How to Protest Tax Assessment???

19 years ago

So, I've been in this house ~3 mos. Paid ~ 500K. Believe me...buys nothing in MD (DC metro area). 1/4 acre. The former owner was paying ~4K in taxes. The tax year begins in July and I'm looking at a 2K increase already.

At one point, the market was booming, but now houses in this same area are going for mid 400s (desparate sellers, but nontheless...)

How can I begin to protest this increase; supposedly based on fair market value. A 2K increase is huge. I may have to eat it, but I'd like a fair fight.

Help please.................

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Comments (4)

harriethomeowner
19 years ago
I called our county assessment office and discussed it with them on the phone. They had made a few errors, so they fixed it. That's all I had to do.

That said, if your increase is based on FMV (what you paid), they may not be able to do anything about it.
User
19 years ago
Call your county assessment office.

If the former owner was paying $4000.00 a year, unless you really increased the livable square feet with an addition, I doubt if the taxes will go up much no matter what you paid.
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In the county we live in, we were able to file a rebuttal on our assessment. We were then given an appointment to meet with the assessor downtown at the tax office & supply them with our reasons why the assessment was incorrect--photos/GIS map, location, appraisal from when we purchased the property (it was within 5 years from the date of the assessment), recent similar sales, access, busy road, large creek with flood plain that cut the entire property in half, etc. Approximately 6 weeks later, we received a letter from the assessor stating the new assessment at the amount we paid for the property (we bought it as a foreclosure so that was a sweet deal). Mom & Dad built their house 4 years ago. The tax assessor in their county started coming out to the building site every month or so about 3/4 of the way through the build to see what was going in. As Mom & Dad were acting as their own GC they were on site and told him he could stay outside but he had no business inside. Afterall, assessors don't go inside your house when they reassess every 10 years and take into account that you've upgraded your 30 year old house to granite & hardwoods from the original early 1980's linoleum & speckled formica. Too, with the current mortgage crisis and so many foreclosures and values falling, you may not want to let the assessor be privy to your costs & finishes upfront. You may want to wait and see what he values the house at first (without giving him a list of finishes / letting him inside the finished house if at all possible if you're going with some higher end finishes like hardwoods & granite). Then if he comes back with an unreasonable value, file a rebuttal. Just my 2 cents.
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chapnc ... I debated replying but thought you may have misunderstood ... we do pay property taxes now on the land. As I said, it's standard for our area that the house is not taxed till you have a certificate of occupancy. You are taxed only on the land until the house receives it CO. It may be different in your area but I've never heard anyone say they were taxed on the value of a home while it is still under construction. Our home does have value but not the same value as it will when it's complete. We are being assessed at what they appraise the completed house will be and we have just started on the interior (and I'm still patiently waiting for a toilet LOL). I think we cover our fair share of city/county services now as we do pay property taxes now along with state and local taxes. Our area does not have a city/county police department ... we rely on the state police about 45 minutes away. Our local fire company is all volunteer, self-supporting, and we donate yearly. I sure that everyone pays property taxes on the land but would be interested in knowing if anyone else has had to pay property taxes on their home while still under construction.
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Your town/city/state would be more than happy to have you pay more taxes, if that is what you want! I agree with the other posters ... your logic is a bit flawed. Depending on your town/city and how they calculate RE values (and how often), you could have assesments that are close to market value or very different. My old town in Mass kept assesments pretty current and in "normal" markets they used to lag about $100K from market value. In todays market with short sales and foreclosures the numbers can be all over the place. CA is a crazy place with Prop 13. It sets the assesment value at the purchase price, with controlled increments. So you can have neighbors with similar houses worth $1 mill, but one might be paying $2k in taxes and the other $12K. A flawed system that they also applied to commercial real estate! One of the many reasons the state of CA has major money issues. Your future buyers, if they use a bank, will be required to have an apparaisal. The assesment won't matter ... what will matter is the current RE market at the time of the sale.
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Asssessments vary widely. Sometimes even based on the items in the home. In my area having a fireplace will increase your tax assessment. So if you have more it will increase the value of a home. In addition, square footage will usually raise an assessment in my area. But that depends if they even have the square footage correct. Assessments vary depending on how a home sells in the area. When there is a new town assessment based on full value, a home that sold under market value can depress the values of other homes surrounding it. And a home's assessment can be lowered if the owners fight to have it lowered. Be careful to use home assessments. They can vary for a variety of reasons.
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nhyankee
19 years ago
MZ,

I used to work as an assessor's agent here in NH. I don't know Maryland/DC area property assessment rules or laws but let me suggest two options:

1) Verify that all the information on your tax card, (available from your assessing authority) is correct. It could be that the former owner did something like finish a basement or add space that didn't get picked up on the property record until you purchased the house. Or, they may have taken down a garage or filled in a pool and you're still assessed for it. Make sure you're paying on what is there.

2) Look at the assessed value of the house with regard to market value. If the old assessment was based on an older assessed value from a prior sale and that your increase in taxes is due to a revaluation which has considered the new sale then there's not much you can do.

Another reason your taxes may have gone up is that the tax rate may have changed although it would have to have done so on a huge level to get the kind of changes you're talking about.

Make sure you talk to the assessing authorities and get the dates for filing and necessary forms and then at least file your claim. In all cases usually the burden of the proof is on you except where there are errors on your card.

Also, look at your card before you call an assessor to come by. If there are more features and living space in the house than are listed on the tax card, that may increase your valuation and therefore your taxes it may be better to keep quiet. I went to a taxpayer's house who was constesting his assessment and he had added a porch and finished his basement after his purchase. It wasn't good news for him that day. Good luck.
gina_in_fl
19 years ago
Could possibly be like in FL.. Homeowners rates are limited as to going up, but once they sell, the taxes are re-adjusted to the new sales (assessment) price.

How to Protest Tax Assessment???

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harriethomeowner

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