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Health & Fitness

St. Louis Real Estate Tip of the Week: When Should a Property Tax Appeal be Made?

You may or may not know how your property affects your Fair Market Value (FMV). Why should you pay more taxes? What should you do about it?

You may or may not know how your property affects your Fair Market Value (FMV). In some cases your assessed value is notably higher than your FMV. Why should you pay more? What should you do about it?

Most property values have dropped in the past two year, likely reducing the Fair Market Value (FMV) of your home.  Determined by comparable sales based on sales for a two year prior to January 1st, the (FMV) may or may not be what your property might sell for, but a value for assessment purposes only.

The tip of the week:  If your assessed value is 10% greater than the FMV, most assessment authorities feel your case is worth appealing.  If the assessed value is between 5 and 10% greater than the FMV, you may want to consider an appeal.  However, if your assessed value is only 0-5% greater than the FMV, it may not be worth your time and effort to appeal.

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The price point of your home is another issue to consider. If your home is over $500,000 there are more taxes at stake. This value changes the worth of the percentages and increasing the potential worth of challenging your home’s assessed value or the additional taxes unnecessarily paid.

There is a chance however that your appeal is successful, but your taxes increase. The Assessor’s Office is the collector of taxes for many government agencies who set their own tax base. For example the school district may be raising their tax rate for 2013.  Even though the property is successful in getting a reduced evaluation, the taxes you pay may be higher.

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St. Louis County Assessor’s Office is a computer driven, mass appraisal system.  With this type of technology errors occur in the appraisals due to bad property data.  To rectify this, meet with the Assessor for an informal meeting to correct errors and the value may automatically change.

Gathering data for your appeal can be handled in many ways.  1.) You as the homeowner can complete the paperwork and attend the hearing on your own.  2.) You can call the St. Louis County Assessor’s Office and ask to speak to the County Advocate.  This homeowner advocate is available at no charge and available to answer questions. 3.) You can call a professional Realtor that works in your area, who can supply necessary comparable sales from January 2011 to December 31 2012 or 4.) You can engage 3rd party professionals to represent you at the appeal process who typically earn a percentage of the savings to you.

Informal conferences for St. Louis County must be scheduled by June 3rd. The appeal must be filed by the 2nd Monday in July.  If you are not happy with your initial appeal request, there are six means to appeal your taxes in each reassessment cycle.  Referring to the Assessor’s website is the best place to learn all the due dates and further appeal opportunities.

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Beverly Taki is a Missouri-licensed real estate broker who has successfully represented clients for 25 years.  She is a broker salesperson at Keller Williams Realty St Louis. 10936 Manchester Road, St. Louis, MO   63122. Beverly has earned a certificate in dispute resolution from Pepperdine University, specializing in negotiation and mediation. Taki can be reached at beverlytaki@kw.com or 314-677-6366.  Her website is  www.beverlytakistlouis.com . Her blog is www.realestatestlou.com.

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