Well we got our new assesment in.

My house went down by 7%.
My neighbors went down by 14%.
I have no upgrades.
They put in a new kitchen, 2.5 baths were redone, new deck, new patio,
new walkway.

My house is 1000 sq less then theirs. We have a small house, they have 1
more bedroom and much bigger rooms.

Their house is now valued less than ours by 5k. I just got off with the
assessor, and they feel everything is correct.
I have 2 baths really 1.75 baths as one has a shower only.
The last assesment their house was priced 20k higher than ours.. which I
still felt was low due to the 1000sq feet and extra 1/2 bath.. Now with
all the new stuff, how can their house be less than mine.

Talking with the company that did the inspections they feel there is
nothing wrong with the numbers... You have to wonder how these idiots
get their values reversed and say that there is nothing wrong.
It's going to cost me to challenge my assesment.


--
Jeff

On 1/27/2014 2:39 PM, woodchucker wrote:
Well we got our new assesment in.

My house went down by 7%.
My neighbors went down by 14%.
I have no upgrades.
They put in a new kitchen, 2.5 baths were redone, new deck, new patio,
new walkway.

My house is 1000 sq less then theirs. We have a small house, they have 1
more bedroom and much bigger rooms.

Their house is now valued less than ours by 5k. I just got off with the
assessor, and they feel everything is correct.
I have 2 baths really 1.75 baths as one has a shower only.
The last assesment their house was priced 20k higher than ours.. which I
still felt was low due to the 1000sq feet and extra 1/2 bath.. Now with
all the new stuff, how can their house be less than mine.

Talking with the company that did the inspections they feel there is
nothing wrong with the numbers... You have to wonder how these idiots
get their values reversed and say that there is nothing wrong.
It's going to cost me to challenge my assesment.




Welcome to the world of fuzzy home appraisals when your government is
involved.

I used to fight my appraisals pretty much every year with pretty good
success. That was when they used what would naturally be good reasons
to assess the value of your property. You have all valid assumptions of
why your property should be appraised lower than the neighbors.

Several years ago the appraisals started going strictly by what homes in
the area are selling for. Never mind if you home needs repairs, has not
been updated, or is half the size of the house 3 streets over.

I finally gave up fighting it and let a local company handle fighting
the appraisals. This is their area of expertise and I feel I am at
least paying a fair and or reasonable tax for my area. You should
probably be able to locate on in your ares. While you should be able to
do this your self you probably do not know what trend or silly ass
schedule is being used to determine value for any given year. It
changes frequently to stay ahead of those that choose to fight this
themselves.

The company that handles my fights is O'Connor and Associates. Their
fee is "half" of the tax dollars that they save you each year. If they
save you $500 form this years tax, you pay them $250, you are ahead
$250. If they don't lower your tax bill you pay nothing. Typically you
sign up initially and they handle it from year to year unless you cancel
their service.

Your neighbors probably hired a similar company to handles their appraisals.

On 1/27/2014 4:01 PM, Leon wrote:
On 1/27/2014 2:39 PM, woodchucker wrote:
Well we got our new assesment in.

My house went down by 7%.
My neighbors went down by 14%.
I have no upgrades.
They put in a new kitchen, 2.5 baths were redone, new deck, new patio,
new walkway.

My house is 1000 sq less then theirs. We have a small house, they have 1
more bedroom and much bigger rooms.

Their house is now valued less than ours by 5k. I just got off with the
assessor, and they feel everything is correct.
I have 2 baths really 1.75 baths as one has a shower only.
The last assesment their house was priced 20k higher than ours.. which I
still felt was low due to the 1000sq feet and extra 1/2 bath.. Now with
all the new stuff, how can their house be less than mine.

Talking with the company that did the inspections they feel there is
nothing wrong with the numbers... You have to wonder how these idiots
get their values reversed and say that there is nothing wrong.
It's going to cost me to challenge my assesment.




Welcome to the world of fuzzy home appraisals when your government is
involved.

I used to fight my appraisals pretty much every year with pretty good
success. That was when they used what would naturally be good reasons
to assess the value of your property. You have all valid assumptions of
why your property should be appraised lower than the neighbors.

Several years ago the appraisals started going strictly by what homes in
the area are selling for. Never mind if you home needs repairs, has not
been updated, or is half the size of the house 3 streets over.

I finally gave up fighting it and let a local company handle fighting
the appraisals. This is their area of expertise and I feel I am at
least paying a fair and or reasonable tax for my area. You should
probably be able to locate on in your ares. While you should be able to
do this your self you probably do not know what trend or silly ass
schedule is being used to determine value for any given year. It
changes frequently to stay ahead of those that choose to fight this
themselves.

The company that handles my fights is O'Connor and Associates. Their
fee is "half" of the tax dollars that they save you each year. If they
save you $500 form this years tax, you pay them $250, you are ahead
$250. If they don't lower your tax bill you pay nothing. Typically you
sign up initially and they handle it from year to year unless you cancel
their service.

Your neighbors probably hired a similar company to handles their
appraisals.



`
The assesment was done by a local company hired by the town.
That's useful to know about the service. As I really suck at these
battles. The guy I was talking to (from the company) was talking in
circles saying it's not unreasonable for a house to be valued less than
another in a different neighborhood. I said it's the house next door,
what different neighborhood.. and he kept doing circles.. which leads me
to realize that you can't talk to an asshole.

--
Jeff

On 1/27/2014 3:19 PM, woodchucker wrote:
On 1/27/2014 4:01 PM, Leon wrote:
On 1/27/2014 2:39 PM, woodchucker wrote:
Well we got our new assesment in.

My house went down by 7%.
My neighbors went down by 14%.
I have no upgrades.
They put in a new kitchen, 2.5 baths were redone, new deck, new patio,
new walkway.

My house is 1000 sq less then theirs. We have a small house, they have 1
more bedroom and much bigger rooms.

Their house is now valued less than ours by 5k. I just got off with the
assessor, and they feel everything is correct.
I have 2 baths really 1.75 baths as one has a shower only.
The last assesment their house was priced 20k higher than ours.. which I
still felt was low due to the 1000sq feet and extra 1/2 bath.. Now with
all the new stuff, how can their house be less than mine.

Talking with the company that did the inspections they feel there is
nothing wrong with the numbers... You have to wonder how these idiots
get their values reversed and say that there is nothing wrong.
It's going to cost me to challenge my assesment.




Welcome to the world of fuzzy home appraisals when your government is
involved.

I used to fight my appraisals pretty much every year with pretty good
success. That was when they used what would naturally be good reasons
to assess the value of your property. You have all valid assumptions of
why your property should be appraised lower than the neighbors.

Several years ago the appraisals started going strictly by what homes in
the area are selling for. Never mind if you home needs repairs, has not
been updated, or is half the size of the house 3 streets over.

I finally gave up fighting it and let a local company handle fighting
the appraisals. This is their area of expertise and I feel I am at
least paying a fair and or reasonable tax for my area. You should
probably be able to locate on in your ares. While you should be able to
do this your self you probably do not know what trend or silly ass
schedule is being used to determine value for any given year. It
changes frequently to stay ahead of those that choose to fight this
themselves.

The company that handles my fights is O'Connor and Associates. Their
fee is "half" of the tax dollars that they save you each year. If they
save you $500 form this years tax, you pay them $250, you are ahead
$250. If they don't lower your tax bill you pay nothing. Typically you
sign up initially and they handle it from year to year unless you cancel
their service.

Your neighbors probably hired a similar company to handles their
appraisals.



`
The assesment was done by a local company hired by the town.
That's useful to know about the service. As I really suck at these
battles. The guy I was talking to (from the company) was talking in
circles saying it's not unreasonable for a house to be valued less than
another in a different neighborhood. I said it's the house next door,
what different neighborhood.. and he kept doing circles.. which leads me
to realize that you can't talk to an asshole.



I was using 3 streets away as an example. Most of mine are compared to
across the street and next door.

You can talk till you are blue in the face, they are not going to agree
unless you know which buttons to push.


Hire a firm to represent you . There is typically no obligation to pay
unless you benefit.

On 1/27/2014 1:19 PM, woodchucker wrote:
On 1/27/2014 4:01 PM, Leon wrote:
On 1/27/2014 2:39 PM, woodchucker wrote:
Well we got our new assesment in.

`
The assesment was done by a local company hired by the town.
That's useful to know about the service. As I really suck at these
battles. The guy I was talking to (from the company) was talking in
circles saying it's not unreasonable for a house to be valued less than
another in a different neighborhood. I said it's the house next door,
what different neighborhood.. and he kept doing circles.. which leads me
to realize that you can't talk to an asshole.

“Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the
difference.” -Mark Twain-

"woodchucker" wrote in message
...

On 1/27/2014 4:01 PM, Leon wrote:
On 1/27/2014 2:39 PM, woodchucker wrote:
Well we got our new assesment in.

My house went down by 7%.
My neighbors went down by 14%.
I have no upgrades.
They put in a new kitchen, 2.5 baths were redone, new deck, new patio,
new walkway.

My house is 1000 sq less then theirs. We have a small house, they have 1
more bedroom and much bigger rooms.

Their house is now valued less than ours by 5k. I just got off with the
assessor, and they feel everything is correct.
I have 2 baths really 1.75 baths as one has a shower only.
The last assesment their house was priced 20k higher than ours.. which I
still felt was low due to the 1000sq feet and extra 1/2 bath.. Now with
all the new stuff, how can their house be less than mine.

Talking with the company that did the inspections they feel there is
nothing wrong with the numbers... You have to wonder how these idiots
get their values reversed and say that there is nothing wrong.
It's going to cost me to challenge my assesment.




Welcome to the world of fuzzy home appraisals when your government is
involved.

I used to fight my appraisals pretty much every year with pretty good
success. That was when they used what would naturally be good reasons
to assess the value of your property. You have all valid assumptions of
why your property should be appraised lower than the neighbors.

Several years ago the appraisals started going strictly by what homes in
the area are selling for. Never mind if you home needs repairs, has not
been updated, or is half the size of the house 3 streets over.

I finally gave up fighting it and let a local company handle fighting
the appraisals. This is their area of expertise and I feel I am at
least paying a fair and or reasonable tax for my area. You should
probably be able to locate on in your ares. While you should be able to
do this your self you probably do not know what trend or silly ass
schedule is being used to determine value for any given year. It
changes frequently to stay ahead of those that choose to fight this
themselves.

The company that handles my fights is O'Connor and Associates. Their
fee is "half" of the tax dollars that they save you each year. If they
save you $500 form this years tax, you pay them $250, you are ahead
$250. If they don't lower your tax bill you pay nothing. Typically you
sign up initially and they handle it from year to year unless you cancel
their service.

Your neighbors probably hired a similar company to handles their
appraisals.



`
The assesment was done by a local company hired by the town.
That's useful to know about the service. As I really suck at these
battles. The guy I was talking to (from the company) was talking in
circles saying it's not unreasonable for a house to be valued less than
another in a different neighborhood. I said it's the house next door,
what different neighborhood.. and he kept doing circles.. which leads me
to realize that you can't talk to an asshole.

--
Jeff Yes you can. And they will S&i# on you.

On 1/27/2014 2:39 PM, woodchucker wrote:
Well we got our new assesment in.

My house went down by 7%.
My neighbors went down by 14%.
I have no upgrades.
They put in a new kitchen, 2.5 baths were redone, new deck, new patio,
new walkway.

My house is 1000 sq less then theirs. We have a small house, they have 1
more bedroom and much bigger rooms.

Their house is now valued less than ours by 5k. I just got off with the
assessor, and they feel everything is correct.
I have 2 baths really 1.75 baths as one has a shower only.
The last assesment their house was priced 20k higher than ours.. which I
still felt was low due to the 1000sq feet and extra 1/2 bath.. Now with
all the new stuff, how can their house be less than mine.

Talking with the company that did the inspections they feel there is
nothing wrong with the numbers... You have to wonder how these idiots
get their values reversed and say that there is nothing wrong.
It's going to cost me to challenge my assesment.

BTDT, to my detriment ... even filed suit to no avail.

Many years ago, my next door neighbor's, a Houston City Councilman,
house was valued at $36k less than mine. Same year built, same floor
plan, same structural shape and appearance.

The reality is that with property taxes, you no longer own your home,
you rent, by paying the tax, the privilege of just thinking you do from
the government.

Try not paying and see how long your "ownership" lasts.

--
eWoodShop: www.eWoodShop.com
Wood Shop: www.e-WoodShop.net
https://plus.google.com/+KarlCaillouet/posts
http://www.custommade.com/by/ewoodshop/
KarlCaillouet@ (the obvious)

Swingman wrote:
On 1/27/2014 2:39 PM, woodchucker wrote:
Well we got our new assesment in.

My house went down by 7%.
My neighbors went down by 14%.
I have no upgrades.
They put in a new kitchen, 2.5 baths were redone, new deck, new patio,
new walkway.

My house is 1000 sq less then theirs. We have a small house, they have 1
more bedroom and much bigger rooms.

Their house is now valued less than ours by 5k. I just got off with the
assessor, and they feel everything is correct.
I have 2 baths really 1.75 baths as one has a shower only.
The last assesment their house was priced 20k higher than ours.. which I
still felt was low due to the 1000sq feet and extra 1/2 bath.. Now with
all the new stuff, how can their house be less than mine.

Talking with the company that did the inspections they feel there is
nothing wrong with the numbers... You have to wonder how these idiots
get their values reversed and say that there is nothing wrong.
It's going to cost me to challenge my assesment.

BTDT, to my detriment ... even filed suit to no avail.

Many years ago, my next door neighbor's, a Houston City Councilman,
house was valued at $36k less than mine. Same year built, same floor
plan, same structural shape and appearance.

The reality is that with property taxes, you no longer own your home,
you rent, by paying the tax, the privilege of just thinking you do
from the government.

Don't forget to claim your "Home Owner's Exemption"!





Try not paying and see how long your "ownership" lasts.

"woodchucker" wrote:

Well we got our new assesment in.

My house went down by 7%.
My neighbors went down by 14%.
I have no upgrades.
They put in a new kitchen, 2.5 baths were redone, new deck, new
patio, new walkway.

My house is 1000 sq less then theirs. We have a small house, they
have 1 more bedroom and much bigger rooms.

Their house is now valued less than ours by 5k. I just got off with
the assessor, and they feel everything is correct.
I have 2 baths really 1.75 baths as one has a shower only.
The last assesment their house was priced 20k higher than ours..
which I still felt was low due to the 1000sq feet and extra 1/2
bath.. Now with all the new stuff, how can their house be less than
mine.

Talking with the company that did the inspections they feel there is
nothing wrong with the numbers... You have to wonder how these
idiots get their values reversed and say that there is nothing
wrong.
It's going to cost me to challenge my assesment.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Your assessment went down 7%.

Are you unhappy with that reduction?

Sounds like you might be a little jealous of your neighbors apparent
good
fortune with the tax man.

Lew

On 1/27/14, 6:17 PM, Lew Hodgett wrote:
"woodchucker" wrote:

Well we got our new assesment in.

My house went down by 7%.
My neighbors went down by 14%.
I have no upgrades.
They put in a new kitchen, 2.5 baths were redone, new deck, new
patio, new walkway.

My house is 1000 sq less then theirs. We have a small house, they
have 1 more bedroom and much bigger rooms.

Their house is now valued less than ours by 5k. I just got off with
the assessor, and they feel everything is correct.
I have 2 baths really 1.75 baths as one has a shower only.
The last assesment their house was priced 20k higher than ours..
which I still felt was low due to the 1000sq feet and extra 1/2
bath.. Now with all the new stuff, how can their house be less than
mine.

Talking with the company that did the inspections they feel there is
nothing wrong with the numbers... You have to wonder how these
idiots get their values reversed and say that there is nothing
wrong.
It's going to cost me to challenge my assesment.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Your assessment went down 7%.

Are you unhappy with that reduction?

Sounds like you might be a little jealous of your neighbors apparent
good
fortune with the tax man.

Lew


Or maybe he just wants a fair assessment done by a competent assessor
and it has nothing to do with "jealousy" at all.



--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

On Mon, 27 Jan 2014 15:39:06 -0500, woodchucker
wrote:

Well we got our new assesment in.

My house went down by 7%.
My neighbors went down by 14%.
I have no upgrades.
They put in a new kitchen, 2.5 baths were redone, new deck, new patio,
new walkway.

My house is 1000 sq less then theirs. We have a small house, they have 1
more bedroom and much bigger rooms.

Their house is now valued less than ours by 5k. I just got off with the
assessor, and they feel everything is correct.
I have 2 baths really 1.75 baths as one has a shower only.
The last assesment their house was priced 20k higher than ours.. which I
still felt was low due to the 1000sq feet and extra 1/2 bath.. Now with
all the new stuff, how can their house be less than mine.

Talking with the company that did the inspections they feel there is
nothing wrong with the numbers... You have to wonder how these idiots
get their values reversed and say that there is nothing wrong.
It's going to cost me to challenge my assesment.

The company that has the contract to do assessments for my part of AL
is in Indiana. Probably could even find us on a map.

In the last 6 years my property tax has doubled.

On Tue, 28 Jan 2014 15:19:36 -0600, wrote:

On Mon, 27 Jan 2014 15:39:06 -0500, woodchucker
wrote:

Well we got our new assesment in.

My house went down by 7%.
My neighbors went down by 14%.
I have no upgrades.
They put in a new kitchen, 2.5 baths were redone, new deck, new patio,
new walkway.

My house is 1000 sq less then theirs. We have a small house, they have 1
more bedroom and much bigger rooms.

Their house is now valued less than ours by 5k. I just got off with the
assessor, and they feel everything is correct.
I have 2 baths really 1.75 baths as one has a shower only.
The last assesment their house was priced 20k higher than ours.. which I
still felt was low due to the 1000sq feet and extra 1/2 bath.. Now with
all the new stuff, how can their house be less than mine.

Talking with the company that did the inspections they feel there is
nothing wrong with the numbers... You have to wonder how these idiots
get their values reversed and say that there is nothing wrong.
It's going to cost me to challenge my assesment.

The company that has the contract to do assessments for my part of AL
is in Indiana. Probably could even find us on a map.

In the last 6 years my property tax has doubled.

Where mine dropped 70%. ;-) Well, I did move, but to a *much* larger
house on more land.

On 1/28/2014 3:19 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 27 Jan 2014 15:39:06 -0500, woodchucker
wrote:

Well we got our new assesment in.

My house went down by 7%.
My neighbors went down by 14%.
I have no upgrades.
They put in a new kitchen, 2.5 baths were redone, new deck, new patio,
new walkway.

My house is 1000 sq less then theirs. We have a small house, they have 1
more bedroom and much bigger rooms.

Their house is now valued less than ours by 5k. I just got off with the
assessor, and they feel everything is correct.
I have 2 baths really 1.75 baths as one has a shower only.
The last assesment their house was priced 20k higher than ours.. which I
still felt was low due to the 1000sq feet and extra 1/2 bath.. Now with
all the new stuff, how can their house be less than mine.

Talking with the company that did the inspections they feel there is
nothing wrong with the numbers... You have to wonder how these idiots
get their values reversed and say that there is nothing wrong.
It's going to cost me to challenge my assesment.

The company that has the contract to do assessments for my part of AL
is in Indiana. Probably could even find us on a map.

In the last 6 years my property tax has doubled.



do you know why? Because of tax increases or value of property? Has
your neighbors gotten the same treatment?

On Tue, 28 Jan 2014 19:09:07 -0600, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet
wrote:

On 1/28/2014 3:19 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 27 Jan 2014 15:39:06 -0500, woodchucker
wrote:

Well we got our new assesment in.

My house went down by 7%.
My neighbors went down by 14%.
I have no upgrades.
They put in a new kitchen, 2.5 baths were redone, new deck, new patio,
new walkway.

My house is 1000 sq less then theirs. We have a small house, they have 1
more bedroom and much bigger rooms.

Their house is now valued less than ours by 5k. I just got off with the
assessor, and they feel everything is correct.
I have 2 baths really 1.75 baths as one has a shower only.
The last assesment their house was priced 20k higher than ours.. which I
still felt was low due to the 1000sq feet and extra 1/2 bath.. Now with
all the new stuff, how can their house be less than mine.

Talking with the company that did the inspections they feel there is
nothing wrong with the numbers... You have to wonder how these idiots
get their values reversed and say that there is nothing wrong.
It's going to cost me to challenge my assesment.

The company that has the contract to do assessments for my part of AL
is in Indiana. Probably could even find us on a map.

In the last 6 years my property tax has doubled.



do you know why? Because of tax increases or value of property? Has
your neighbors gotten the same treatment?

I do not know why and the county officials just gave me a dumb look
when I asked. I think they use the Indiana outfit so they can refer us
to someone we can't meet face to face.

I have to admit I am not complaining much because the property taxes
on our farm are low compared to just about any other place.

On 1/28/2014 9:46 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 28 Jan 2014 19:09:07 -0600, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet
wrote:

On 1/28/2014 3:19 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 27 Jan 2014 15:39:06 -0500, woodchucker
wrote:

Well we got our new assesment in.

My house went down by 7%.
My neighbors went down by 14%.
I have no upgrades.
They put in a new kitchen, 2.5 baths were redone, new deck, new patio,
new walkway.

My house is 1000 sq less then theirs. We have a small house, they have 1
more bedroom and much bigger rooms.

Their house is now valued less than ours by 5k. I just got off with the
assessor, and they feel everything is correct.
I have 2 baths really 1.75 baths as one has a shower only.
The last assesment their house was priced 20k higher than ours.. which I
still felt was low due to the 1000sq feet and extra 1/2 bath.. Now with
all the new stuff, how can their house be less than mine.

Talking with the company that did the inspections they feel there is
nothing wrong with the numbers... You have to wonder how these idiots
get their values reversed and say that there is nothing wrong.
It's going to cost me to challenge my assesment.

The company that has the contract to do assessments for my part of AL
is in Indiana. Probably could even find us on a map.

In the last 6 years my property tax has doubled.



do you know why? Because of tax increases or value of property? Has
your neighbors gotten the same treatment?

I do not know why and the county officials just gave me a dumb look
when I asked. I think they use the Indiana outfit so they can refer us
to someone we can't meet face to face.

I have to admit I am not complaining much because the property taxes
on our farm are low compared to just about any other place.


Well, If you are informed you know. If you are not informed you may be
paying too much.

Just because yours is less than your neighbors does not mean that you
and or your neighbors are not paying too much.

Basically I have never been sorry for looking into paying lower taxes.
;~) It typically costs you nothing, providing you go to the right
people, to be represented for reconsideration of you assessed taxes.

On Mon, 27 Jan 2014 15:39:06 -0500, woodchucker
wrote:

Well we got our new assesment in.

My house went down by 7%.
My neighbors went down by 14%.
I have no upgrades.
They put in a new kitchen, 2.5 baths were redone, new deck, new patio,
new walkway.

My house is 1000 sq less then theirs. We have a small house, they have 1
more bedroom and much bigger rooms.

Their house is now valued less than ours by 5k. I just got off with the
assessor, and they feel everything is correct.
I have 2 baths really 1.75 baths as one has a shower only.
The last assesment their house was priced 20k higher than ours.. which I
still felt was low due to the 1000sq feet and extra 1/2 bath.. Now with
all the new stuff, how can their house be less than mine.

Talking with the company that did the inspections they feel there is
nothing wrong with the numbers... You have to wonder how these idiots
get their values reversed and say that there is nothing wrong.
It's going to cost me to challenge my assesment.

Sounds like a grievance is in your future.