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How to Appeal Your Property Tax Assessment:
Each spring every property owner receives their yearly property tax assessment from the city. On the front of the form it clearly states where to appeal your property taxes and the exact dates the Board of Review (BOR) are meeting. We have listed below the basic steps you need to complete to appeal your property taxes.
1. The very first thing you should do is schedule an appointment with the BOR. This will ensure you get time before the BOR and you can always cancel the appointment if you choose not to appeal.
2. Next contact your real estate agent and have them run a comparable home market analysis for the past two years. (Note: This analysis should provide you with street and address, sale price, square footage of each comparable home. Nearly all real estate agents will do this FREE of charge)
Your real estate agent should run:
· A comparable market analysis of homes sold in your area (An analysis of homes similar in style, size and features as your home)
3. Next take this information and compare it against city records which are available online in the records section of the city website. (Go to http://www.stclairshores.net and you will see Public Records Data on the right side of the webpage) You will need to make sure the sale price and square footage for each home provided in the analysis matches the city records. If it doesn't, use the information from the city records.
4. Next, organize the analysis into a spreadsheet format to get an average price per square foot and establish a home value trend. (Note: Your Real Estate agent may provide a print out summary so you may not need to do this step.)
Comparable Homes Sold: (Make sure to add the text below)
(Note Comparable homes defined as homes similar in style, square footage and features)
Year | Address | Sale Price | Sq Ft | Price Per Sq Ft. |
2008 | 23131 Happy Trail | $168,000 | 1299 | $129.00 |
2008 | 23207 Hip Hop Lane | $175,000 | 1341 | $130.00 |
2008 | 22805 Sea Breeze | $182,250 | 1321 | $137.00 |
2008 | 23154 Oak Street | $164,000 | 1400 | $117.00 |
2008 | 23201 Leaf St. | $194,000 | 1400 | $138.00 |
2008 | 23143 Panel Way | $186,000 | 1557 | $119.00 |
Total Avg |
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| $128.33 |
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Year | Address | Sale Price | Sq Ft | Price Per Sq Ft. |
2009 | 23349 Golf Dr. | $147,000 | 1512 | $97.00 |
2009 | 23119 Sunset Street | $188,000 | 1341 | $140.00 |
2009 | 23220 West Ln. | $199,000 | 1830 | $108.00 |
2009 | 23155 Dog Day St. | $186,500 | 1500 | $124.00 |
2009 | 22824 Sam Road | $180,000 | 1575 | $114.00 |
2009 | 23200 King Ave | $193,000 | 1350 | $142.00 |
Total Avg |
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| $120.83 |
5. Next look over the information to determine if there has been an increase or decrease in home values for comparable homes sold. If there has been a significant decrease, then you should appeal your property tax assessment. (Note: You may also want to consider taking the analysis another year back if your home has been dropping in value to establish a better trend)
To establish the price per sq foot to determine what your home is worth, take the total average amount from the comparable homes sold for the prior year (2009) and multiply by the actual square footage of your home. (i.e. $120.83 x 1400 sq ft = $169,162). This is the Market Value of your home.
6. Take this information and summarize it onto one sheet of paper so it's easy to explain and displays all the analysis on one page. (suggested layout below)
City Assessment Amounts | Market Conditions | Differences | |||
Year | City Provided Assessment (50% of Market Value) | Avg Price Per Sq Ft | Market Value 1400 Sq Ft | Correct Assessment (50% of Market Value) | Over Assessed 50% of Market Value |
2008 | $97,200 | $128.33 | $179,662 | $89,831 | $7,369 |
2009 | $96,100 | $120.83 | $169,162 | $84,581 | $11,519 |
A | B | C | D | E | F |
7. Print out 4 copies of your complete analysis and make sure to include both background data and summary. (i.e. one copy for you and four for the BOR). Organize all the information including the market analysis provided by your real estate agent into 4 piles. (Note: It's very important that you provide all the background data to the BOR to prove your argument.)
8. Go to your appointment with the BOR and speak right to your points on the summary page. They only give you about 5 minutes, so be prepared. You will be notified within a few weeks after the meeting of the BOR's decision. You should get one of the following outcomes:
Best of luck and please let us know the final outcome of your review.
