Hey guys.


I bought a property in July of 07 and since then I have done a refinance and thevalue has falled 30% since bought it. Thanks mom and dad for telling me houses never go down .

The real issue though is that my real estate taxes recently doubled. In fact they may have even more than doubled. Is this normal and if not, how are real estate taxes decided and whom I contact to rectify the situation (if possible)? I don't have a good idea where to start to look for answers, and no idea if this is standard or if there is a good explanation for this.


Thanks,

JV

Please indicate in what state/country the property can be found.

If you're in the U.S., you probably will have to talk to your local assessor (an official in your city/town/township/borough/parish government). Maybe there's a good reason for the increase, like you didn't file a homestead notice. Or maybe not. If (once) they turn you down, there is probably an local appeals board. If you're lucky, there may be a state-level appeals board. If that fails, you may have recourse in court.

The house is in Harsens Island, Michigan - which is near Detroit, whose home prices have been totally devastated by the economy. So, if I understand you correctly, this increase does not look kosher, and I should further investigate the matter? Thanks for the help. I will call my county board or whatever and see what they say. I'm not sure what a homestead notice is either. It's my second home, do I still need to file one? I'm sure I didn't though.

If it's your second home, then there is a decent chance that the increase is due to the property going from homestead (primary residence) to non-homestead (not primary residence) status. The way that Michigan taxes property, non-homestead homeowners pay a LOT more. This is a guess, based on your buying the property in '07 and a little lag in the local assesor's office. (also, ignore the prior comment about the homestead notice - you can only claim one, didn't know this was a second home)

Another factor may be that the transfer "uncapped" your property taxes - under state law, property taxes can only go up so much every year, but once you sell that limit is taken away and the property value is reset.

http://www.claytownship.org/government/assessing/ has some FAQ information.

I can't provide specific advice, but basically if you think the valuation is unfair -- find the "State Equalized Value" on your tax statement and multiply by 2 to get what the assessor thinks your property is worth -- you'll want to contact the township assessor & ask if they'll review it. If you don't get satisfaction, the next step is the local board of review. Note that they meet in March.

Here is a pretty decent guide to property taxes & appeals put out by the state.