Forbes.com - Commentary
By Robert Jenson, February 26, 2008
Buying and selling real estate in today's tumultuous, highly demanding marketplace is not for the faint of heart. While tricks of the trade abound to give buyers and sellers a leg up on the competition, there are a number of basic pitfalls that buyers and sellers should avoid, lest they commence their real estate venture on shaky ground.
First and foremost, whether you are buying or selling, do your homework before hiring a real estate agent, as not all are created equal. Interview at least three real estate professionals and come prepared with questions. How are their track records? How do they market listings? What services do they provide as a buyer's agent that their competitors don't? Due diligence is key to finding a representative prepared to work not just hard but smart on your behalf, and who will be available to answer your questions along the way.
For sellers it's also wise to have listing paperwork and disclosures completed at least one week before your house officially goes on the market. This way your agent can have photos complete, fliers ready and Internet ads up and running on the first day your listing hits the market. Also be sure to get a copy of your home's Multiple Listing Service listing from your agent so you can avoid a costly error. It's entirely possible a bedroom was missed or something was overlooked. Work as a team to make sure your home's listing is accurate--and the description enticing.
Those whose homes have languished on the market for longer than anticipated should start thinking outside the box and contemplate making a reverse offer.
Consider the buyer who has been back for a second or third look but hasn't pulled the trigger. Make an offer. Yes, you, the seller, should put something in writing and submit it to the buyer's agent. This will create an opportunity for the agent to sit down with the buyer and potentially help close the deal.
House still for sale four weeks later? It's time to take a hard look at the price. Your greatest number of showings will happen within the first three to four weeks of a listing hitting the market. This is because there is already a pool of qualified buyers waiting for new homes to come on the market that might match their criteria. So, if you've had no bites by week four, it's time to increase your exposure by making a price adjustment. Repeat this process again every four weeks or sooner, depending on how urgent or motivated your situation is.
For buyers, if you intend to secure a mortgage loan, you'll want to get pre-qualified, which determines how much you can afford. This will allow you to move swiftly when you find the right home, especially when there are other interested buyers. It also indicates to the seller that you are serious and can afford to buy the property. If you plan to pay for the transaction in cash, you'll then need to provide advance proof of available funds.
Buyers should spend the time shopping for the most favorable rates and terms. A difference of even half a percentage point can mean a considerable savings over the life of a loan. For example, the difference in the monthly payment on a $100,000 mortgage at 8% vs. 7.5% is about $35 per month. Over 30 years, that's $12,600.
Once the finances are in order, there are many other things to consider when buying a home, including its resale potential. For example, in neighborhoods with attached three-car garages, a two-car or detached garage may adversely affect the home-sale and future value. Floor plans, the number of bedrooms,
location and proximity to noisy streets are other factors that can prove problematic for a future sale.
The bottom line? Take a macro approach to evaluating homes before signing the dotted line.
28 February 2008
Starting the Clock Again - Rule Change Reduces Waiting Period Before Relisting
Washington Post, February 23, 2008
By Mara Lee
When home shoppers see that a house has been on the market for months, they will probably conclude that it's priced too high -- and that there could be room to negotiate a lower offer.
Last week, Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, the Washington area's multiple-listing service, made it easier to hide that information.
The service is the database that real estate agents use to list and find homes for sale, and the information in it is the basis of many Web sites that allow home buyers to shop for themselves.
The change allows sellers to withdraw their property from the market for 90 days, then place it back on the market as a new listing. Previously, a seller had to wait 180 days to do that. As a new listing, it gets more attention from buyers, MRIS says. But others say the change favors sellers at the expense of buyers, who may not know to ask about an earlier failed attempt to sell the house.
The change was made because agents considered the previous six-month resting period too long. Those who favor the new rule say market conditions are changing more rapidly, so 90 days is enough to count as a new market cycle. "The home deserves another look in less than 180 days," said Mary Jo Powell, a spokeswoman for MRIS. The new rule "helps it pop up in the search without changing the facts at all."
Stephen Israel, president of Buyer's Edge, a Bethesda agency that represents only buyers, is indignant about the change.
"If it's been on for three months, that's a very different animal than a property that's been on the market for one day," he said. "It promotes the opportunity for there to be misinformation."
Many Web sites that buyers use to shop do not list how long the property has been on the market, although some, such as Long & Foster's, mark new listings.
But agents have access to the password-protected MRIS, which includes days-on-the-market information, as well as the history of price drops by the seller. The previous attempt to sell the house will still be in the records, but not on the current fact sheet. "Agents know to always look at the property history,"
Powell said. "So you can't deceive because that's always there."
Kim Bradley, owner of Marquee Properties in Haymarket, works as an appraiser and a real estate agent. She said she has mixed feelings about the change. From an agent's perspective, she said, "I prefer to see what's going on."
She said that with a little more effort, she will still be able to tell clients all the information they need to make an informed bid.
But the way it will change the appraisal side of her business underlines what potentially is the bigger impact -- blunting the bad news of declining prices and sales by presenting a lender with a rosier picture of a neighborhood because houses could show as being sold after fewer days on the market.
That's because an appraiser's report shows a year's worth of all comparable sales, or "comps," and three years of history for the property where a sale is progressing.
"As an appraiser, I like it," Bradley said of the change. She said she has seen 10 sales fall through in the past six months because lenders would not offer loans at the terms the buyers needed when they saw the patterns of slow sales and dropping prices.
"So many lenders are requiring [reporting of] days on market. When they see 233 days, they kind of freak out," she said.
If the lenders don't see those long times before a sale, they won't call her for clarification about those properties, which she said is "more work on our part."
"It's a game we play with underwriters, too," she said. "We all have to do our jobs and make things go through."
Ilissa Flamm, an agent with W.C. & A.N. Miller Realtors in Bethesda, supports the change. She said the MRIS argument that 90 days is a full market cycle makes sense because most buyers have found the house they want in that time.
She initially agreed with Bradley's position on leaving out information about previous attempts to sell when listing comparable sales. She said fresher sales statistics are a more accurate reflection of the market than those nine months ago, although she added: "I hate that the word 'game' was used."
But when pressed, she said the lender has the right to decide whether it needs to know a year's history for comps to decide if a neighborhood's prices are declining. That evaluation, she said, has an impact on how large a down payment would be needed to make it less likely that a buyer could owe more on the house than it is worth two years down the road.
"The lender having an interest in this property, the buyer having an interest in this property: Everyone wants [the selling history] accurately reflected," she said.
Nonetheless, she backed the rule change, which was supported by a majority of the 4,169 agents who responded to an MRIS survey.
"I don't think this change would be made if they thought games would be played," Flamm said.
Debra Leafty, owner of Leafty Appraisals in Gaithersburg, said the change makes hiring a buyer's agent more important; the agent can find the full history of listings.
Because the history is not erased, Leafty said, she doesn't think the new rule will change bidding patterns much. "People are going to still look that up and see you're desperate," she said.
And she wonders how many people will take their houses off the market anyway. "If it's vacant, you really can't afford to take it off for three months. You're still making payments."
By Mara Lee
When home shoppers see that a house has been on the market for months, they will probably conclude that it's priced too high -- and that there could be room to negotiate a lower offer.
Last week, Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, the Washington area's multiple-listing service, made it easier to hide that information.
The service is the database that real estate agents use to list and find homes for sale, and the information in it is the basis of many Web sites that allow home buyers to shop for themselves.
The change allows sellers to withdraw their property from the market for 90 days, then place it back on the market as a new listing. Previously, a seller had to wait 180 days to do that. As a new listing, it gets more attention from buyers, MRIS says. But others say the change favors sellers at the expense of buyers, who may not know to ask about an earlier failed attempt to sell the house.
The change was made because agents considered the previous six-month resting period too long. Those who favor the new rule say market conditions are changing more rapidly, so 90 days is enough to count as a new market cycle. "The home deserves another look in less than 180 days," said Mary Jo Powell, a spokeswoman for MRIS. The new rule "helps it pop up in the search without changing the facts at all."
Stephen Israel, president of Buyer's Edge, a Bethesda agency that represents only buyers, is indignant about the change.
"If it's been on for three months, that's a very different animal than a property that's been on the market for one day," he said. "It promotes the opportunity for there to be misinformation."
Many Web sites that buyers use to shop do not list how long the property has been on the market, although some, such as Long & Foster's, mark new listings.
But agents have access to the password-protected MRIS, which includes days-on-the-market information, as well as the history of price drops by the seller. The previous attempt to sell the house will still be in the records, but not on the current fact sheet. "Agents know to always look at the property history,"
Powell said. "So you can't deceive because that's always there."
Kim Bradley, owner of Marquee Properties in Haymarket, works as an appraiser and a real estate agent. She said she has mixed feelings about the change. From an agent's perspective, she said, "I prefer to see what's going on."
She said that with a little more effort, she will still be able to tell clients all the information they need to make an informed bid.
But the way it will change the appraisal side of her business underlines what potentially is the bigger impact -- blunting the bad news of declining prices and sales by presenting a lender with a rosier picture of a neighborhood because houses could show as being sold after fewer days on the market.
That's because an appraiser's report shows a year's worth of all comparable sales, or "comps," and three years of history for the property where a sale is progressing.
"As an appraiser, I like it," Bradley said of the change. She said she has seen 10 sales fall through in the past six months because lenders would not offer loans at the terms the buyers needed when they saw the patterns of slow sales and dropping prices.
"So many lenders are requiring [reporting of] days on market. When they see 233 days, they kind of freak out," she said.
If the lenders don't see those long times before a sale, they won't call her for clarification about those properties, which she said is "more work on our part."
"It's a game we play with underwriters, too," she said. "We all have to do our jobs and make things go through."
Ilissa Flamm, an agent with W.C. & A.N. Miller Realtors in Bethesda, supports the change. She said the MRIS argument that 90 days is a full market cycle makes sense because most buyers have found the house they want in that time.
She initially agreed with Bradley's position on leaving out information about previous attempts to sell when listing comparable sales. She said fresher sales statistics are a more accurate reflection of the market than those nine months ago, although she added: "I hate that the word 'game' was used."
But when pressed, she said the lender has the right to decide whether it needs to know a year's history for comps to decide if a neighborhood's prices are declining. That evaluation, she said, has an impact on how large a down payment would be needed to make it less likely that a buyer could owe more on the house than it is worth two years down the road.
"The lender having an interest in this property, the buyer having an interest in this property: Everyone wants [the selling history] accurately reflected," she said.
Nonetheless, she backed the rule change, which was supported by a majority of the 4,169 agents who responded to an MRIS survey.
"I don't think this change would be made if they thought games would be played," Flamm said.
Debra Leafty, owner of Leafty Appraisals in Gaithersburg, said the change makes hiring a buyer's agent more important; the agent can find the full history of listings.
Because the history is not erased, Leafty said, she doesn't think the new rule will change bidding patterns much. "People are going to still look that up and see you're desperate," she said.
And she wonders how many people will take their houses off the market anyway. "If it's vacant, you really can't afford to take it off for three months. You're still making payments."
With 2007 Dispensed with, VA Realtors Look Forward
Arlington Sun Gazette, February 17, 2008
By SCOTT McCAFFREY
Home sales statewide in 2007 were down 11.8 percent from a year before, with average sales prices down slightly, but the statewide market is likely to fare better in the coming year than the nation as a whole.
That last bit of analysis is from Lisa Fowler, director of the Office of Housing Policy Research of the George Mason University School of Public Policy, who analyzed the current state of Virginia's housing market on behalf of the Virginia Association of Realtors.
“Overall, Virginia faces stronger market fundamentals than many other states, with a relatively strong economy and a housing market with a relatively small share of investors,” Fowler said in the analysis.
She anticipates increases in the demand for housing in the parts of the Old Dominion that have strong job growth and low unemployment rates, areas that include Northern Virginia and most of the commonwealth's other metropolitan areas.
“In some desirable neighborhoods - that is, places close to jobs, amenities and transportation routes - the recovery is already happening,” Fowler says. Looking ahead gives the state's Realtor community the chance to put an ugly 2007 into the rear-view mirror.
Homes sales statewide totaled 95,413, down 11.8 percent from the 108,196 sales recorded in 2006. And, in general, sales in the second half of the year showed more dramatic drops than those in the first half.
(The year-end sales figures for 2006 and 2007 do not include figures from Charlottesville, whose Realtor association does not report them to the Virginia
Association of Realtors.)
In all, 21 of 22 geographic areas across the commonwealth reported fewer sales in 2007 than 2006, with the Southwest Virginia area showing a 1.4-percent increase. Nineteen regions reported double-digit declines from a year before, including seven areas with declines of more than 20 percent.
In December, sales across the commonwealth totaled 6,006, down 25.6 percent from the 8,077 sales recorded a year before (not including Charlottesville sales).
Homes sales across the local region all were in negative territory:
* Sales across the inner suburbs of Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax County declined 29.9 percent in December, to 1,199.
* Sales in Loudoun County declined 30.5 percent, to 328.
* Sales in Prince William County declined 28.4 percent, to 273.
Statewide, the average sales price of $276,847 in December was up 0.7 percent from a year before. The average sales price in the inner suburbs of Northern Virginia in December rose 1.4 percent, to $536,710, while prices in the outer suburbs declined.
Statewide, it took an average of 138 days for a home that sold in November to go from listing to ratified contract. That compares to the long-term, historic average of 90 days.
Locally, the average number of days on the market was 103 in the inner suburbs, 104 in Loudoun and 143 in Prince William. For the full year, average sales prices in 2007 were down 3.1 percent, compared to a 30-year average annual increase of 6.4 percent. The year-long average number of days on the market was 88 days.
Fowler says the housing market is “inextricably linked” to the health of the economy, but, over the past decade, that linkage has been skewed:
* During the boom market of 2000-06, home prices and sales increased at a level much higher than would be expected, given fundamental laws of supply and demand.
* Over the past year, the reverse occurred: housing activity was below what would be expected in areas that continued to have strong economic health.
“In order for the housing market to return to a more normal state, there will be periods of slower-than-average growth to follow five years of rapid growth,”
Fowler said. “We are currently in that period of slower growth.”
By SCOTT McCAFFREY
Home sales statewide in 2007 were down 11.8 percent from a year before, with average sales prices down slightly, but the statewide market is likely to fare better in the coming year than the nation as a whole.
That last bit of analysis is from Lisa Fowler, director of the Office of Housing Policy Research of the George Mason University School of Public Policy, who analyzed the current state of Virginia's housing market on behalf of the Virginia Association of Realtors.
“Overall, Virginia faces stronger market fundamentals than many other states, with a relatively strong economy and a housing market with a relatively small share of investors,” Fowler said in the analysis.
She anticipates increases in the demand for housing in the parts of the Old Dominion that have strong job growth and low unemployment rates, areas that include Northern Virginia and most of the commonwealth's other metropolitan areas.
“In some desirable neighborhoods - that is, places close to jobs, amenities and transportation routes - the recovery is already happening,” Fowler says. Looking ahead gives the state's Realtor community the chance to put an ugly 2007 into the rear-view mirror.
Homes sales statewide totaled 95,413, down 11.8 percent from the 108,196 sales recorded in 2006. And, in general, sales in the second half of the year showed more dramatic drops than those in the first half.
(The year-end sales figures for 2006 and 2007 do not include figures from Charlottesville, whose Realtor association does not report them to the Virginia
Association of Realtors.)
In all, 21 of 22 geographic areas across the commonwealth reported fewer sales in 2007 than 2006, with the Southwest Virginia area showing a 1.4-percent increase. Nineteen regions reported double-digit declines from a year before, including seven areas with declines of more than 20 percent.
In December, sales across the commonwealth totaled 6,006, down 25.6 percent from the 8,077 sales recorded a year before (not including Charlottesville sales).
Homes sales across the local region all were in negative territory:
* Sales across the inner suburbs of Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax County declined 29.9 percent in December, to 1,199.
* Sales in Loudoun County declined 30.5 percent, to 328.
* Sales in Prince William County declined 28.4 percent, to 273.
Statewide, the average sales price of $276,847 in December was up 0.7 percent from a year before. The average sales price in the inner suburbs of Northern Virginia in December rose 1.4 percent, to $536,710, while prices in the outer suburbs declined.
Statewide, it took an average of 138 days for a home that sold in November to go from listing to ratified contract. That compares to the long-term, historic average of 90 days.
Locally, the average number of days on the market was 103 in the inner suburbs, 104 in Loudoun and 143 in Prince William. For the full year, average sales prices in 2007 were down 3.1 percent, compared to a 30-year average annual increase of 6.4 percent. The year-long average number of days on the market was 88 days.
Fowler says the housing market is “inextricably linked” to the health of the economy, but, over the past decade, that linkage has been skewed:
* During the boom market of 2000-06, home prices and sales increased at a level much higher than would be expected, given fundamental laws of supply and demand.
* Over the past year, the reverse occurred: housing activity was below what would be expected in areas that continued to have strong economic health.
“In order for the housing market to return to a more normal state, there will be periods of slower-than-average growth to follow five years of rapid growth,”
Fowler said. “We are currently in that period of slower growth.”
Assessment Shock: Know Your Rights
Washington Post, January 6, 2008
By Elizabeth Razzi
Homeowners are about to get black-and-white documentation of the latest changes in their property values. Because of the varying ways local governments go about valuation, don't be surprised if your home is still assigned a high value despite the sluggish housing market.
From now through mid-March, local governments are mailing property tax assessment notices. Be on the lookout for this important piece of mail. It's the foundation for the tax bill you will have to pay later. And its arrival starts the clock on a strictly limited appeals period.
Depending on where you live, you could have less than a month after the notice arrives to review the details and put together an appeal. An appeal would be in order if there are inaccuracies or if you can document that your home has been overvalued compared with similar properties.
Maryland residents were the first to receive their notices. The state assesses a property's value every three years. Notices mailed at end of December reflect a statewide average increase of 33 percent since those properties were last assessed, in 2004. That breaks down to an average annual increase of 11 percent to be phased in over the next three years.
For a Marylander's primary residence, those annual increases will be capped at rates that vary by county. In the Washington area, the caps range from 2 percent in Anne Arundel County to 10 percent in Montgomery and Calvert counties. Bottom line: Your assessment is going up, thanks in part to price increases during the peak of the real estate market.
For the first time, Maryland residents have to take action to ensure that they get the benefit of those annual caps. You must file a homestead-tax-credit application to document that the home is your principal residence and not a vacation or rental property, which wouldn't qualify for the cap. Applications can be filed at http://www.dat.state.md.us.
The District and most Virginia counties and cities assess properties annually. In Virginia, procedures vary significantly among jurisdictions. Appeals windows range from less than 30 days in Falls Church to more than four months in Prince William County.
In Prince William, one of the areas hit hardest by foreclosures and stagnant sales, assessments for existing homes will decline by 14 to 16 percent this year, depending on the type of property, according to Allison Lindner, the county's real estate assessment chief. The reduced number of sales in 2007 has made this year's assessments a challenge, she said.
Although nearby foreclosures make it harder to sell your home at a reasonable price, they may not pull down your property assessment. Lindner said foreclosure prices don't reflect market value because they are not normal, arm's-length transactions.
"We don't put a lot of emphasis on foreclosure sales, and hopefully we will have enough non-foreclosure sales so that it's not an issue," Lindner said. "We are going to have neighborhoods where all we have are foreclosures or no sales at all. In that case, we will try to go to a similar neighborhood and establish market value."
And what if a home identical to yours sells for a bargain price in the next few weeks? Surely, you might think, that would be a strong argument for lowering
your assessment. Alas, it won't. Sales after Jan. 1 will not count for appeals of this year's assessments. "We tell them we will use that sale for next year's assessment," Lindner said.
Valuing real estate is an imprecise art, so there could be reason to contest the government's estimate of your home's value. At a minimum, you need to ensure that the government has its facts straight.
* Be aware of when your assessment notice should arrive. If it's lost or delivered to the wrong address, you could run out of time for an appeal.
* Review the notice for factual errors. Is the lot number correct? (You can find that on the land survey tucked away with your home-purchase records.) Is the square footage correct? Are the numbers of bedrooms, bathrooms and fireplaces correct?
* Verify that your assessed value is in line with the values being assigned to nearby, comparable homes. Most jurisdictions have online databases of local tax records. They often update these records just before mailing assessment notices. An assessment higher than those for homes that are comparable to yours could be a compelling argument for an appeal.
Your first round of appeal should be to contact the assessor's office by the deadline listed on the notice. Local rules vary, with some requiring this first-round appeal to the assessor's office. If you are unsatisfied with the assessor's decision, you can present a more formal appeal to a review panel.
Prince William County is among the jurisdictions that allows a homeowner to skip the administrative appeal with the assessor's office and instead plead a case directly before the county's Board of Equalization by Aug. 1.
"Residents are not required to file an administrative appeal, but we prefer that they do," Lindner said. "If there is an error, or even if it is just too high, our preference is that they come to us first so we can fix it if there is an issue."
Details about your jurisdiction's appeals process will be printed with your assessment notice and can be found on your local government's Web site.
Even with a first-round appeal, you will need facts to back up your case. Assessors may decide to remeasure your home or confirm your claim that it has fewer bedrooms than stated in their records. You will need printouts from their property tax database demonstrating that similar homes are assessed at a lower value. Photos of comparable homes wouldn't hurt. If you need to research sales prices for similar homes, a real estate agent active in your neighborhood may be willing to help. You may also find that information in the county or city's online records.
"What we don't want to hear is people who come in and just say, 'It's too high,' " Lindner said. The appeal isn't the time to rant about local government spending, either. Tax rates and government budgets are beyond the assessor's domain. All the assessor is supposed to do is come up with a value for your home, so keep your arguments focused.
Finally, brace yourself for the idea that even a lower assessed value won't guarantee a lower property tax bill. A number of local governments are still considering increasing the tax rate to compensate for the revenue they stand to lose from lower assessed values.
By Elizabeth Razzi
Homeowners are about to get black-and-white documentation of the latest changes in their property values. Because of the varying ways local governments go about valuation, don't be surprised if your home is still assigned a high value despite the sluggish housing market.
From now through mid-March, local governments are mailing property tax assessment notices. Be on the lookout for this important piece of mail. It's the foundation for the tax bill you will have to pay later. And its arrival starts the clock on a strictly limited appeals period.
Depending on where you live, you could have less than a month after the notice arrives to review the details and put together an appeal. An appeal would be in order if there are inaccuracies or if you can document that your home has been overvalued compared with similar properties.
Maryland residents were the first to receive their notices. The state assesses a property's value every three years. Notices mailed at end of December reflect a statewide average increase of 33 percent since those properties were last assessed, in 2004. That breaks down to an average annual increase of 11 percent to be phased in over the next three years.
For a Marylander's primary residence, those annual increases will be capped at rates that vary by county. In the Washington area, the caps range from 2 percent in Anne Arundel County to 10 percent in Montgomery and Calvert counties. Bottom line: Your assessment is going up, thanks in part to price increases during the peak of the real estate market.
For the first time, Maryland residents have to take action to ensure that they get the benefit of those annual caps. You must file a homestead-tax-credit application to document that the home is your principal residence and not a vacation or rental property, which wouldn't qualify for the cap. Applications can be filed at http://www.dat.state.md.us.
The District and most Virginia counties and cities assess properties annually. In Virginia, procedures vary significantly among jurisdictions. Appeals windows range from less than 30 days in Falls Church to more than four months in Prince William County.
In Prince William, one of the areas hit hardest by foreclosures and stagnant sales, assessments for existing homes will decline by 14 to 16 percent this year, depending on the type of property, according to Allison Lindner, the county's real estate assessment chief. The reduced number of sales in 2007 has made this year's assessments a challenge, she said.
Although nearby foreclosures make it harder to sell your home at a reasonable price, they may not pull down your property assessment. Lindner said foreclosure prices don't reflect market value because they are not normal, arm's-length transactions.
"We don't put a lot of emphasis on foreclosure sales, and hopefully we will have enough non-foreclosure sales so that it's not an issue," Lindner said. "We are going to have neighborhoods where all we have are foreclosures or no sales at all. In that case, we will try to go to a similar neighborhood and establish market value."
And what if a home identical to yours sells for a bargain price in the next few weeks? Surely, you might think, that would be a strong argument for lowering
your assessment. Alas, it won't. Sales after Jan. 1 will not count for appeals of this year's assessments. "We tell them we will use that sale for next year's assessment," Lindner said.
Valuing real estate is an imprecise art, so there could be reason to contest the government's estimate of your home's value. At a minimum, you need to ensure that the government has its facts straight.
* Be aware of when your assessment notice should arrive. If it's lost or delivered to the wrong address, you could run out of time for an appeal.
* Review the notice for factual errors. Is the lot number correct? (You can find that on the land survey tucked away with your home-purchase records.) Is the square footage correct? Are the numbers of bedrooms, bathrooms and fireplaces correct?
* Verify that your assessed value is in line with the values being assigned to nearby, comparable homes. Most jurisdictions have online databases of local tax records. They often update these records just before mailing assessment notices. An assessment higher than those for homes that are comparable to yours could be a compelling argument for an appeal.
Your first round of appeal should be to contact the assessor's office by the deadline listed on the notice. Local rules vary, with some requiring this first-round appeal to the assessor's office. If you are unsatisfied with the assessor's decision, you can present a more formal appeal to a review panel.
Prince William County is among the jurisdictions that allows a homeowner to skip the administrative appeal with the assessor's office and instead plead a case directly before the county's Board of Equalization by Aug. 1.
"Residents are not required to file an administrative appeal, but we prefer that they do," Lindner said. "If there is an error, or even if it is just too high, our preference is that they come to us first so we can fix it if there is an issue."
Details about your jurisdiction's appeals process will be printed with your assessment notice and can be found on your local government's Web site.
Even with a first-round appeal, you will need facts to back up your case. Assessors may decide to remeasure your home or confirm your claim that it has fewer bedrooms than stated in their records. You will need printouts from their property tax database demonstrating that similar homes are assessed at a lower value. Photos of comparable homes wouldn't hurt. If you need to research sales prices for similar homes, a real estate agent active in your neighborhood may be willing to help. You may also find that information in the county or city's online records.
"What we don't want to hear is people who come in and just say, 'It's too high,' " Lindner said. The appeal isn't the time to rant about local government spending, either. Tax rates and government budgets are beyond the assessor's domain. All the assessor is supposed to do is come up with a value for your home, so keep your arguments focused.
Finally, brace yourself for the idea that even a lower assessed value won't guarantee a lower property tax bill. A number of local governments are still considering increasing the tax rate to compensate for the revenue they stand to lose from lower assessed values.
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