Appealing a property tax assessment is not as difficult as some would have you believe.

 

Property tax appeals are on the increase, and for very good reason. Property taxes drop along with property assessment values. Most counties regularly update their assessed values. However, many county assessors are behind in their efforts to keep up with the volatile market. It's estimated that about 60 percent of homes are now over-assessed, according to the National Taxpayers Union. That means their owners are paying too much for property taxes.

Fortunately, owners can appeal the assessment and tax amount, and they often do, successfully. About 40 percent of appeals nationally are successful. The number of appeals has skyrocketed in recent months. That flurry of activity has motivated many business firms to launch a special profit-center service department. "Let us help you apply for an appeal of your property assessment" they advertise.

The firms often provide online counseling and forms to start the appeal process. In some cases, they structure their advertising to appear like an official government entity, using similar colors, type fonts and design features. Of course, a substantial fee is charged for their services. It's similar to the plethora of firms offering to help mortgage borrowers obtain a modification of their loan.

Most county assessor offices will provide assessment appeal-related information without charge. Many have clearly defined printed instructions that can be obtained without charge. Free forms are also available. All it takes is a phone call or visit to your county assessor's office, or a visit to your assessor's Website.

Many in Congress are talking about extending the tax credit and/or increasing the credit amount. Currently it's only available to first time home buyers - those who haven't owned a home in 3 years. Here's a recent article on the subject from USA Today:

Tax Credit for Home Purchase Could Rise

By Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY

 

Lawmakers and businesses are calling for expansion of a tax credit for first-time home buyers that has helped spark home sales in an otherwise dismal real estate market.

With the tax credit scheduled to expire in fall, some business groups say the amount of the credit, now capped at $8,000, should be raised to $15,000 and applied to anyone who buys a home.

First-time buyers make up a hefty 40% of home purchases, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), which is about 5 percentage points higher than the historical average.

The credit, introduced in July 2008, was expanded in February as part of the economic stimulus package. The proposals may face headwinds amid growing public criticism of government spending to rescue the economy and the widening budget deficit.

Some economists say a tax benefit is vital to spur home buying and help stabilize prices.

"I'm fairly confident that (Congress) will extend the tax credit, because it is so important that housing come back," says Bernard Baumohl, an economist at the Economic Outlook Group. "But raising the tax credit will be difficult because it reduces taxes even more."

The White House had no immediate comment Sunday.

Current proposals:

•A Senate bill to expand the tax credit to $15,000 for any home buyer regardless of income was introduced this month by Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga. It is co-sponsored by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn.

"It would go a long way toward inducing trade-up buyers into the market," says Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the NAR.

•A House bill to keep the $8,000 credit in place until June 2010 and expand it to all home buyers was introduced last month by Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Texas. It also would provide a $3,000 credit to homeowners who refinance.

•Another bill in the House, introduced by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, would extend the credit to all home buyers through 2010.

The Business Roundtable, a consortium of CEOs from large companies, urged Congress this month to expand the tax credit to $15,000 and make all home buyers eligible.

"The issue is how do we stimulate the move-up market, and that's essential for the economy," says Richard Smith, CEO of Realogy, the parent company of Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Sotheby's International Realty and ERA.

"I think it's going to be a bipartisan effort," Smith says. "The issue is how to pay for it."

The current tax credit does not apply to singles earning more than $95,000 a year and couples who earn more than $170,000. Some business leaders want the income caps eliminated.

Buyers do not have to repay the tax credit if they occupy the home for three years or more.

"A lot of people are taking advantage of it," says David Thomas, a Realtor in Washington, D.C., who adds that expanding the credit would boost the market. "That would be a fantastic idea, to enhance and expand the incentives."

New appraisal requirements went into effect in the beginning of May - They've already caused one of my closings to be delayed. This cost my Buyers a lot of emotional angst and quite a bit of money as they had to pay the seller extra to move their things into the garage early and stay in a hotel over the weekend. These requirements, simply put - were not at all well thought out. They require that everyone be cut off from contacting the appraiser. This means, as a buyer's agent and an advocate for my client - I can't contact the appraiser if I think his valuation is too high. He/She can hide behind this new law and the lender is stuck with a loan that may be based on a property that is over leveraged. Bad for the client. bad for the lender, bad for the industry and just plain old bad timing.

Here is a video (a little cheesy but effective) that explains the situation. Please view and sign the petition to support the removal or change of these new requirements.

https://www.thinkbigworksmall.com/public/showArchiveVideo/1/4909

The old saying goes that Housing can drag the economy into a recession - and housing can pull the economy back out of a recession. Now we finally have empirical data to back that it up, at least here in Washington State. A recent study conducted by the Sacramento Regional Research Institute concluded that, "Housing is one of the most visible and prominent industries in Washington."

According to the study, "The larger picture shows that , in 2006, housing was a nearly $55 billion industry, supporting more than 194,000 jobs and contributing about 11 percent of Washington's total output." This puts housing in the number two spot behind the dominant Wholesale and Retail Trade industry and ahead of other major industries such as, Information and Aerospace. Amazing but true. Yes of course 2006 was a banner year for the real estate industry however the importance of this industry can no longer be
understated.

That's right, I said recovery. Here's why I think we are on the road to recovery - my phone is ringing & the people calling want to buy homes. My pipeline of pending transactions is as full as it's ever been. All of my listings have suddenly sold. With rates low and the government providing the $8,000 tax credit - I don't see things slowing down anytime soon.

But don't take my word for it - Here's what the experts at Moody's are saying:

If you want to be in the right place when the recovery starts, that place may be in Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Texas or Washington.

The recession didn't start at the same time in every state, and it won't end at the same time either. A new forecast from Moody's Economy.com predicts that jobs growth will return first in those five states, starting in the last quarter of this year. Four of those states benefit from strong high-tech industries, and the fifth, Texas, has a strong base of energy industries.

The new forecast is released along with the monthly Adversity Index. Each month, Moody's Economy.com and msnbc.com use data on employment, industrial production, housing starts and house prices to label each state or metro area as expanding, at risk of recession, in recession or recovering.

Like a jigsaw puzzle nearing completion, the index shows that the recession reached 373 of the nation's 381 metro areas, and 49 out of 50 states (Alaska was spared), by the end of March.

A head start on recovery:

Why will some states recover faster than others?

High-tech industry is one element. A slowdown in technology spending in 2008 and 2009 has created a pent-up demand for technology — businesses that know they need to upgrade and are waiting for the ability to spend.

"States that have a high concentration in tech-related industries are well positioned to take advantage of this trend, which is particularly true of Colorado, Idaho, Oregon and Washington and to a lesser extent Texas," said economist Andrew Gledhill of Moody's Economy.com.

Another element for those early risers: better credit ratings.

"One factor that the five early job recovery states all have in common is less erosion in household credit conditions, with the worst of the group being Idaho," Gledhill said. "As a result, once it seems apparent that recovery is setting in, households in these states will be more able to turn and inject money back into their local economies. There is less de-leveraging of household balance sheets in these states. This will in turn prompt a more favorable trend in certain types of service industries.

Full article can be found at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30991972

By now this is old news and no surprise to those in the mortgage industry. It seems that when HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced the monetization of this tax credit so buyers could use it for their down-payments, he forgot to check with his own FHA lending guidelines. It's an idea that sounded good to a lot of people and could have helped the real estate recovery but would be; one, challenging to implement and two, difficult to sell the paper on the back end, i.e. monetize the tax credit and you may not be able to monetize the entire loan.

And, really, after everything we've been through in the last two years, should we be risking our fragile recovery by putting first time home-owners into homes they can barely afford with no money out of their own pockets? I think the HUD Secretary had good intentions and was bowing to political pressure - but this idea should stay on the shelf for now.

A Today Show Real Estate Expert listed the top 5 cities on the verge of a real estate recovery. No surprise to those of us in the trenches but the Seattle area made the list! Check it out here:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/30825142#30825142

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan has decided to allow consumers to use the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit to help cover their down payment and closing costs on FHA-insured mortgages (as reported on the NAHB & NAR websites: www.nahb.org and www.realtor.org respectively). Up until now this has been a tax credit which of course would be applied against 2009 taxes owed. Meaning many first time home buyers would simply receive a much, much larger tax refund in 2010.

This is a great incentive and making it apply directly to down payment and closing costs is a huge boost as it's tangeible, immediate and not all that complex - hopefully. We'll see how lenders choose to implement it as well as how it gets reported to the IRS. More on that to come. For now most are praising this as a strong move to help jumpstart the housing market. Things were already starting to improve here in the Seattle area - this action by the Secretary will likely solidify the recovery and help move it forward.

It's no secret, selling a home in today's tough market can be a challenge. So how do you differentiate your home from the sea of listings, short sales and bank owned homes? Here are a few tips on quick fixups that may cost a little but can save you thousands.

1. Get your home Q-tip clean - wipe baseboards, windowsills, window tracks as well as around faucets and switch plates. Rid your home of strong odors, including those of pets, mildew, cigarettes and cooking.

2. Spruce up the yard - Trim shrubs from the top down. If needed, remove dead plants and buy inexpensive replacements

3. Declutter, Declutter, Declutter - Say goodbye to knickknacks, family photos, refrigerator magnets and anything else that isn't needed. Buyers need to be able to visualize themselves and their things in your home - that's difficult to do for most people if it's filled with your "stuff".

4. Remove outdated wallpaper - Paint the walls a neutral color. Creams and beiges help a buyer imagine her furniture in the home. And neutrals make rooms look larger, strong colors shrink a room by half.

5. Get rid of dated lighting - Reasonably priced fixtures from Lowe's or Home Depot will look best if they're of a consistent style throughout the house.

6. Regrout bathroom tile and replace caulking - Home stagers say that fresh grout and caulking are almost as appealing as a paint job.

7. Refinish your floors - Shiny hardwoods can sell your home. It's not cheap but a fresh coat of varnish will make every room look richer and will help your home sell faster. So what you spend can be offset by a higher selling price or less time on the market.

8. Install new faucets - They can help you instantly update an older kitchen or bathroom.

9. Don't forget about the garage - Make sure the door is in excellent shape, if it's not, then replace it (think curb appeal). Be sure to paint the floor to cover up any messy oil stains.

These relatively simple tips can significantly improve your home's selling price & reduce your marketing time. Seller's who take the time to implement these changes are reaping the benefits. Homes that stand out - just sell faster. The best homes are even receiving multiple offers.

Another way to look at it is this - if your home is no different than the multitude of others on the market, then the only way you differentiate yourself is by lowering your price.


Information from a Good Housekeeping article was used for this post.