dontwantaname wrote:If son was coming home after work and he left work at 8, where the hell is he????

I wouldn't worry about him, he knows where he is. He'll show up sooner or later.

There's one thing I don't understand at all about new kitchens, and that's islands. I can't imagine having to walk around the darn thing all the time.

Night all. Tomorrow.

dontwantaname wrote:Why didn't this post?


What is this mr1????

http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=55504

looks like a link to me.

Good morning all.

Good morning everybody!

Morning!

My house has a decent kitchen. That was one of the requirements, though, we rejected a lot places for crappy kitchens.

Looking for a lawyer to contest my property taxes. Property values declined, taxable values keep going up--I'm being taxed for $100,000 more than the value of the house.

Mavyn wrote:Morning!

My house has a decent kitchen. That was one of the requirements, though, we rejected a lot places for crappy kitchens.

Looking for a lawyer to contest my property taxes. Property values declined, taxable values keep going up--I'm being taxed for $100,000 more than the value of the house.

Do you have to have a lawyer to do that? Here, we can just appeal to the tax board. I guess if that doesn't work, then get a lawyer.

Good morning everyone.

Sun's shining. Some windows have condensation on them. Humidity's 94%. I'm not going outside.

pooflady wrote:Do you have to have a lawyer to do that? Here, we can just appeal to the tax board. I guess if that doesn't work, then get a lawyer.

We can, and I'm going to look into it more before we hire a lawyer. I think that if I go in with a tax appraisal, I should be able to handle it. Just worry they'll ask a question I can't answer. There was a neighborhood meeting last night, with a real estate agent, someone from a local bank, and a lawyer. They're trying to get everyone to sign up with them, and then we pay them the first years worth of savings. Which would probably be about $3000 for my house.

Mavyn wrote:We can, and I'm going to look into it more before we hire a lawyer. I think that if I go in with a tax appraisal, I should be able to handle it. Just worry they'll ask a question I can't answer. There was a neighborhood meeting last night, with a real estate agent, someone from a local bank, and a lawyer. They're trying to get everyone to sign up with them, and then we pay them the first years worth of savings. Which would probably be about $3000 for my house.

A friend of mine did this just recently on his own. He went in with the amount that many comparable houses in the area had sold for to prove that his was not worth what they said it was worth. That seemed to do it.

Mavyn wrote:Morning!

My house has a decent kitchen. That was one of the requirements, though, we rejected a lot places for crappy kitchens.

Looking for a lawyer to contest my property taxes. Property values declined, taxable values keep going up--I'm being taxed for $100,000 more than the value of the house.

We just got re-evaluated as well. Same deal. Govco "sent a note" in May allowing 90 days to contest. We never got it. I don't really have a case since we refinanced and the bank did an e-appraisal for about the same as the tax value.

Morning all

Mavyn wrote:We can, and I'm going to look into it more before we hire a lawyer. I think that if I go in with a tax appraisal, I should be able to handle it. Just worry they'll ask a question I can't answer. There was a neighborhood meeting last night, with a real estate agent, someone from a local bank, and a lawyer. They're trying to get everyone to sign up with them, and then we pay them the first years worth of savings. Which would probably be about $3000 for my house.

There are consulting companies that specialize in protesting property tax bills - often you pay them a % of the savings, which is sometimes more money than you would want to spend.

j5 wrote:We just got re-evaluated as well. Same deal. Govco "sent a note" in May allowing 90 days to contest. We never got it. I don't really have a case since we refinanced and the bank did an e-appraisal for about the same as the tax value.

Bank appraisals are not the same as tax appraisals.

The cost is one of the reasons we're looking at other law offices, see what they charge. I might just pay for the tax appraisal and go in with that...Seems to vary widely by state and county how things are done.

But, right now--the monthly payment to escrow for taxes is more than I'm paying on my mortgage. By a lot.

dontwantaname wrote:I think that is what they do here. Or part of the first year.
Wow, you pay a hefty amount of tax too! Actually that would be per 100 grand, more than us...but maybe our houses are more expensive for the same size.

Taxes on my house now are right around $10K/year. The county tax mill isn't bad, but the school mill for this district are really high. The county assesses houses when they are first built, and then just adds a percent every year, even though the value of the houses has dropped every year for the last 4-5 years. Since our house was built at the peak of the housing bubble, the tax amount is way out of whack with reality. Heck, of the 6 houses sold in the neighborhood in the last 12 months, the most expensive one went for $20K less than the tax value listed on my house.

Mavyn wrote:Taxes on my house now are right around $10K/year.

I won't divulge my current taxes.

j5 wrote:I won't divulge my current taxes.

//looking around//
Okay, who was rude enough to ask j5 what his taxes are?
//tapping foot//

pooflady wrote://looking around//
Okay, who was rude enough to ask j5 what his taxes are?
//tapping foot//

Certainly wasn't me. Promise!

Property taxes aren't really personal info, other than showing I make enough to afford them. Not like income taxes or anything, and they vary so widely by location that it doesn't even say much about what kind of house I live in. There are people in my neighborhood that are paying $3000K a year, and their house isn't much different than mine other than being built in 1998, instead of during the peak of the housing bubble.

dontwantaname wrote:Now where did she go????

Sorry, I feel asleep while attempting to read back. Had a long day traveling back home and dozed off.

Afternoon all.

j5 wrote:I won't divulge my current taxes.

But now I'm curious if you prefer to not say what you pay because you are lucky to live where you pay much less and we'll be jealous or you pay much more in taxes and our whines aren't working as well on you. lol

Either way, I think we can all agree that no matter how much we pay that we would like to pay less.

Our county has our assessments extremely low on value. At least five times, probably more on most houses, less than our homes are worth. They tax the crap out of that number and you end up paying through the nose anyway. No sense in even trying to appeal since there's no way you can say the house isn't worth at least assessment value. It's a nice scam they have built in so that you have no choice but to pay what they say.

Poof, thanks for the recipe. Please let us know how it turns out.

lplady wrote:But now I'm curious if you prefer to not say what you pay because you are lucky to live where you pay much less and we'll be jealous or you pay much more in taxes and our whines aren't working as well on you. lol

It would be the former.

eta: and welcome back Ms. < insert alias >

j5 wrote:It would be the former.

eta: and welcome back Ms. < insert alias >

YAY! Lucky you!

Thank you, I'd say it's good to be back but I do like vacations. lol

You may call me Madam Butterfly.

edit: ttyl have a good day wootville

The first step when you want to contest your assessment is to look up in the land records (you should be able to do this online) for what your exact street and those with comparable homes are assessed for square footage and any additonal buildings and lot size. Then, you need to look at yours in comparison with theirs. Sale value, mortgage value, etc. have nothing to do with tax assessments. # of bedrooms, baths, sq. footage, garages, pools, etc. At a glance you should be able to determine if your assessment seems to be in the ballpark with those of your neighbors. If, for example, youo have a sewer easement running through your property, or something else that is unique to your home that should lower the value, you certainly can appeal your assessment with reference to other assessments that are in line with yours but pointing out a defect that makes your home less desirable. Bear in mind, when a buyer looks at a home, they also look at the assessment.

My home also is assessed for much more than I could sell it for - and the insurance company insists that the insurance value is more than the assessment because it is not based on sales but on replacement costs.

Tax assessments are not related to the assessment done for financing/refinancing, or insuring the home. My neighborhood has a ton of empty houses--some were foreclosures, but a lot of them, they just won't sell. Nice houses, nice neighborhood, nice school district, not horribly expensive--but really high taxes. It turns people away--realtors in the area hear it all the time.

Afternoon, folks.

Mavyn wrote:Tax assessments are not related to the assessment done for financing/refinancing, or insuring the home. My neighborhood has a ton of empty houses--some were foreclosures, but a lot of them, they just won't sell. Nice houses, nice neighborhood, nice school district, not horribly expensive--but really high taxes. It turns people away--realtors in the area hear it all the time.

If a buyer can purchase a like-quality,neighborhood,school system, transportation system home for less, of course they will unless they need to have the town/city, or county snob appeal (happens here). And for less means less of a tax bit also. However, if said buyer is settled on a house in XYZ City, should they have 3 comparables and have trouble making up their mind, lots of times they will wonder why one assessment is less (something wrong with the neighborhood they did not see?) So darned tricky nowadays. Not simple to move about as it was. I am living in a way-too-big house, but sales are not going well here, and I figure what actual difference does it make? Homes are reassessed here every year. Plus we get exemptions for homesteading, etc. It helps.

AZGman wrote:Afternoon, folks.

Or not.

AZGman wrote:Or not.

got any stocks in the stock market?

no1 wrote:got any stocks in the stock market?

I have socks in the sock closet.