Property Assessment

Who Says You Can't Help City Hall

Collaborative Efforts Result in Win-Win Situation

We just completed a collaborative project with the seven counties that make up the Greater Portland Oregon Metropolitan Area and local real estate industry experts.  Since April 29 we have worked together on a list of government agency contacts who have important information that is used routinely by:

• Academics
• Asset managers
• Attorneys
• Builders
• Business owners
• Citizens
• Corporate tax managers
• Engineers
• Homeowners
• Insurance companies
• Potential homebuyers
• Real and personal property Appraisers
• Real estate brokers and agents
• Real estate investors
• Surveyors
• Tax agents and representatives
• Title insurance companies

A draft list was prepared early this year that followed the same theme used for a contact list for local government agencies in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area. The DC contact list was so popular with real estate professionals that we hope to repeat that success in Portland.

The draft list was then sent to all the affected local government agencies and departments, and they were asked for changes, comments, and general feedback during a 10 working day period.  After the agencies had a chance to collaborate, the draft contact list was distributed via social media to thousands of real estate professionals.

People in local government agencies and departments who are the curators of the following categories of real estate information for the Greater Portland Metropolitan Area are featured:

• Maps and/or Geographic Information System (GIS) data
• Personal property assessment information (assessed values, appeal procedures, and compliance information)
• Real estate assessment information (assessed values, appeal procedures, compliance information, and property specific data characteristics)
• Recordation information
• Tax billing information and property tax payment look up

The completed contact list is now available.  We are sure that this free publication will be a help to homebuyers, real estate professionals, and local governments who don't always have the staff to answer questions from callers.  The contact list is available by clicking here or by e-mailing me at [email protected] and including Portland OR MSA Guide in the subject line.

Collaborative Effort to Help Community of Practice in Portland Oregon

 

Those Who Use the Tools are the Best People to Ask Whether They Are Working

If you are in the Greater Portland (Oregon) area we need your help. We've just outlined a contact list for local government departments in the Greater Portland area who are the curators for real estate information most actively used by asset managers, attorneys, corporate tax mangers, homeowners, insurance companies, lenders, potential buyers, real estate agents and brokers, surveyors - you get the picture.

We are asking the community to give us feedback on what's missing, what can be cut out, how it could be better organized - basically, we want to produce a free information product that's designed by the client, not someone deciding what's best for the client.

If you would like to collaborate with us, click here to access the draft PDF document and let us know what you think. You can comment here on our blog or by contacting me through other social media that is shown in my blog profile.  If you reply via Twitter, please use the hashtag #PortlandREInfo.

Once we complete this project, keep the contact list handy so that you don't need to search the web each time you want to find real estate information from local government sources in Greater Portland. They will all be in one spot where you can access them or easily copy and paste them into an e-mail to a potential client.

You will also be able post this resource on your website.  All we'll ask is that you refer to the primary author and his web address as the source.

Timing of Real Estate Market Trends Matter

By Guest Author Stephen K. Hachey

For some people, understanding their property taxes can be very difficult. This article explains some of the more frustrating aspects of the property tax statement.

In Hillsborough County, Florida, property taxes are paid for the previous year, rather than in advance for the coming year. The TRIM (Truth in Millage) notice is sent out in late August to show the proposed property taxes. The TRIM notice shows you the assessed value of the property plus the millage rate for the taxing entities.

Millage rates are the amount per $1,000 dollars that is used to calculate taxes on property. The expressed millage rate is multiplied by the total assessed value of the property to arrive at the property taxes due. The millage rate on the TRIM notice will show any proposed changes, which are voted on by the taxing entities in mid September, as well as the rate should the changes not be accepted.

Many people become upset when they believe that the assessed value of their property is too high, causing their property taxes to be higher than what they believe is fair. The assessed value of the property is based on sales data from the previous year, and with taxes being paid in arrears, the values used to pay the taxes are almost two years old by the time taxes are paid. 

For example, the TRIM notice that you received in August 2012 affected the real estate taxes that you paid to Hillsborough County by the March 31, 2013, deadline. However, the assessed value for your property had an effective date for valuation by the county property appraisers' office of January 1, 2012. And in estimating values for the 2012 assessments the county studied real estate market data and trends during 2011.

Although the time delay between market data, assessments, and when taxes are paid may seem unfair, for most people the assessed taxes work out fairly in the end, because the same system is used year after year to assess values. So, for example, the value of your home may go up this year, but your taxes will not go up right away, as the sales data used to assess that value is from the previous year. 

For those who feel that the value of their home is not low enough, they can contact the Hillsborough County Tax Appraiser at 813-272-6100 or by email at [email protected]. If you do decide to call, make sure that you are prepared with good comparable data for your area. Also, don't worry if you feel the assessed value of your home is too low. The Save Our Homes law in Florida keeps the assessed value of a home from increasing more than 3%, or the amount of the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever amount is lower. This keeps the assessed value of your home from going up drastically.

Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of Hillsborough County property taxes, and you can read your TRIM notice this year with a little less confusion or frustration.

This post was written for Property Assessment by Stephen K. Hachey. Stephen is a Tampa Foreclosure Lawyer specializing in loan modifications, short sales, foreclosure and much more. He is also the owner of his own practice, the Law Offices of Stephen Hachey, PA. This article is for general informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Please contact a licensed attorney in your state of residence. For more information on Stephen's services, please visit his website at www.floridarealestatelawyer.org/.

Are Green Buildings Impacting Your Real Estate Market?

Your Chance to Be Proactive

The Potential Problem

Are you overlooking something that is impacting your local real estate market?  As an appraiser or assessor you need to follow changing trends in the market.  And investors, this could prove to be your competitive advantage from an investment perspective and if you can accurately calculate lower operating costs during the investment holding period.

Start by Developing a Plan

The answer to this question may be yes or no, but you probably need to be adequately monitoring the situation.  For appraisers and assessors, your clients or local citizens, or even journalists, could soon be asking this question and you'll want to be ready for a response.  Investors will want to know if property sellers and competitors are considering green building features, and if they can realistically expect to include the cost of recapturing such features in asking rents.

Resource

An updated version of "The Appraiser's Guide to Identifying Green Building Features in Homes" is available free of charge from The Real Estate Appraisal Research Foundation http://www.appraiserresearch.org/fileadmin/user_upload/green-guide/pdf/Green-Guide-2012-links.pdf.

Formulate the Details

While I haven't read the complete 98 page guide, by scanning it you can get an idea of where green building programs are most popular.  Even a general perusal of the guide will give you an idea of the many green features that homes can have today.  Most importantly you'll formulate ideas on how to monitor the local market. The table of contents, Appraisers' Glossary of Green Building Terms, and general layout make scanning easy.

Your own research could include:

1. Watching rental ads to see what green features are being mentioned (changes in asking rental rates can be one of the earliest signs of changes in a market)

2. Watching listings for sale for the inclusion of green building features

3. Reviewing multiple listing information about sales to see if green building features are included for sold properties

4. Watching for media coverage of green building activities, once you know some of the key terms and phrases

5. Enlisting the help of your social network -

• Ask property managers and owners if potential tenants are asking for green building features
• Ask property managers and owners if they have considered increasing rentals after retrofitting projects that include green building features
• Ask builders if potential buyers are asking for green building features
• Ask real estate professionals if potential buyers are asking for green building features
• Ask real estate professionals if sellers are installing green building features before they offer their property for sale


Action

If local real estate professionals agree that typical buyers and sellers are taking these features into consideration, you should incorporate questions into your sale verification questionnaires to confirm this belief.  Once confirmed comps need to be adjusted for differences in green building features between those of subject property.

Of course if you find that your local real estate market is being impacted by the demand for green building features, you will need to revise your property data collection methods to capture these features.  As appraisers, the final question will be what contribution to value the various green building features have for your subject property. 

As assessors, ultimately you'll need to consider how your valuation models will need to be revised to consider these green building characteristics in assessed valuations.

Conclusion

If you haven't already done so, please take a few precious moments to scan this new publication and plan a strategy for monitoring the potential impact of green buildings on your market area.  Then put it into action by asking a few local real estate professionals what impact, if any, theses green building features area having on your local real estate market.

You May Qualify for Lower Property Taxes

What You Don't Know May Cost You

Taking a few minutes to understand if you qualify for property tax abatements or exemptions could save you money.  It's as simple as knowing what to look for on your local assessor's website and maybe a phone call to clarify whether you qualify.

Most people don't enjoy paying property taxes.  Realizing this many states have taken steps to reduce the burden of property taxes.  While you may think this is a modern political maneuver, property tax exmeptions go back at least to 1290 when qualifications for exemptions were imposed in England.

Awareness

In order to take advantage of potential ways of lowering your property taxes you have to be aware that such programs exist.  Some assessors do a good job of informing taxpayers of these programs, but assessment office staffing and their ability to distribute this information is not always adequate.

Often the availability of these programs are briefly mentioned on assessment notices or tax bills that are already crowded with information and requirements.  Because local governments have tight budgets the assessor can't make a separate mailing just to notify taxpayers of available ways to get tax reductions.

One of the other difficulties is the fact that methods of property tax abatements or exemptions vary from state to state, and even from community to community within a state.  So it's important to know what your local taxing district offers.  A partial list of the different types of tax reductions include:

• Abatements (usually the result of an application for exemption or outcome of appeal)
• Appeals (informal first level review process or formal challenge to an appeal board)
• Classification (corrections to property classification type can result in reductions)
• Credits (typically the result of a corrected assessment or tax refund)
• Deferral (delayed payment of taxes until the property is sold or title passes)
• Exemptions (qualifying for full or partial tax exemption, like the homestead exemption on a primary residence)
• Incentives (where assessments or taxes are lower as an incentive to certain property owners; also see use assessments)
• Rebates (see rent abatement)
• Refunds (return of a portion of property taxes paid either through the local or state income tax system)
• Relief (tax relief to people who meet certain qualifications like age, disability, or service in the armed forces)
• Rent abatement or rebate (usually a state program that provides for a personal income tax credit to renters)
• Tax incentive zones (specially designated commercial, industrial, retail, or similar areas that qualify as enterprise zones)
• Use assessments (lower assessments and taxes that reflect the continued use of a property for a specified purpose like farmland or open space)

Of course your taxing district may not have all of the programs listed above.  For example most states have homestead exemptions on the primary residence of qualifying owners, but some do not.

In some states the League of Women Voters or AARP chapter may do a good job of informing people of the reductions they may qualify for in their state.  But tax laws can change each year as a result of legislative actions at the state or local level.

A Word of Caution

Every year scams are reported where taxpayers, especially senior citizens, are the victims of individuals or companies claiming that they will represent them or get a tax reduction on their behalf.  There are, of course, reputable individuals, attorneys, and companies that assist property owners with these programs, especially with complex appeals and exemption applications.

Always ask for a written list of services that are being performed.  And always call your local county or city assessors office to ask what is required to file an application or to challenge an assessment.  Generally all applications for deferral, exemption, and rent rebates can be filed at no cost, except your time to complete the form.  Most applications for informal and formal appeals can be filed without cost or for a nominal filing fee.

Recommended Action

Make a visit to your local assessor's website and search for the terms listed above.  If after visiting the website it's unclear what tax reduction methods are available, or you need more information, call the assessor's office.

Most modern assessment offices have public relations and citizen outreach programs.  Take the first step toward understanding what is available to you as a property taxpayer in your community.  Who knows, you may just qualify for lower property taxes in the process.

And please send this e-mail to a family member or friend as they may also qualify to save money on their property taxes.