Disputing Real Estate Taxes

The tax bills came in the mail last month. Do you think yours was a bit too high? .

We did a little research to get the basics:

First Read The Assessment Letter

When the county assess your property to come up with your tax they look at the facts they think they know about your property: Lot Size, beds, baths, age, etc. Be sure to check to make sure they have the right information, it might be they think your property is bigger or better than it actually is as the county records are not quite right. Next look at the assessed value to see if it appears correct with the rest of neighborhood.

Is it Worth an Appeal?

If you are going to flip it right away probably not, but if the facts are wrong or the assessed value is too high and you are going to hold this property and pay taxes on it for 30 years. Or if the property valuation is based on the income and expenses, as in a multi-family property, it may be worth your time.

Do it yourself or hire it done?

For a single family house, it may be fairly easy to get a form from the assessor’s office, collect a few comparables and other data and turn it in within the allotted time. If your property is a multi-family or if you have a lot of properties, it may be worth the time to pay someone to do it.

Get Comparables

Ask A Realtor to find three to five comparable properties in that have recently sold in your neighborhood. Check those sales against the county assessed values. If the assessed value on the comparabes are lower than the assessed value on your property, you may have a case. Or if the assessed values are similar to yours, but those comparables are superior to your property, you may still have a case.

File Your Appeal

Armed with your data, file an appeal with the county. Do make sure to know how time frames as you probably only have so many days to file. Miss this year’s deadline, you can always try next year.

We have a few resources for you in the Kansas City metro at www.MAREI.org/RETaxes