Do I Need a Property Tax Lawyer?

[steve2015]

I have Recently Buyed a new Farm House and Taxes on that is too high according to the actual price of that property, so to get reduction on my property tax. Do I need a Property tax lawyer?
Please Help..

 

[elijahboy]

i just closed on a house and the attorney that did my closing said this

go to the tax dept and show them you paid 40,000 for the house because the tax office had this house at a value of 70k...they will take care out it.

 

[Mattemma]

My mom disputed her house value with the auditor.She filed a form to dispute it,and then met one day with someone from the auditors office who simply asked her," Well what do you think it is worth?" They came to an agreement and it was changed thus lowering her taxes. I don't think a lawyer is needed. Look online at the auditors page for your county for numbers to call and/or forms to print off.

 

[moolie]

Our city property tax forms come with information on how to dispute the tax amount, just call your city/county/whoever is in charge of your property taxes and ask them how to dispute the amount

 

[FarmerChick]

before hiring anyone just call the tax office. they will tell you how to proceed. I believe you can just submit paperwork etc. to get values changed.

 

[Living the Simple Life]

This happened to us. We bought the house in October and when we got our winter tax bill, the house was assessed for $10k more than I paid for it. I just called the township and said, while I know that I am a fabulous addition to the neighborhood, I don't think me simply moving in has raised the value of the house $10K over what I paid for it....they said, oops we will get that fixed.

 

[SSDreamin]

I agree with the others, you should be able to handle this without legal counsel. Of-course, there are always special cases. When DH and I bought our previous property, it was valued at over twice what we paid for it. We had to appear before the township's tax board and 'argue our case'. They decided that lowering our value would hurt the community, so rejected our request for adjustment. Two years later, the State filed suit against this township, citing consistent inflation of property values. A re-evaluation of all properties was demanded and performed. When the new value of our property arrived in the mail, I was floored - our property went UP $5,000.00! Guess that's a case of 'careful what you wish for'

 

[~gd]

Been there and done that THREE TIMES. first my place was grabbed off for a highway, way below true market value and I had to sue to get true market value. Well my County uses "welcome stranger" for properly taxes. Every time a house is Sold or or inproved the value is adjusted, So the first time they jacked up the value so it was what I got from the State completely overlooking the fact that the state took My house, barns and half the land. I appeared before the board along with all my paperwork and the county caved and admitted they had made a mistake and I would get a refund in 6-8 MONTHS. The second tax bill said my remaining lot was improved by the highway [limited acess no one could get on or off the highway except at the exits which were miles from the place]. This time I just took a map of the project and asked just what the improvement was. The board agreed and said i would get a refund. The third time it was listed as a standard lot BUT one that had a well and septic system. This time I took their map that showed the well and septic system and the state map that showed both were under the highway. Again I won and got a delayed refund. They are revaluing the whole county next year and I think They will manage to screw that up too

 

[HaroldRoyer]

Hi,
I think that if you can handle this by your own then just go ahead. You can contact to the county Tax office who are in charge of the property in town.
They will solve your problem, in case you don't feel satisfied then you can choose a Lawyer for your case.

 

[~gd]

Hi,
I think that if you can handle this by your own then just go ahead. You can contact to the county Tax office who are in charge of the property in town.
They will solve your problem, in case you don't feel satisfied then you can choose a Lawyer for your case.

Ditto on this post except I think you will find the services of a professional appraiser to be more helpful than a lawyer. The professional appraiser is usually associated with banks and insurance companies, for banks he sets the value when you go for a mortgage. For insurance he sets the value lost by a fire or storm damage. They have a different mindset on fees with the appraiser usually can tell your fee up front but the lawyer thinks in terms of billable hours [ the longer they draw out the process, the more he can bill you for]. Before you hire anyone check with the board of appeals who will set the final value for tax purposes they are often volunteer laymen [like a jury] and dont want to listen to a long winded lawyer.