The second biggest expense for homeowners, after the mortgage, is usually property taxes. With 30% to 60% percent of taxable property being over-assessed, there’s a good chance you’re paying more than your fair share in property taxes. Let Hudson View provide advice regarding various Property Tax reductions.
Property taxes are based on the “fair market value” of your home – which is the amount of money that a buyer would be willing to pay for your home if it was for sale. This value is calculated by your county’s assessor, but there is a lot of room for error. The evaluators can overestimate the value of the house by making errors in the total square footage, the number of rooms and other details.
When it comes to calculating Property Taxes, errors can occur because the Local County Assessor generally does not send an expert to examine each & every house, but rather they will most likely use an automated assessment tool instead, so their evaluators are unaware of aspects of you property that could reduce its value: Things like a leaky roof, or some old siding that needs to be replaced could reduce your overall property tax bill.
Each region is different, and some counties do not update home values every year, but they do it every other year, or even every (5) five years. This means that when house prices fall, you could still pay taxes on the now oversized value of your home.
The good news is once you successfully contest the assessment, that reduced fair market value is likely to stay the same in future years, unless your home value does rise due to improvements you make or a booming housing market.
Every year you should get a letter in the mail notifying you of your home’s assessed value. The filing deadline to appeal is usually within a month of that notice, so it’s important not to procrastinate on your appeal.
Every area has a different appeals process, so you’ll need to go to your local government’s site to get the complete instructions and forms for filing an appeal. It’s helpful to have your last property tax bill on hand, so you can enter your property’s parcel number if necessary.
The county site should list details used to assess your property. Check all of the information for any mistakes: number of bedrooms and bathrooms, property category (e.g., residential, one- or two-family), total square footage, garage, and everything else. Even small mistakes, like incorrect room sizes could lower your assessment.
Whether you live in a high property tax area, or low property tax area, Hudson View can help you see substantial savings by helping you exercise your right to challenge your property tax bill.
At Hudson View, we pride ourselves on our many years of experience and meticulous attention to detail, which has resulted in significant tax reductions and tax refunds for our clients.
If you would like to learn more, please visit the FAQs section, or contact us today to Get Started. Or visit us on LinkedIn. Use our services for managing your appraisal needs in the New York & Connecticut areas.
