For many, the beginning of a new year signals a time to make some sort of change in their lives and become more like their ideal selves. For others, January signals the time to make a different kind of change, one that is much easier to make: trimming their property tax bill. The tax appeal process in New Jersey involves a number of steps and using an experienced property tax attorney to lead you through the process will make that New Year's resolution much easier to keep.
Why Keep Them: The importance of keeping property tax records safe is usually appreciated when you happen to be a "victim" of regular audits. Now don't keep them just for the sake of the regular audits. Some eventualities may come that greatly demand the presence of intact records. One of these unfortunate incidents is divorce. The reason why divorce related cases usually take forever is because of the absence of such documents. The property tax records are used by the legal system when in comes to splitting of belongings.
Since I have been an appraiser for several years and being knowledgeable with the mass appraisal system, I have seen first hand that property owners do not understand that they have the legal right to appeal their property values and also not a clue on the procedure of property tax appeal.
For many people, the decision about whether they should appeal their assessment is an easy one once they realize the actual valuation of their property. For others, especially people who have owned a property for a long time and have not been thinking about buying or selling, the question of whether to appeal an assessment is less clear. Here are several rules of thumb to consider in deciding whether to appeal your assessment: * As your assessment gets older and your equalization ratio gets lower, there is greater likelihood that your assessment has fallen out of line with your property's actual value. * Conversely, when an equalization ration rises above 100% because property values have fallen (as they have in recent years), that means that on average, properties are overassessed in those municipalities. The property owner still bears the burden of proving that their particular property is overassessed but an average ratio of over 100% is a good indicator of overassessment. * When you live in a development or neighborhood where properties are very similar, and prices have dropped significantly, your individual property value has probably decreased and your assessment and equalization ratio may not have kept pace. * Whenever a property has unique characteristics that make it very different from those nearby, there is often a case to be made for reducing the assessment. For example, a very large old home in a neighborhood of smaller, newer homes will often be assessed as a larger home with the characteristics of the surrounding areas. In fact, such homes tend to be more difficult to sell and often warrant lower assessments.
Lost a Copy? Where to Find Them: Fortunately there are online services that allow you to conduct a current, accurate and quick search and download of information regarding these records. Advancements have alleviated the headache of digging through old dusty files and now you can comfortably come to the rescue from your own home office.
Take for example the case of Stephen and Rachel Pineles, who decided to appeal the assessment on their Essex County New Jersey home in 2010. "My town had not had a revaluation in over twenty years and my assessment was outrageously high in comparison with the actual value of my home," said Stephen Pineles. "Hiring an attorney to handle the property tax appeal was definitely the right decision for me. I did not have to worry about anything. Initially, the tax assessor offered a reduction that was on the low side. In the end, my attorney negotiated a much better settlement and my property taxes were reduced by over $3700 or almost 30% of my tax bill."
So if you're contemplating an appeal to reduce your market value and possibly lower property taxes, then my advice is to find out when are you able to set an appointment. Then begin to research and prepare your case.
As the new year begins, in addition to some of the more difficult goals and changes people contemplate, it may be worthwhile to consider trying to lower your tax bill. It could be one of the easiest and most profitable resolutions you make.
Why Keep Them: The importance of keeping property tax records safe is usually appreciated when you happen to be a "victim" of regular audits. Now don't keep them just for the sake of the regular audits. Some eventualities may come that greatly demand the presence of intact records. One of these unfortunate incidents is divorce. The reason why divorce related cases usually take forever is because of the absence of such documents. The property tax records are used by the legal system when in comes to splitting of belongings.
Since I have been an appraiser for several years and being knowledgeable with the mass appraisal system, I have seen first hand that property owners do not understand that they have the legal right to appeal their property values and also not a clue on the procedure of property tax appeal.
For many people, the decision about whether they should appeal their assessment is an easy one once they realize the actual valuation of their property. For others, especially people who have owned a property for a long time and have not been thinking about buying or selling, the question of whether to appeal an assessment is less clear. Here are several rules of thumb to consider in deciding whether to appeal your assessment: * As your assessment gets older and your equalization ratio gets lower, there is greater likelihood that your assessment has fallen out of line with your property's actual value. * Conversely, when an equalization ration rises above 100% because property values have fallen (as they have in recent years), that means that on average, properties are overassessed in those municipalities. The property owner still bears the burden of proving that their particular property is overassessed but an average ratio of over 100% is a good indicator of overassessment. * When you live in a development or neighborhood where properties are very similar, and prices have dropped significantly, your individual property value has probably decreased and your assessment and equalization ratio may not have kept pace. * Whenever a property has unique characteristics that make it very different from those nearby, there is often a case to be made for reducing the assessment. For example, a very large old home in a neighborhood of smaller, newer homes will often be assessed as a larger home with the characteristics of the surrounding areas. In fact, such homes tend to be more difficult to sell and often warrant lower assessments.
Lost a Copy? Where to Find Them: Fortunately there are online services that allow you to conduct a current, accurate and quick search and download of information regarding these records. Advancements have alleviated the headache of digging through old dusty files and now you can comfortably come to the rescue from your own home office.
Take for example the case of Stephen and Rachel Pineles, who decided to appeal the assessment on their Essex County New Jersey home in 2010. "My town had not had a revaluation in over twenty years and my assessment was outrageously high in comparison with the actual value of my home," said Stephen Pineles. "Hiring an attorney to handle the property tax appeal was definitely the right decision for me. I did not have to worry about anything. Initially, the tax assessor offered a reduction that was on the low side. In the end, my attorney negotiated a much better settlement and my property taxes were reduced by over $3700 or almost 30% of my tax bill."
So if you're contemplating an appeal to reduce your market value and possibly lower property taxes, then my advice is to find out when are you able to set an appointment. Then begin to research and prepare your case.
As the new year begins, in addition to some of the more difficult goals and changes people contemplate, it may be worthwhile to consider trying to lower your tax bill. It could be one of the easiest and most profitable resolutions you make.
About the Author:
Hi readers my name is Harris Smith, thanks for reading this article I hope I will be useful to find home equity line of credit . Free advice for Debt Consolidation, debt problems and free debt solutions for credit cards.