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Today, I want to talk to you about the tax assessed value of your home and how to appeal it if needed. Every homeowner has the right to have a hearing before the Board of Revision if they feel that their tax assessed value is higher than what the home is really worth.
The Board may do it automatically if you provide enough evidence of the lower value. We're coming up on the March 31 deadline that happens every year. Each year from January 1 to March 31, you will be given time to fill out the form called DTE1. This allows you to officially challenge your tax assessed value.
There is no fee associated with filing this document. It simply needs to be filed with the Board of Revision in the county where the property is located. When you make a complaint about the valuation of the property, it challenges the auditor's appraised value of your property.
When you challenge the valuation of your property, you'll need to present evidence to show that your home is worth less than what was assessed. The easiest way to do this is to call me, your real estate agent, and allow me to provide some comparable properties for you. If you want to do it on your own, you can also check sites like Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com.
When looking for comparable properties, make sure to go no further than about 1 mile of your home. You want to look for sold properties that are similar in style, age and condition as compared to your house. Of course, you want these comparables to also be below the assessed value for your home.
If you go before the board and they don't give you a lower value, you may end up going into a hearing. Be aware that the hearing will also include a representative of the school board and municipality as well as their attorneys. They will want to fight against you because they benefit from your home being assessed higher. If you need a local attorney to go with you, we will give you a link to someone we trust in this area.
Also be aware that if there are any outstanding items that are a problem with your home, such as a bad roof or cracked foundation, make sure to take photos and estimates with you. This will help your case.
As always, give us a call if you have any questions about this or any other real estate related matter. We're always happy to help!
For more on this please check out this article from The Klammer Law Office. >>
