I know - it's January. A new year begun - all bright and fresh. But somewhere in the back of your mind is that niggling little thought - I have to get my taxes ready, soon. Well, don't forget those "OTHER" taxes - your property taxes - because that ONE DAY a year when you are allowed to go before the Board of Assessment Review quickly follows tax day.
January is the PERFECT time to start the tax grievance process if you're unhappy with your property's tax assessment. At Ron DiDonna Real Estate & Appraisal we offer a discount if you start early. The data is in, the statistics are available - now all we need is YOU to give us a call and set up an appointment for us to come by and see your home.
If you're unsure of whether or not you're over-assessed, give us a call and we'll do a quick look-up of your information and give you an idea of what we think. We also have a process available where for a smaller fee we come by your house, do a walk-through, take pictures and then go back to the office and run a data search to see if it looks like you'll be a candidate for a reduced assessment. If not - you've only lost the small fee - and you'll know that your house is worth more than you'd thought! If it does appear that your house is over assessed, you can decide if you want to go further in the process. If yes - the fee you've already paid will be counted towards the total cost of the tax grievance.
We will then do a complete appraisal that is specifically "purposed" for a Tax Grievance. (The law requires that you can ONLY use appraisals that are specifically purposed for "review of tax assessment" or "tax grievances.") We file ALL your paperwork. We go to the meeting with the Board of Assessment Review on your behalf. And - if you should happen to get denied and your home is owner occupied - we will go to Small Claims Court on your behalf, as well. (For the record - we have a win rate for tax grievances of owner-occupied houses of over 98%). (If you are not owner occupied and you get denied at the Board of Assessment Review, there is a different process that you must follow to contest the denial - but more on that at a later date.)
So - what are you waiting for? Start the year fresh by SAVING MONEY on your taxes!!! If you don't already have an appraiser that you work with, call Ron DiDonna Real Estate & Appraisal at 518-377-2251. We cover a large portion of the Capital District, especially Saratoga County and Schenectady County and if we don't go to your area, we can help you find someone who does.
We can also tell you what you need to do if you want to try to grieve the taxes by yourself. We obviously recommend using an appraisal because it is a certified record of your property's market value - but you can try it without an appraisal. The process is not difficult - it's just time-consuming and requires paperwork being filled out in detail and several copies of all the information being delivered by exact dates to several different places. They can throw the whole thing out on a technicality if they are so inclined, so be very meticulous in your preparation.
If you tried a Tax Grievance last year and were denied - you might want to consider trying again. Some of the data that was required for last year's tax grievance still included the period during which the Home Buyer Tax Credit was an incentive. Houses sold at a slighly higher price during that period, as buyers were more eager to purchase in order to get the tax credit. As a result, it pushed up the "market value" of the properties being appraised. This year's data that must be used when doing the tax grievance appraisals is from July 1, 2010 - July 1, 2011 and does not include that Home Buyer Tax Credit period.
I will be giving further information and helps as the tax season progresses.
Happy New Year!!
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