We finally received the judgment for our contested property tax increase. All of this started back with my initial appeal with the local board way back in March of 2018. From there, I went to the tax tribunal, with the case heard this past June. Taking the first step with the local board was worth it because when the assessments came out earlier this year, the assessor did lower our taxable value. However, since I had already filed with the tribunal, I fully intended to see it through. And I’m glad I did.
The judgment lowered our taxes for 2018! Much of the decision came down to the appraisal we had done for our mortgage refi in Jan 2018. Our TCV (true cash value) went down by $26,400. No changes made for 2019, but had I not appealed in the first place, I know the assessment also wouldn’t have changed.
Looking over some numbers, our September tax bill of this year was down by $275 compared to that of 2018. I’ll be curious what the December tax statement will be as that will give me a better idea of how much the appeal saved us for the entire year. In our state, we pay property taxes twice a year.
What I am not sure about is if we will receive a refund for our overpayment in 2018. The judgment seems to indicate one, but I’ve also heard that this is not always true. All the legal verbiage makes my head spin! Even if we don’t receive a refund, at least our taxes went down for 2019, which additionally helps for future years. It will also be interesting to see the impact on our escrow account. Last year we had a shortage of almost $800. It would be nice to have an overage with our next escrow analysis.
My neighbor also appealed her taxes. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as well for her. Reading her judgment, part of what hurt her is that she did not have a recent appraisal. I feel bad for her as she paid significantly less than we did for our house and is paying much higher taxes than what we are. If it were up to me, I’d contact a real estate attorney about filing a motion for reconsideration. There were a few odd things in her judgment, such as her house having an additional bathroom and a new brick front. Between the inconsistencies of what her home has, and the amount of her taxes, I think that in the end, it would be worth the cost of pursuing this further.
Our Visa. It is now down to $4,900, with another $400 payment scheduled for next Monday. Depending on what our paychecks bring and whether or not any expenses pop up, I think we *might* be able to get the balance below $4,000 before October rolls around. I’m feeling the push as I want this debt gone! We are getting ever so much closer!
that’s good news on the property taxes. What a long process!
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Courts are anything but fast ~ something I know you are finding out with settling your father-in-law’s estate, Watch your taxes, too, with the new build. Another couple living on our road appealed after they built a new home. The assessor had their TCV way higher than their appraised value. Because we live on the lake, the assessor seems to want to make us the cash cow for our community. The appeal process is long but it’s worth it to save on taxes.
SO glad it went well for you – sometimes it really pays to put in the time and effort!!!! I wasn’t able to make a big payment to Chase this payday because I decided to pay our car insurance for 6 months instead of monthly which will save us money so hopefully next month will get it down under $2,000 and GONE by the end of the year. I was really hoping for October, but with the surgery and everything, I got majorly side-tracked.
I’m relieved it is over and was in our favor. I’m all about keeping money in our pocket, rather than someone else’s! I think paying your car insurance for six months is worth it. We do the same thing also for the added savings. I have no doubt you will get Chase gone by the end of the year. Given your determination, I can easily see you doing it well before that! Completely understandable that you got side-tracked! Health needs to come first.