Protest Taxes Cont'd

Present as much evidence to support your case as you can and push for the lowest possible price as pleasantly, but persistently as possible. Hard-nosed tactics will almost assuredly bring out the ‘Executioner’ in your government; ‘Judge, Jury and Executioner’. Nice guys finish first. Antagonistic guys get butchered.

Many times government ‘authority types’ live to exercise their power. Sometimes their only job satisfaction comes from teaching those within their realm ‘a thing or two’. Expect this and let much of their rhetoric ‘roll off your back’.

People are people, egos always come into play in any negotiation. Smooooozing is beneficial. If you don’t know your appraisal district representatives latest health problem, where he or she went on vacation last, his wife’s or husband’s latest rant, or why he or she hate their lousy government job by the end of the interview, then you haven’t added the ‘icing on the cake’ and you’ve probably paid more in taxes than the equally well prepared smoozer protesting his taxes two cubicles away. Yes…. you’ve screwed up buddy if you haven’t delved into the personal life of your ‘Judge and Jury’ and showed some kind of interest.

Remember, OBJECTIVE analysis of any situation can be skewed in your favor or not. We all have a tendency to see people we like in a more favorable light and want to do things to help them consciously or unconsciously. People like people that show an interest in them and that make them feel important.

Find something to like about your appraisal district representative. Emerson said “Every man is my superior in some way. In that I learn of him.” Find something to admire about him or her and ask for advice. Let he or she tell you about his latest personal achievement. Show an interest and develop a bond. You’ll brighten their day and often indirectly your own. If nothing else, you’ll have perked up someone else’s day and that is not a bad thing.

Be nice, but also be persistent and firm in your opinions. Don’t let someone just rollover you and allow you to accept a less than favorable appraisal. Most of the time, this can be accomplished by stubbornly reasserting your claims, while displaying your ‘offended and abused’ look. In the face of continual perseverance, many times they will acquiesce and favor your opinion.

Don’ forget to ‘give’ and ‘take’. Be reasonable in what you accept. If you try to get the very last dollar in reduced assessments, the ‘authority type’ your dealing with may ‘cut you off at the pass’ by ‘digging in’ and holding firm on his or her position. Then you’ve lost the ability to negotiate further.

Now, on to the next level of the appraisal process, the ‘protest of the protest’, your next level of protest if you feel you have not been treated fairly based upon the evidence you have gathered.

Most always I have been quite happy with the results of my negotiations with the appraisal districts representative, but on a couple of occasions I have been disappointed and decided to carry the appraisal protest to the next level. In my district it is an appraisal review board consisting of a handful of lay people who look at the evidence and just use common sense to judge whether your appraised value is proper.

The results were the same or only marginally better, leading me to conclude that the real savings are incurred at the initial protest level. But, every jurisdiction is different, and if you feel your case is strong enough and you have the proper documentation, carry it to the next level. You can even carry it to a judicial level in most regions, although the amount of savings and the evidence would have to be very convincing to justify the time and expense.

Credible Evidence

Your presentation whether it is at the basic appraiser level or at the appeals board level, will have more credibility and a greater chance of success if your information is well organized and documented in summary form and with appropriate backup documents.

Be professional in your summary presentation, creating a format similar to what an appraiser would use. List each property you are appraising on a separate piece of neatly typed forms. For example a home protest form might be headed as follows: Property Address, Square Feet, Description and Value.

Below those headings list the first sub-heading as Subject Property and detail your property. Then skip a few lines below that and list the next sub-heading Comparable Appraised Properties. Go on to list the homes that have been appraised for less. Further below that create another sub-heading labeled Comparable Sold Properties and list those properties that have sold below yours.

You’re just creating a neat professional looking printed piece of paper that shows your property and all those comparable properties that have either sold for less or that are currently appraised for less. The more professional it looks and the more volume you have, the more credible it will appear, thereby enhancing your chance of success. An example format is detailed below. Adapt it to your own circumstances, but keep it easy to understand.

Bring supporting documents for your summary in case its’ authenticity is questioned or more details are needed to support your argument. Use the detailed backup to add further descriptive detail that can enhance your case. Keep the summary sheets clean and simple, clearly showing the discrepancies in value. Simplicity sells. Don’t overwhelm them with detail. Present detail as it is requested. Most of the time it will not be. Most often the appraisal district representative can confirm your comparables from information in his database.

An appearance of competence reinforces your position. Professional, neat, well- organized documents suggest you have done credible research that should be taken seriously. A large volume of paperwork further implies you have an abundance of proof. I suspect that this is why the professional protest companies wheel in boxes of paperwork to accompany their meetings. Don’t discount the value of intimidation in your meeting.

Like anything you’re exposed to for the first time this whole process might seem a little foreign and perhaps complicated, it isn’t. It’s pretty simple and straightforward. You’re just creating logical documentation that states your case clearly. You’re just stating that you have a property that is unfairly appraised based upon the evidence provided. You’re suggesting that other similar properties have sold for less and are appraised for less and you would like your property reduced in value to bring it in line with them.

The Savings

If you correctly compile this information your chances of success are very good and you can look forward to saving a great deal of money.

How much money? Well that depends on your adjustment, but usually it’s substantial. Typically, you have several different taxing authorities that will key off of the appraised value determined by the appraisal district. In my area, it includes the county taxing authority, the school taxing authority, the water taxing authority and a myriad of minor auxiliary taxing authorities that tag onto the major taxing entities.

When I’m looking at potential tax protest savings I lump the tax rates, usually expressed as an amount per one hundred dollars of valuation, together into one number and calculate my savings. For example, the combined tax per one hundred dollars of evaluation in my area might be $3.50. Thus, if you can reduce the valuation by say just $10,000 you have made $350 for the current year. If you reduce the valuation by $20,000 you have made $700 for the current year and so on and so on. In some areas, it might be possible to reduce values by $100,000 or more producing savings in excess of $3,500 per year. This is substantial alone, but there is more.

First of all, appraisal authorities often do not have the resources to appraise properties every year or to individually reappraise properties. So two things happen. First the savings that you incur will often replicate themselves year after year until the property is reappraised resulting in a multiplication of your savings over years instead of just one year. So, you can take the above referenced savings examples and multiply them accordingly.

Secondly, when the appraisal district does get around to reappraising properties they might easily apply an inflation percentage to the existing lower protested value, thus further increasing your savings.

In addition, if you just happen to have a second property or are an investor with multiple properties, your savings can be unbelievable for a minor investment of time and effort.

Finally, there is one more significant factor that further increases your effective savings.

Earned income taxes. When you earn additional income, what happens? Your taxed, right? Your income is taxed with social security/medicare taxes and various income taxes which can approach 50% of your earned income before you actually see a real increase in your standard of living.

What happens when you save money on the money that you have already earned and paid taxes on? Magically….. nothing. You get to keep the entire savings. You’ve already paid taxes on your income, so the savings you achieve are 100% TAX FREE and it’s all yours. If your combined taxes are 50%, your savings are equivalent to earning twice as much income. You would have to earn $100 for every $50 you’re able to spend. You would have to earn twice the income to generate the same money.

Think about that next time your looking for ways to increase your income versus ways to save money. Saving is eassssssy, while creating income generally requires a substantial commitment of your time and effort, which can diminish your quality of life.

When you combine all these factors together, you are well rewarded for your effort. Simply and easily protesting your real estate taxes can be your ticket to more income and a better lifestyle.

10406 Someone Else Dr.	1,469	3 / 2.5 / 2	147,300
9827 Close By Ln.	1,500	3 / 2 / 2	158,000
12611 Cheap Cheap Ct.	1,384	3 / 2 / 2	160,070
12618 That Can't Be Cir.	1,101	3 / 2 / 2	161,100
9707 Whisteria Ln.	1,237	3 / 2 / 2	162,300
12643 Out of Whack Way	1,384	3 / 2 / 2	163,000

The Ego Factor

Credible Evidence

The Savings