold at.

[Holeshot]

I got my tax check from Chase But have not got the bill from Greenfield yet. I am dreading it as Greenfield keeps adding on to the High School and building a new Library

[floaters]

yea like karps said, find out from the city what houses sold for in the area and make a case that you cant sell for what they assess it at, all you can do is try.

[Holeshot]

Um yeah I was considering to have it re appraised to see what market value is now compared to what it was in March. Just cant afford that expense right now.

[Reverend Cooper]

get used to it and its gonna get worse with your democratic president

[Karps TA]

We got new assessments this year, my property went up like $12k.
But thanks to the MIL rate my taxes went down about $140.

Not sure how the President has any effect on property taxes. Looking at my bill it appears the school board takes the biggest chunk. Thankfully since I don't have any kids, that seems pretty fair. Good thing my neighbors with kids who don't improve their property get to pay less to the schools.

[Anakonda69]

problem is they assess all the houses that high and rape everyone kevin. we had to pay an extra 300 this year too. our house is assessed way higher then what they are selling for on the market. too bad it doesn't really matter. life sucks sometimes.

[Rocket Power]

Good luck when I bought my house in August 02 I called to talk to the when I got my Property tax bill that year that said it was worth about 10K more than what I just paid for it. Basically he said well that right for the part of the city you live in.
Wouldn't you think the price I paid for the house a few months earlier WAS fair market value?
But I guess that's ok since according to them my house has gone up $60,000 in market value over what I bought it for in 6 years but they're nice enough to only assess me at $3K less than that. Apparently they aren't clued into the housing market because my assessment is more than last year. For over $4k a year in taxes you'd think they could plow the streets in a timely manor too

[Z You L8r]

You can only appeal your assessment during a certain time of the year when the new assessments come out. Usually new assessments are sent out in May for the December tax bill. If you did not get a notice of reassessment in May thats because your assessment stayed the same. None the less you have only about a 3 week window in late may early June to appeal your assessment for the real estate tax bill in December. Don't even bother going to the assessors office now, they WILL tell you the same thing.

Also remember that assessments are for the city's estimation of your property value on January 1, 2008 for this bill you just received. As with many neighborhoods throughout the city property values may have decreased since then, this should be shown on the assessment for 2009 that you will get in May and pay on next December. Just remember to fight your assessment then.

I just want to let you know that I am a commercial real estate appraiser and I have contested for clients several commercial assessments. In most cases the City will negotiate with you as long as you have very good proof of comparable sales indicating so and typically an appraisal indicating a lower value. You will have to typically get a new appraisal with the intended use explicitly for challenging your assessment.

Sorry to hear about your tax bill and remember to fight it next May.

Scott

[WhatsADSM]

Yup as mentioned you can fight your tax assessment (typically your strongest fight will be with an official appraisal).

And also the exact rules for city assessments vary from town to town so you will want to talk to whoever is in charge in your jurastiction .

As an FYI I just went through this, and here is how it works in Whitefish Bay (I would assume other areas operate similarly). If your city assessed value is 10% higher than the fair market value of the property than the village will change your assessed value to fair market value. This essentially gives them a 10% cushion, so that everyone doesn't bitch when their assessed value is a thousand or 2 to high.

As for the "fair market value" that is your case to prove and as mentioned you typically have a few week window where you can make your case in front of the village assessor. In my case I was lucky because I JUST bought the house like 1 month before the assessments came and my assessment was GROSSLY high, like 35% or so over what I paid for it. Mostly because of the whole run up in real estate, and because at one point a few years ago Brewer actually lived here and he didn't mind paying a little extra for the place hence it's value was inflated. I was able to knock off over $2500 in property taxes in my case!!!

Anyways, its an easy case if you JUST bought the house within the last year to essentially say "look fair market value is what I bought my house for, it was on the 'fair' market, I purchased it, it is worth X".

However if you purchased the house even a few years ago your case is much harder to prove. Instead you will need to find lots of "comparable" houses around you that recently sold (again within the last year or so). If all of these comparables sold for much less than the town/city/village says your house is worth than you have a good case. Remember when you are comparing make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Comparables to your house should be located within a block or 2 from you, should have the same number of bedrooms/baths, similar square footage, and similar construction (sided/brick/stone, ranch/2-story, etc).

And last but not least all of the data for comparable sales in your area is public information. Lots can be had from city records themselves and in fact much of it can be found online. One of my favorite sites for comparables is:
http://www.realestateabc.com
It will automatically search recent comparable sales for you and give you a pretty damn good electronic estimate of your fair market value. On there it will show you all the recent sales around your house, and will also show you the bedrooms/baths, and size of those houses.

Good luck!

[Rocket Power]

Anyways, its an easy case if you JUST bought the house within the last year to essentially say "look fair market value is what I bought my house for, it was on the 'fair' market, I purchased it, it is worth X".
That's what I thought. I lost.
Bought in August taxed in November.:mad:

[PonyKiller87]

Well that sucks, Cudahy does theres every 2 years and it was just this last may so I have to wait to years now? oh well, I guess my main gripe was that I tried to correct the problem with the bank to cover it and it seems to of made it worse.

[WhatsADSM]

That's what I thought. I lost.
Bought in August taxed in November.:mad:

That's pretty f'd up if they don't fix it. That is quite literally the definition of "fair market value" you purchased the home off the fair market. When I submitted mine they didn't even have me meet face to face, they just fixed it, but then again mine was WAY over assessed.

Only other thing I can think of in your case is that, if you are fighting to get like 5% off or something... then they probably wont bother. You mentioned they had you assessed about 10k more than you paid, so I can only imagine that was less than 10%. They really won't bother with your case unless you have proof you are assessed "significantly" high.

[Rocket Power]

They said because it wasn't on the market very long. Well when we bought our house, nothing that was close to reasonably priced stayed on the market. There were tons of house we wanted to look at and they already had accepted offers. But I did move to tax hell West Allis so I guess I had it coming:goof

[SSDude]

They said because it wasn't on the market very long. Well when we bought our house, nothing that was close to reasonably priced stayed on the market. There were tons of house we wanted to look at and they already had accepted offers. But I did move to tax hell West Allis so I guess I had it coming:goof

Not nearly as hellish as some our neighboring communities. Cut it by a third or half and I'd be a lot happier too.

[Rocket Power]

Not nearly as hellish as some our neighboring communities. Cut it by a third or half and I'd be a lot happier too.

Sub $4k would be nice

[jbiscuit]

mine didn't go up in Stallis this year....first time in the 3 years that I have lived in the house. Now if the mortgage company would mail me the escrow check to pay the property tax bill, I'd be in business! Nothing like waiting till the last dam minute!

[Cryptic]

I just got my tax bill... it went down 1.6% :banana

[Rocket Power]

I just got my tax bill... it went down 1.6% :banana

New Berlin FTW, they know how to treat tax payers, I just can't afford to buy a house there:rolf

[Moparjim]

Good luck.

I tried to fight mine this last year when they raised my assessment like $40K - at a time when the market was crashing lol. I had two realtors - Shorewest and Remax the two largest in the area do appraisals for me, I pulled no exaggeration probably 50 comparable sales. I had numerous news articles about the crashing real estate market.

I wasted time going to several meetings with the assessment "board" in Oak Creek which is basically just a bunch of dumbass fellow residents. Even the assessor's comparable sales were $20-$40K lower, including his main comparable sale which was ME when I bought my own house less than two years earlier for $20K less than the assessment, when values were near their peak before the crash in the market. He explained it as "well you bought it two years ago and we just add 12% a year appreciation to that...". They all acted like they had no clue that the housing market had been crashing. When all was said and done they told me I had done an excellent job and brought excellent data and comparables, BUT.... They were still going to have to go with "Marty" - the assessor. My house is still currently assessed at $265K and I'd be lucky to sell it for $225K probably if I had to sell it in less than 6 months.... its fricken ridiculous.

[PonyKiller87]

Good luck.

I tried to fight mine this last year when they raised my assessment like $40K - at a time when the market was crashing lol. I had two realtors - Shorewest and Remax the two largest in the area do appraisals for me, I pulled no exaggeration probably 50 comparable sales. I had numerous news articles about the crashing real estate market.

I wasted time going to several meetings with the assessment "board" in Oak Creek which is basically just a bunch of dumbass fellow residents. Even the assessor's comparable sales were $20-$40K lower, including his main comparable sale which was ME when I bought my own house less than two years earlier for $20K less than the assessment, when values were near their peak before the crash in the market. He explained it as "well you bought it two years ago and we just add 12% a year appreciation to that...". They all acted like they had no clue that the housing market had been crashing. When all was said and done they told me I had done an excellent job and brought excellent data and comparables, BUT.... They were still going to have to go with "Marty" - the assessor. My house is still currently assessed at $265K and I'd be lucky to sell it for $225K probably if I had to sell it in less than 6 months.... its fricken ridiculous.

Yeah I'm in pretty much the same boat. I could never sell for what they say its worth.

All the suburb cities loved the spike in values because it was a way to justify getting more tax money and now that the bubble has burst they are looking the other way and pretending everything is still great. I'm half tempted to talk to contact 6 or one of the other stations and see if they want to make some city officals look bad.

[Cryptic]

New Berlin FTW, they know how to treat tax payers, I just can't afford to buy a house there:rolf

I did almost $30k in home improvements in the last 2 years too. (The obviously have not re-assessed me yet) *knocks on wood*

[johnny--2k]

Be glad your not my parents. This years tax bill is just a hair over $12K and they have to also pay the taxes for the house they just moved into in Dallas, TX which for only a PORTION of the year is $18K. My dad is pulling what little hair he has left out of his head very very quickly. Ontop of that, they are down my moms income since she does not start her new job until late January, they have 2 house payments, plus the bridge loan they took to get things rolling on their new house. I feel for them, I really do. I dont know how they can do it.

There are some people that dont even make that much in a year, and he's shelling it out just on prop taxes....that's just insane.

[Adam Brooks]

Good luck.

I tried to fight mine this last year when they raised my assessment like $40K - at a time when the market was crashing lol. I had two realtors - Shorewest and Remax the two largest in the area do appraisals for me, I pulled no exaggeration probably 50 comparable sales. I had numerous news articles about the crashing real estate market.

I wasted time going to several meetings with the assessment "board" in Oak Creek which is basically just a bunch of dumbass fellow residents. Even the assessor's comparable sales were $20-$40K lower, including his main comparable sale which was ME when I bought my own house less than two years earlier for $20K less than the assessment, when values were near their peak before the crash in the market. He explained it as "well you bought it two years ago and we just add 12% a year appreciation to that...". They all acted like they had no clue that the housing market had been crashing. When all was said and done they told me I had done an excellent job and brought excellent data and comparables, BUT.... They were still going to have to go with "Marty" - the assessor. My house is still currently assessed at $265K and I'd be lucky to sell it for $225K probably if I had to sell it in less than 6 months.... its fricken ridiculous.

That's insane that they came back w/ consistent data mirroring what you had they they still said no. Time for a lawsuit. It's call tax assessment... a tax on the assessment. Not Marty's tax on an imaginary inflated number that is based off of nothing. All real estate disputes go through small claims court so that they are handled quickly. Get a copy of everything they came up with too. You will need to have an appraisal done. Contact an attorney. I have phenomenal attorneys to put you in touch with if you'd like.

[pOrk]

That's insane that they came back w/ consistent data mirroring what you had they they still said no. Time for a lawsuit. It's call tax assessment... a tax on the assessment. Not Marty's tax on an imaginary inflated number that is based off of nothing. All real estate disputes go through small claims court so that they are handled quickly. Get a copy of everything they came up with too. You will need to have an appraisal done. Contact an attorney. I have phenomenal attorneys to put you in touch with if you'd like.

:thumbsup

[CobraSnake]

I can't believe this was just getting talked about yesterday. Then Yesterday after I get home from work I have my tax bill. Of course like every year I get a check for 28something and my bill is 300 more then that. Not to metion they have me taxed at exactly what I probably could get for it. But, from reading some of these stories I'm not in the worst of shape.

Mark

[jbiscuit]

you guys got your escrow check for your tax bill already?

[SSDude]

Got my check about two weeks ago.
Gotta go pay the troll yet.

[Rocket Power]

you guys got your escrow check for your tax bill already?

My joint sends it right to the city

[Rocket Power]

. Not to metion they have me taxed at exactly what I probably could get for it.
Mine is at least $10-20K over what I think I could realistically get in the current market if people were buying houses.

[WhatsADSM]

Yea I echo Adam's points. Jim, IMO you can actually push assessments into court. If it was significantly off assessment and have a solid case I would probably look into some legal action, especially if it was a small claims issue.

Yellow, Wells Fargo escrow sent me a check 2 weeks ago, IIRC.

[jbiscuit]

WTF! Countrywide pisses me off. I always get mine like 2 days before the end of the month it sucks!

[nitrous]

My buddy is a tax assessor and did Mount Pleasant area last year. I'm going to have to ask him if they did my place....

[Prince Valiant]

Countrywide sends me an option sheet...I can select on of three. But, if I want it paid by DEC 31st, I have to forward them the tax bill by DEC 19th. If I want to pay myself, I can send the sheet in early and probably would have had a check cut to me right about now.

My "fair market assessment" seems low compared to what home prices in my hood go for by ~ 12-16G. The assessment that I'm taxed for is ~ 14G below that even. It's funny...I think I live in the same hood as the tax assessor.

Taxes are still WAY much more than what I think is fair.

[jbiscuit]

just found out that my escrow check was cut on the 15th...should be here anytime now. I can't rely on Countrywide to handle paying my actual tax bill. I found out the hard way the first year...they screwed it all up. Sent in the wrong amount to the wrong address, never got paid yadda yadda. Now I have it sent right to me so I can march my happy @ss down to City Hall to make sure it is paid on time etc. Sometimes to get things done you have to do them yourself

[nitrous]

X2.

I am with Universal Mortgage and unless I inquire about my escrow check, they won't say a word.