Some home owners are finding themselves in the awkward position of wondering whether they should appeal a tax assessment because it came in too low.
Many communities are reassessing in light of declining values and the amount of the reduction can be a shock to home owners who fear that it reflects an equal decline in market value. In many cases, though, that's not true, say real estate practitioners.
They explain that tax assessments are done on thousands – even millions – of properties and each assessment can reflect a variety of factors unrelated to market value, include owners’ age, military service and health. As long as it doesn’t have factual errors in room counts, square footage, etc., they advise not worrying about it.
Or better yet, if it is a really dramatic drop, consider asking the lender for a loan modification or restructuring.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, June Fletcher (06/30/2010)
Will Nesbitt
View posts by Will NesbittWill is the principal broker of Nesbitt Realty and Condo Alexandria. He is licensed in anywhere in the Commonwealth of Virginia, but focuses on those communities found in and around Alexandria, Arlington, Mount Vernon and Springfield/Franconia.
Will has been involved in real estate management, sales and investment for more than twenty years. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army. While in the army, he studied Russian at Monterey's Defense Language Institute. He is also a "veteran of the dotcom wars" and built most of the sites associated with NesbittRealty.com
Will currently resides in Belle Haven Estates just outside Old Town, overlooking New Alexandria. He is a former president of the Mount Vernon Youth Athletic Association and founded the Alexandria Fun with Friends Group. Will is the author of BattlestorM, a tabletop fantasy game, which was published by Ral Partha Publishing in the late '90's, and Arthur's Realm, a boardgame available at the Gamecrafter.
