Are You Serious, Property Tax Cap is Not Working

Originally posted 2009-12-24 05:00:21. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Visiting and revisiting the property tax issue has become a pet peeve of mine for many reasons:

• Property taxes are too high
• Cities, towns, and states rely to heavily on property taxes so there is no incentives to lower property taxes
• As a result of the property taxes being thought of as an open check, there is a lot of governmental overspending and abuse of monetary privileges.

To add insult to injury on this issue, I found an article today that states that here in Indiana farmers, as well as, homeowners are not getting the anticipated tax relief that the tax cap hope to create due to increases in the assessed value.

I am sorry, an increase in assessed value in a real estate market where a seller can not get what he or she paid just two years ago on a home.

Readers the only way to eliminate this hog wash is to file your property tax appeals.  Here is some helpful links below that will help with that:

• What is Assessed Value and How Does It Influence My Property Tax
• Property Tax Appeal Review (Video 1 of Section 1)
• Evaluation of Property Tax Appeal Findings

Related articles on property taxes

• Rents drop for 128,500 T.O. households (cbc.ca)
• Wis. court won’t review tax ruling against Xerox (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Daley Property Tax ‘Gimmick’ Clears Finance Committee (huffingtonpost.com)
• Property tax debate flares up in P.E.I. (cbc.ca)
• Tax changes mean big hit for P.E.I. homebuyers (cbc.ca)

Evaluation of Property Tax Appeal Findings

Originally posted 2008-12-30 09:47:38. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The objective of the series of videos that follows in the next couple of days is an evaluation of the the findings of property tax appellate court.  This evaluation is not a guarantee that you will be successful with your appeal for an assessment in your property taxes, but it does arm you with the tools needed to possibly becoming successful in your quest to get your property taxes adjusted in your favor.

For your convenience, below you will find the links to the property tax reviews that we will be evaluating:

• Appeal Review 1

http://www.ingov/ibtr/files/JackRipley.pdf

• Appeal Review 2

http://www.in.gov/ibtr/files/DavidandPatriciaSullivan.pdf

The Appeal Process has time ranges and time limits which also will be part of the video series of discuss.  Please find the link to that information below:

http://www.in.gov/ibtr/files/AppealsProcess

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Real Estate Investor Related Articles

Protecting Your Investments – This article discusses the business entities that are available that are available for investors to protect their personal assets when buying and holding properties.

Property Tax Related Articles

Indiana Property Tax Appeal (Part 2) -Filing a property tax appeal can be difficult.  This article gives links to the forms needed to file the appeal and a video tutorial on filling the forms out.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Entrepreneurs Take On Tax Man (online.wsj.com)
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3 Reasons Why It Would Have Saved You Money to File Your Property Tax Appeals Months Ago

Originally posted 2009-05-26 05:00:46. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Property taxes have been in the headlines for at least the last two years.  With high property taxes being at the forefront of the homeowners’ mind.  Realtors the state over are encouraging homeowners to file property tax appeals.

To help you determine if a property tax appeal is right for you, there is a recent article that I recommend you read at:

 

There are deadlines for filing; however, if you missed those deadlines it still may be benefical to talk directly with the treasurer’s office about temporary relieve.  In Lake County, Indiana, the homeowner can now make a six month payment arrangement instead of the three month payment arrangement.  Still yet, some homeowners and investor have spoken to the treasurer’s office and successfully gotten temporary reduction in their property taxes until their appeal is filed and heard before the board. 

In these economic hard times, it is imporant to ask for the help and not recive itthan not ask at all. 

For additional assistance and advice on filing your tax appeal please read and watch videos at:

Indiana Property Tax Appeal

Indiana Property Tax Appeal (Part 2)

The three reasons it would have saved you money to file your tax appeal months ago are:

• deadline for filing has passed
• due to Gary not receiving word from the appellate board on the property tax cap, Gary’s commercial property owners, automatically received a property tax rate increase to 5.85 percent
• getting your appeal before the board before the crowd

In real estate and all other business ventures, procrastination cost money.

Property Tax Appeal Review (Video 1 of Section 1)

Originally posted 2009-01-01 18:46:58. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The objective of the series of videos that follows in the next couple of days is an evaluation of the the findings of property tax appellate court. This evaluation is not a guarantee that you will be successful with your appeal for an assessment in your property taxes, but it does arm you with the tools needed to possibly becoming successful in your quest to get your property taxes adjusted in your favor.

For your convenience, below you will find the links to the property tax reviews that we will be evaluating:

• Appeal Review 1

http://www.ingov/ibtr/files/JackRipley.pdf

• Appeal Review 2

http://www.in.gov/ibtr/files/DavidandPatriciaSullivan.pdf

The Appeal Process has time ranges and time limits which also will be part of the video series of discuss.  Please find the link to that information below:

http://www.in.gov/ibtr/files/AppealsProcess

The law that give jurisdiction power to the Appeal Board is below:

Public Law 198-2001

http://www.in.gov/legislative/iac/xml/old-ir/Vol24/10Jul/07NO050010226.pdf

Indiana Code 6-1.1-4-33

http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title6/ar1.1/ch4.html

Form 130 (Petition for Review of Assessment By Local Assessing Official – Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals)

This form is used to petition for property tax appeal.

http://www.in.gov/icpr/webfile/formsdiv/21513.pdf

Form 139 L (Petition for Review of Department of Local Government Finance Action)

This form is used to get money back for excessive property taxes.

http://www.in.gov/icpr/webfile/formsdiv/51104.pdf

Real Estate Investor Related Articles

Protecting Your Investments – This article discusses the business entities that are available that are available for investors to protect their personal assets when buying and holding properties.

Property Tax Related Articles

Indiana Property Tax Appeal (Part 2) -Filing a property tax appeal can be difficult.  This article gives links to the forms needed to file the appeal and a video tutorial on filling the forms out.

Related articles  on property taxes

• O.C. property tax fights up 23% (lansner.freedomblogging.com)
• Property tax fights up 8% this year (lansner.freedomblogging.com)

What to Consider if You Are Thinking of Filing a Property Tax Appeal on a Commercial Property

Image via Wikipedia

Has your Chicago property tax increased? Is your property commercial or industrial?   If it is either you may be interested to know that you may be eligible to file a property tax appeal.

You may be wondering how is my property classified as commercial or industrial.  If a multi-family unit has over 4 units, it is commercial. Commercial property also includes office buildings, industrial property, medical centers, hotels, malls, retail stores, shopping centers, farm land, multifamily housing buildings, warehouses, and garages.    Industrial properties, on the other hand, are factories, warehouses, heavy manufacturing buildings, industrial parks, light manufacturing buildings, and research and development parks.

Once you have ensure that your property meets the above criterias to consider a commercial or industrial property, you must understand several terms that appear on the property tax bill.

You may need to know what is meant by the term assessed value.  Assessed value is determined by converting the fair market value.  To convert the fair market value, the assessor applies the appropriate assessment ratio.  To determine the ratio, the assessor utilizes the internal sales divided by the available rental data for the area.  Then, there is a mass appraisal given for the area.  The mass appraisal for the area is equivalent to the mass appeal for the area.  It is important to note, that the assessor does not do a personal inspection of the property during this determination of assessed value.  However, if an appeal is filed the assessor has to do a personal inspection of the property to determine the error in the value.

The latter is one of the first items that you look at to determine if a property tax appeal is necessary.  It is especially important to determine the latter if you recently purchased the property.

Next, determine if the description of the property is correct on the property tax bill.  If you have an apartment complex and it states that there is a gas station on the bill then there is a reason to file an appeal.

Next, determine if the square footage of the property is correct.  You can look at an appraisal that you may have, the blueprints for the property, or have the property measured by a Realtor or a license appraiser.

Still yet, there may be an error in the lot size.  If the lot size is incorrect then that could also cause the property tax to be more than it needs to be.

If you recently had a decrease in tenants, then you may have a reason to file a property tax appeal.  This is a little tricky because the determination of this reason is if your decrease is 25% or more than the previous year.

If there was a hardship such as, road construction, flood , fire, looting,  new construction, that caused the loss of income and tenants then you may be eligible to file an appeal.  If any of the above reasons are applicable to your property then contact

• the Cook County Assessor Office
• the Cook County Board of Review
•  the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board
•  the Circuit Court of Cook County to file the appeal.

Related articles

• Getting a fair appraisal in a tough market (sfgate.com)
• How to Lower Your Property Taxes (online.wsj.com)
• Businesses upset at fee increase for tax appeals (kansas.com)

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Chicagoland Real Estate Has Really Changed in Just a Year

Originally posted 2009-07-23 16:00:53. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

In the third quarter of 2008, Chicago has 9,806 newly constructed homes for sale. In 2009, there are only 7,206 new construction homes for sale.

The average sale price of homes in Chicago is down from $328,000 to $324,000. There are over 3000 newly constructed homes for sale under $250,000 in 2008.

Equally important to note the interst rate for home equity line of credit have increased from 5.61 to 8.30 from 2007 to 2008.

It is often important to look at trends when considering purchasing a home, but it is difficult to determine if the unstableness of the market will continue or if the market is at a break even point. We will continue to watch trends and make that determine in the near future, so stay tuned.

Remember that trends is not what sells a home price. The price of homes may not get any lower so get in “where you fit in.”

No Relief From Property Taxes in Porter County, IN

Originally posted 2009-08-26 05:00:24. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The news has come down from Indianapolis that there will be no adjustments to the assessed value due to trending. Trending is utilized by some states to account for property value increase or decrease.

It is unrealistic to think that a state that just converted to a market value assessment system could possible understand or have mastered the market value. It is equally unrealistic for a state to believe that trennding alone can account for the record drop in market value of all homes in Indiana and for that matter America.

Some areas’ values have dropped as much as 35 to 50 percent.

In addition, the market value assessment system is so new to the state that Porter county blames the new change and formula for their delaying in getting the assessment values completed.

It is time to take action citizens. File your appeals. Do not take this seating down.

Indiana Property Tax Cap Vote on Tuesday

Image by K. Todd Storch via Flickr

The first step in giving  Indiana citizens the right to determine how much property taxes will be paid in the state begins on Tuesday.    The Indiana House of Representative is voting on a cap of one percent of the assessed value for homeowners, two percent of the assessed value for investors, and three percent of the assessed value for business owners.    This vote is essential because if approved it will go to the Indiana Senate, and then to the public for a vote in 2010 to make it a permanent change to the state constitution.

With the approval of this groundbreaking measure, the residents will final be able to make local cities, towns, and municipalities responsible for wreckless spending that has been going on for decades.  No longer will there be endless amount of money on the back of the citizens of the state.

Related Articles that Oppose Unfair Taxes and the Like

• 2-tier property tax proposal unfair: economist (cbc.ca)
• Indianapolis Web Design Firm – Narrow Gate Media, Marks It’s 10-Year Anniversary in Web Design, Development & Marketing (prweb.com)
• Poll: CA Voters Reluctant To Change State Budget Process (crooksandliars.com)
• Skelos to Paterson: Give us ‘a bill we can act on’ (timesunion.com)

Property Taxes Are Still a Concern in Indiana

Recently, I had a reader contact me asking questions pertaining to filing a property tax appeal.

I began to think that the question he asked may be question that other readers may have, but were afraid to ask.

His question was pertaining to how to obtain the parcel or key number if you live in other counties besides the ones highlighted in the video series below:

Property Tax Appeal Review (Video 1 of Section 1)

Indiana Property Tax Appeal (Part 2)

You can search for the parcel number and the basic information needed to fill out your appeal form by visiting http://beacon.schneidercorp.com.   On this site you will be able to find the parcel number for all 92 counties in Indiana.

The parcel number is an eighteen digit number it is used by all 92 counties.The parcel number itself is significant.  How, you ask?  The 18-digit State Key PIN is made up of the following parts: (2 digit County Code; 45 for Lake County) – (2 digit Township Number) – (2 digit Section Number) – (3 digit Quadrant Number) – (3 digit Parcel Number) . (3 digit Class Number; usually 000 for Noble County) – (3 digit Tax District Number).  For example, the following PIN, 45-08-28-202-029.000-004, is in: Calumet Twp (08), Section 28 (28), 202 Quadrant (202), parcel number 029 (029), class number of 000 (000), and Calumet township taxing district (004).Each county has a two digit number that represents that county.

I hope this helps you file your appeals.

What Is Assessed Value and How Does It Influence My Property Tax

Originally posted 2008-12-23 15:35:34. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

In Indiana, the property tax that is paid on a home, land, building, business machine, or product for sale is determined by the assessed value that the assessor assigns to the asset.  Once the assessed value is determined the amount of property taxes paid on that value is determined by the tax rate for the city in which the property is located.

The tax rate is a very important part of the equation because the tax rate is determined by the budget the town officials believe is needed to run the city.  Items that are needed to run a city vary, but most city rely on property taxes to provide the following items to the citizens of that city:

• police
• fire safety
• library
• school
• health care department
• trash pick up

Some cities have all of these items on the property taxes making the cost to run the city very high.

Now, that the basis of what is included in the property taxes have been discussed.  Let’s look at the changes due to re-assessment of property taxes in Indiana.  In December 1998,  the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that the assessment value that was being used was unconstitutional, and the state needed to convert to market value.   Market value is thought to be more uniformed and fair.  It also satisfy the Supreme Court.   However, the change would cause an unfair change in property taxes adjustment to the homeowner.  The homeowner would see an increase of up to 33% and the business owner taxes would see a decrease of up to 18%.

In an effort, to reduce the burden that the reassessment was having on the homeowner, the Indiana General Assembly develop a bill to protect the homeowner.  The bill was to increase the sales tax to offset the property tax burden.  However, the bill did not solve the entire problem, and now the state is considering an uniformed flat rate of one percent of assessed value for homeowner, two percent of assessed value for landlord or investor, and three percent of assessed value for business owners.

Real Estate Investor Related Articles

Protecting Your Investments – This article discusses the business entities that are available that are available for investors to protect their personal assets when buying and holding properties.

Property Tax Related Articles

Indiana Property Tax Appeal (Part 2) -Filing a property tax appeal can be difficult.  This article gives links to the forms needed to file the appeal and a video tutorial on filling the forms out.

Related articles on property taxes

• Talk turns to tax hikes (theolympian.com)
• States and Towns Lean on Taxpayers (online.wsj.com)

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