I think I'm throwing in the towel - house reappraisal

    I've got a meeting tomorrow about the 2008 reappraisal of our house
for tax purposes.  So many houses are vacant that our city has jacked up
the values for those of us who are actually paying taxes to try to make
up the difference.

   The thing is, the city simply used a sample of similar properties
that people overpaid for to determine the values of OUR properties.
They farmed this out to a third party company which simply drove by and
took a picture of the outside of our house, then used a computer program
to determine that the true value of our house should be 45% higher than
the price we paid for it 5 years ago.

   This is despite the fact that average sale prices for our zip have
DECLINED 19.4% over the past year. (according to trulia.com, July-Sept
2007 vs July-Sept 2008)  So somehow they are saying the value went up
enough over the past 4 years to still be up 45% after a 19.4% drop this
year.  That's amazing - considering that Ohio never had a housing
bubble, and houses have been fairly stable.

   Granted, we didn't overpay for our place.  We got it at fair market
value, and paid the asking price of $46,000 for our 2,500 square foot
duplex. (6 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms)  It sounds low compared to many parts
of the country, but it LOOKED bad.  It had water damage to the drywall,
and lots of things needed painted and spackled, but everything was
structurally solid.

   Anyway, guess who is hearing my complaint?  Yes, it is the third
party company who the city farmed the appraisal out to.  I'm SURE they
will be quite fair and unbiased in hearing me.

   Of course, I've looked at the taxes being paid by many of my
neighbors, as well as the prices paid for their homes.  Most of them
evidently either overpaid, or are paying higher taxes than I am.
Evidently they never successfully complained about the taxes when given
the opportunity.

   My chances look pretty bleak.  When I saw duplex after duplex in the
area with even higher taxes than ours, and sales prices higher than
ours, I began doubting whether I'd be able to make any traction to my
argument.  I also decided not to spend the $600 on having a new
appraisal done, since it looked like it would probably just be money
down the drain.

   The only thing I can really argue at this point is that the sales
prices of other homes in the area are rather general and meaningless
when compared to the actual sales price of THIS property back in October
2003.  I can argue that the current appraisal value of THIS property
should be based on the SALES PRICE of THIS property, adjusted for
inflation and the current housing market.

   Think I'll get anywhere with that one tomorrow?


   Sure, I do have 3 or 4 similar duplexes I've found in the area that
sold for between $25K and $45K in the past 5 years.  However, all I can
do with that is highlight how they simply jacked the appraised values up
a lot on those properties as well.

   Anyone have any suggestions for me to try tomorrow?

 

What data are you bringing to the meeting to support your
position?  Did you get a realtor or title company to run
you a list of recent sales of simular properties in your
area??

 

I don't have anything worthwhile to suggest.  However, I'll note that what
you paid for the place in 2003 is irrelevant, as is the recent drop in
average sales price from last year in your zip code - if what they're
supposed to be doing is appraising at today's market, what counts is what
the place would sell for today. From what you've said, "they" could just as
reasonably argue that you've been under-assessed for the last five years.

 OhioGuy wrote:

   There's a butt load of online appraisals that will give you actual
sales and comps in your neighborhood. realtor.com and zillow.com to name
just two. There's a better one, but I don't have it bookmarked.

  I'm still settling my Mom's estate in Ohio. My brother and myself
wanted to buy out my sister who just wants the money from the sale (Dad
built the house). Well, even though she had done an estimate recently
she hired an appraiser who went in and calculated everything that could
be done to raise the selling price. The net result? The house went down 20K.

   Jeff

 Jeff wrote:


The feds insist on the value at time of death OR 6 months after.  My
mom's condo eventually sold for considerably less. We had official ($250
each) appraisals done, which was probably stupid.  You just don't get
any personal experience at this stuff and the lawyers and accountants
look at you the way vultures look at desert hikers.


Zillow, in the case of my house, doesn't know shit.  They think it's
worth $400K, but I know it would be worth that only if the house were
bulldozed and a bigger one built in its place.

--
Cheers, Bev
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               ...so few snipers, so many politicians...