How to Lower Your Property Tax – Fighting Overvalued County Appraisals

by Dan A. Baron, Baron Law LLC

What: Property Value Appraisal

Many homeowners have seen their property values shoot up as the pandemic sparked a frenzied housing market. If you’re envisioning big proceeds when you sell your house, rising home prices are a cause for celebration. But you may not feel like popping the champagne when you get your property tax bill. As home prices climb, property taxes follow suit.

Ohio operates on a system in which county auditors reappraise every piece of land and every building located in their county every six years. These base appraised values are then multiplied by local tax rates. This value is what is shown on local county auditor’s website and is often used as a baseline when determining potential real estate taxes.

This reappraisal occurs in different counties at different times. Naturally, it is just too much for every local government to reappraise everything all at once. So, Ohio uses staggered reappraisal with different groups of counties undergoing reappraisal or updating during different tax years.

Why: Property Reappraisal and Updating Can Result in a Bigger Tax Hit

Most importantly with reappraisal and updating, is that they can result in increased property values and consequently increased tax liability. Property owners in particular counties subject to reappraisal or update will see new property values reflected in their property tax bills that arrive in the mail either December or January.  This is an often-overlooked tax consequence that many people fail to plan for and can eat up an otherwise expected, and critical, tax refund. As such, many people desire to keep their property values low, at least in regards to taxation, and want to challenge their county auditor’s assessment of their property value.

How: Filing a Complaint to Challenge Property Valuation

The period for filing formal challenges to a county auditor appraisal generally begins Jan. 1 and ends March 31 so contact an attorney sooner rather than later if you want to challenge a recent change in your property value. Generally, property owners can only challenge an assessment one time every three years.

How you challenge an improper auditor valuation is with a complaint filed with your local county board of revision where the property under dispute is located. This complaint is sometimes referred to as a “complaint against valuation” and asks 14 boilerplate questions. Questions such as has the property been sold within the last three years, have you made any improvements to the property, and your justifications for requesting a change in value.

This form is found on every county auditor’s website as well as the Ohio Department of Taxation’s website. Many individuals challenge land valuation so the process, at least in some ways, is streamlined. Note, however, if the property owner challenging valuation is a business, an attorney must almost always sign the complaint.

The most common reasons property values are challenged include declining market values in a depressed area, functionally and/or economically obsolete properties, declining rents in tandem with vacancies and damage caused by non-human agency, such as fire, flood, earthquakes or mold. Further, those who recently purchased a property in an arms-length transaction for less than the county auditor’s value, often have a strong case. Note, however, recent Ohio Supreme Court rulings adjusted the evidentiary rules for property owners looking to use a recent arms-length transaction as a basis to challenge the value of real property. The important takeaway from recent legal rulings is that appraisal evidence must be carefully considered before presenting to the board of revision. As such, experienced legal counsel should be retained before filing any tax appeal.

Once the complaint is filed and received by the board of revision, the board sets an evidentiary hearing. The hearing usually lasts 15 to 30 minutes and takes place in front of a panel of decisions makers, usually the county auditor, county treasurer and the president of the board of county commissioners. At this hearing, an attorney appears on your behalf and presents arguments, evidence, and witness testimony to prove the actual property value. Depending on the value or discrepancy of the value under dispute, other interested parties, such as local school districts, will appear via their own counsel and argue in favor of the higher value.

After the hearing, the board of revision makes its decision on the value of the real property. If you took the proper steps and gathered the right documents, your property value should be changed to reflect the real value and you can avoid any significant tax hit in the near future.

When: When Should I Challenge?

As with every legal question asked of every attorney, the answer is always going to be, it depends. But as rule of thumb, if it seems like no rational buyer would purchase your property for what the auditor appraised it, challenging the value is probably a good move.

Another critical factor in assessing when to challenge is the sufficiency of evidence currently in your possession. This is where good legal counsel can be helpful. Attorneys are well-versed in hiring qualified appraisers to determine the initial overvaluing of the property, generating presentable reports for the evidentiary hearing, and identifying the relevant purchase transaction documents. If you are asking for a significant change in value, it is highly likely opposing attorneys will come out of the woodwork to counter your appeal.

For more information or to contact Baron Law, call us at 216-573-3723, or dan@baronlawcleveland.com.  Baron Law LLC is your local family law firm helping you and your loved ones.

Dan A. Baron, Baron Law LLC

Sponsored By

Baron Law LLC
Crowne Centre, Suite #600
5005 Rockside Road
Independence, Ohio 44131
216-573-3723
www.baronlawcleveland.com

Opinions and claims expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of ScripType Publishing.