Should Your Property Taxes be Lower?

Is your home worth less today than it was a couple of years ago? Chances are, that's the case.

While house prices have fallen, it's a safe bet to assume that your local city and/or county government has not voluntarily lowered your property taxes based on a lower market value of your property. You may be paying taxes based upon the value of your home in 2005 or 2006!

Can you do anything about it? Yes, you may be able to appeal your local government's assessed value of your property. You could save hundreds, maybe thousands, of dollars each year if you are successful.

Some governments are raising tax rates to offset lower tax revenues. If they do in your location, this may offset some or all of your savings from your appeal. However, in a situation like this, if you don't appeal, your taxes could go up!

It's time to think about this now. In our county, the time to appeal occurs only during the first three months of the year. In your location, it might be something different. If it's the last three months of the year where you are located, for example, now is the time to act!

There are companies out there who can help you appeal if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself. Be prepared to pay a few hundred dollars to such a company.

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