Appealing property taxes

[Philip Beckwith]

Does anybody have any tips on how to successfully appeal property taxes? We bought a property that we feel is assessed by the our local government too high. Our strongest case is that our bank appraisal says it should be much lower. Our purchase price was about the same as the bank appraisal. Any strategies beyond this would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[JD Martin]

Quote from @Philip Beckwith:

Does anybody have any tips on how to successfully appeal property taxes? We bought a property that we feel is assessed by the our local government too high. Our strongest case is that our bank appraisal says it should be much lower. Our purchase price was about the same as the bank appraisal. Any strategies beyond this would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 You need to know the appeal laws where you are. In some areas the window is only open at reassessment and only for a certain number of days. In general, government will set the assessed value lower than market value at reassessment in order to neutralize appeals. I appealed mine once and appeared before the board and lost unanimously. Unless you are talking serious money, which I would say is 2k or more in excess taxes, it may not be worth your effort.