Determining House Values: Home Appraisals Guidelines to Lower Property Taxes Property Taxes home page
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House Values as it relates to Home AppraisalsThe first step in house tax reduction is to determine the value of your home. This process is often referred to as a home appraisal and is used for determining the market value of your home. The formal name given to this process is a market analysis or fair market value comparison. Our book simplifies this process for you providing valuable information as well as supplying ideas that you probably didn't think of yet. An appraisal is an opinion of value, an estimate of worth. The Federal National Mortgage (FNMA) states, "Market value is the most probable price which a property should bring in a competitive and open market under all conditions requisite to a fair sale,(whereby) the buyer and seller, each (are) acting prudently, knowledgeable and assuming the price is not affected by undue stimulus."
Home Appraisals Basics: Determining House ValuesThe value of residential real estate is estimated by comparing the subject with similar properties that have been sold recently. We start by looking at our neighborhood to find comparable sales or properties in similar neighborhoods that share similar characteristics of lifestyles, income level of residents, surroundings, average age and home values. Neighborhoods:
Compare apples to apples, oranges to oranges. Neighborhoods have boundaries and barriers to the best neighborhood which may signal an abrupt change in lifestyle i.e. railroad tracks, freeways, highways, major traffic arteries, lakes, rivers, mountains, etc. There are political boundaries created for government purposes, such as school districts, assessment districts, zoning districts and city limits. In your neighborhood analysis, you may consider recreational facilities common to your situation. The focus is to find comparable home value in similar neighborhoods for your home appraisal analysis.
In order to have valid home appraisal values, all you have to do is find 3 or more homes that sold recently having amenities and characteristics similar to yours. You'll only use the best three in your analysis. Adjusting Comparable Home ValuesBecause properties are seldom alike, it will be necessary to make adjustments between the comparable properties as compared to the subject property (your property). This process equalizes the properties in the comparison. A good definition according to a leading appraiser, Ventolo and Williams, states that an adjustment is a "decrease or increase in the sales price of a comparable property to account for a feature that the property has or does not have in comparison to the subject property." In
other words, the comparable properties are adjusted to reflect
the value of the subject property. You never adjust the subject
(your own home). If two houses were identical in every way except
that the subject (your house) had a deck and the comparable
did not, the value of the comparable would be adjusted upward.
Conversely,
if an item in the comparable property is inferior to that
in the subject property, a plus (+) adjustment is required
to make that item equal to that in the subject property. In
other words, if a comparable sale property has a major improvement
that your property does not have, make a minus adjustment.
On the other hand, if you enjoy a major improvement and the
comparative sale property does not, make a positive adjustment.
Round off adjustments to the nearest $100. Our book contains
hundreds of easy to use home value examples for your house
tax reduction. Phases
of a Home Appraisal
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Categories of Compatibility:
Finalizing Home Appraisal Values
Once you have chosen your 3 comparables and added and/or subtracted your adjustment data against the amenities your home enjoys or lacks, you will have arrived at the market value of your home. Our book provides easy to use forms and makes this process a snap. Almost every strategy, method, secret, resource, tool and trick is explained to launch an effective house tax reduction.
Alternatives to the do-it-yourself Home Appraisal
If you don't want to do it yourself, spending $120 to $350 for a qualified appraiser will nail down your home value. Add around $200 to $700 for his/her time in court and your house tax reduction case has a good chance to win. If you also want to hire an attorney to speak up for you (usually involving just a few minutes), that will cost upward of $500. Our home appraisal book saves you that cost.
Another route to go is to hire a property tax consultant (if your municipality allows that). Property tax consultants will probably charge on a contingency basis, with no charge if they do not win the case. Their fee varies but normally it is the amount of the property tax reduction prorated over a 3-year period. If your property tax consultant reduces your taxes by $1,500, expect to pay that amount or more for his services. Our home appraisal book will save you this cost.
Finding a "home appraisal" offered free of charge is available through real estate professionals. It's not the same more time-consuming appraisal as done by an appraiser, but rather a "ball park figure." Real estate people refer to it as a comprehensive market analysis (CMA). These CMA's don't stand up well under scrutiny since they rarely have clarity by way of a format that is accepted by the municipal authorities. Besides, you'll probably never convince one to go to bat for you in front of the municipal officials in a house tax reduction matter.
The do-it-yourself House Tax Reduction Method for Reducing your Home Tax Assessment
Or, you can do it yourself. No one better qualified than yourself on issues of your own neighborhood. You have lived there for years, have traveled the streets and compared other neighborhoods to your own, scrutinized improvements and detractions, seen or attended "open houses" hosted by real estate agents, witnessed comparable properties that were bought and sold.
If you are going to appeal you will need to analyze and review comparable houses that sold in the last year listed in the Multiple Listing Service "sold" directory. Generally, in a half hour you'll be in and out of their office. Real estate agents are happy to share this information with you . They hope the bond established with you well be remembered when it comes time to sell your home.
Property tax cards are available at the municipal tax assessor's office. The property tax card calculations are often inaccurate because of human error in data collection and because of copying mistakes. Nevertheless, the data the tax assessor will be using is the square foot compilations for your comparable as well as data for your property found on the property tax card. Property taxes home page