Tax Appeal

Do you feel you are carrying too much of the Property Tax Burden in your community? 

Have an appraisal report completed by a professional licensed appraiser that will provide supportable documentation of the true market value of your property within the present market, not a market value that was assigned to you years ago. 

A licensed real estate appraiser can provide you with the quality of market data that will support the request for consideration in lowering your real estate property taxes. An appraisal report generated by a licensed appraiser contains an extra level of information that is not contained within a typical CMA (Certified Market Analysis) by a licensed realtor. 

Why use our company for your tax appeal appraisal services? Because of the level of detail that is provided within the appraisal report and our expertise within your marketplace. We have been in business since 1998 and licensed in the state of Michigan since 1996. The appraisal report walks the reader through the methodology used in developing the appraisal with supportable evidence of real estate market activity.  

The appraisal report will most likely contain six sold comparables and three present active listings within your market. The appraisal report contains +25 pages of information that includes a sketch of the property, photographs of the exterior front, rear and street views, all interior rooms, any areas that may take away value such as leaking roof, holes in walls, water in basement, broken windows, debris and etc. The appraisal report will also discuss any ?Red Flags? that might affect the value. 

The report contains a detailed discussion regarding the total sales that closed within the area that appeared similar to the subject in the prior 12 months. The appraisal report discusses the analysis used to determine the area to be either declining and/or increasing in value. The appraisal contains an analysis of the overall neighborhood that references the total sales for the area/neighborhood for the prior 90 days, 4-6 months and 7-12 months and 13-24 months. Within this section, discussion concerning the total number of bank owned/short sales/government owned properties within the area and what affect those sales have had on the values within the area. This area provides the data used to arrive at the opinion of value. 

The question most often asked by homeowners is: Why was my assessed value increased as sale prices are down? In order for assessed values to decrease, sale prices must be lower than assessed values Assessed values are not based on speculation as to what a home might sell for. Assessed values are based on confirmed sales that have taken place within a certain period. The appraisal report addresses the facts.

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To understand how the assessment works, an example is available on www.cityofhowell.org website/assessing/assessment page. This page clearly explains how the assessment works.