Why Consult?

Communities need money and they raise that money through property taxes. However, the system is broken in that property tax assessments are not accurate and authorities say that about half of the home assessed are assessed incorrectly. The perception by homeowners is that property taxes are unfair in that those property taxes are always going up while people’s standard of living, on the average, is decreasing.

Many feel their homes are not worth as much as the county says they are worth.  When one reads news about home sales, foreclosures and lost home equity, the thought of appealing one’s property taxes begins to take on promise.

A homeowner should pay property taxes on what their property is worth, not what the tax assessors are saying it is worth. So how does one do it?  First spy on what sales comps are in a neighborhood. When valuations drop and property taxes rise, the perception of unfairness arises.

Most homeowners lack the time and do not want to expand the effort to challenge the authorities. That and the learning curb involved to do a good job coming up with the proper valuation, keeps most away from appeal. On top of that, real estate appraiser will charge $250 to $350 for an appraisal and $500 or more to appear at the Municipal Court of Appeals in support of the homeowner. There is NO promise of success, so the homeowner could be out $1,000 or more and lose the appeal.

This is why a property tax consultant has free reign and a never ending stream of customers just waiting for their help. A consultant does not charge for his services unless he wins the property tax appeal. The consultant appeals to get the home value lowered, saves on taxes and when he wins, and only when he wins, charges a commission called a contingency fee. A contingency fee is a performance-based fee. For residential property tax appeals the usual fee is 100% of the first year tax savings spread over 2-years or 85% if paid the first year.

Commercial property tax consulting involves much higher amounts and the tax savings can be quite significant. These properties are valued on various economic standards, such as an income method and cover a range of properties from apartment housing projects, strip malls, golf courses, eating establishments, industrial properties, movie studios, historical properties, land just to name a few types of commercial properties. Charges in this arena typically are 35%. If litigation is involved, and experts and lawyers need to be hired, the consultant’s fee is usually based on a percentage of net savings.

Learn about the challenges and rewards associated with this type of consulting at http://propertytaxconsultingcourse.com/