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Appealing taxes for your home – The Basics

Posted by admin on Sep 23, 2009 in Tax | 0 comments

Property taxes are a substantial expense for Texas homeowners, averaging about $3,600 annually. To reduce this expense, property owners should annually review and consider appealing property taxes. While there is no guarantee that an appeal will be successful, a recent survey conducted by O’Connor & Associates indicates that 70% of property tax appeals are successful.

Since the mortgage company typically disperses payments, property taxes tend to be a stealth tax. Although the homeowner writes a check, including taxes and insurance monthly, the property tax component is not evident. The property tax component can become quite evident when the homeowner is asked to fund a deficit in the escrow account.

Although 70% of property tax appeals are successful, only 7% of homeowners appeal each year. Research indicates five primary reasons homeowners do not appeal:
1.    The process seems overwhelming and they do not know how to appeal,
2.    They do not think an appeal is likely to be successful,
3.    They think their home’s assessed value is below market value and there is no basis for appealing,
4.    They do not understand they can appeal on unequal appraisal,
5.    They are busy and do not want to set aside time, given the presumption that “you can’t fight city hall”.
Why appeal?

Consider an appeal for a $150,000 house where the property taxes are reduced by 5%. This would reduce the assessed value by $7,500 and the property taxes by $225, based on a 3% tax rate. Since the typical appeal hearing takes less than an hour, these are meaningful savings for the time involved. Regularly appealing your property taxes will minimize the value, so you are assessed for less than most of your neighbors. Most of the property tax appeals are resolved at the informal hearing, which is the first step in the process.

How to appeal

The first step to appealing annually is to send a written notice to the appraisal review board (ARB) for the county in which your home is located. Even if you have not received a notice of assessed value from the appraisal district, file a notice of appeal by May 31st for the following reasons:
1.    The notice of assessed value can get lost in the mail,
2.    A notice of assessed value is not necessary unless your assessed value increases by $1,000, and
3.    You should appeal annually
You can file a notice of appeal by utilizing the Comptroller’s form available at www.cutmytaxes.com or by sending a letter to the ARB. The letter to the ARB simply needs to identify the property being appealed and the basis for your appeal. You should always appeal on both market value and unequal appraisal. Since the appraisal district staff is extremely busy during late May and early June, sending any data on the value of your property tax is probably a waste of time. At the same time you send your notice of appeal to the ARB, send a “House Bill 201″ request to the chief appraiser at the appraisal district. The House Bill 201 request will provide you a volume of information at a modest price.

Reasons for obtaining House Bill 201 information

Since most homeowners are not familiar with House Bill 201, you may be wondering what it is and when it became available. House Bill 201 is the term used by property tax consultants to describe provision 41.461 of the Texas Property Tax Code. This section reads as follows:
“at least 14 days before hearing on a protest, the chief appraiser shall: … inform the property owner that the owner or the agent of the owner may inspect and may obtain a copy of the data, schedules, formulas, and all other information the chief appraiser plans to introduce at the hearing to establish any matter at issue.”
The property tax code further provides the chief appraiser the right to charge up to $15 for each residence, and up to $25 for each commercial property owner for this information. However, there are limits on the cost per page an appraisal district can charge. Practically speaking, the maximum charge is $1 to $2 for a residence. In Harris County, most homeowners can print this information from the appraisal district’s web site once an appeal has been filed using the “I file” system.

This section of the tax code was added in 1991, but many appraisal districts have attempted to ignore this section of the property tax code for years and some still do. After discussing this section of the Texas Property Tax Code on a radio show in 2005, several listeners called back a week or two later to report certain appraisal districts were claiming to be unaware of this section. When O’Connor & Associates sent House Bill 201 requests to appraisal districts in 2005, some called us and said “what do you mean you want our information, we plan to use your information at the hearing to prove our value.” While these examples seem quaint and cute, it is surprising that 15 years after taxpayer friendly legislation has been passed, that appraisal districts are still ignoring property owners and tax consultants who ask for this information.

There are at least seven reasons to utilize House Bill 201 to obtain the information the appraisal district will use at the hearing:
1.    It is an effective way to obtain information regarding both market value and unequal appraisal for your property tax appeal,
2.    You will receive the appraisal district’s information regarding the size, condition and other qualitative and quantitative data for your house,
3.    The information can be obtained for a nominal cost,
4.    It is helpful to know what information your adversary will be able to use at the hearing,
5.    Making the request limits what information the appraisal district can present at the hearing. If you do not request their information prior to the hearing, they can use any information available to them at the hearing. However, if you request the appraisal district information using a House Bill 201 request, they may only use information previously provided to you,
6.    If they do not provide you information on market value or unequal appraisal in the House Bill 201 request, you win by default at the ARB hearing, and
7.    In many cases, the appraisal district House Bill 201 information clearly supports a lower value.
Preparing for the hearing

When you receive the appraisal district House Bill 201 information, start by reviewing the appraisal district’s description of your home and ask yourself these questions:
1.    Is the year built accurate?
2.    Are the qualities and amenities accurate?
If the appraisal district overstates either the quantity or quality of improvements to your property, this is an excellent means to reduce your property taxes both for the current year and subsequent years.

Filing a 2525c Appeal

If the appraisal district has overstated the size of your house by more than 5% to 10%, even if you did not file a property tax appeal in prior years, you should consider filing a 2525c appeal. This will allow you to reduce the assessed value of your property for the current year and for prior years.

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Finding Re-Financing Information

Posted by admin on Sep 14, 2009 in Refinancing | 0 comments

Homeowners who are considering re-financing but are not knowledgeable about the subject have a number of options available to them for finding more accurate information regarding the types of re-financing options available as well as the ways to obtain the best available rates and tips for finding a reputable lender. This information can be obtained through a number of resources including published books, Internet websites and conversations with experts in the financial industry who specialize in the area of re-financing. All of these sources can be very helpful but there are also precautions homeowners must take when using each information source. Taking these precautions will help to ensure the homeowner is receiving accurate information.

Using Books for Research

Published books are often considered to be one of the most reliable resources for researching re-financing options. However, not all books on the subject are created useful. Readers may find some books provide a great deal of useful, current information while others books are filled with outdated information and information which is not 100% accurate.

The best way to select a book or books when researching the subject of re-financing is to start the search with books that were only recently published. This is important because the financial industry is continually evolving and as a result books which were published only a few years ago may already be considered out of date.

Homeowners should also seek out independent reviews when considering books on the subject of re-financing. This is important because books which consistently receive solid reviews from consumers are likely to be worthwhile. Conversely books which consistently receive negative reviews are likely to not be worthwhile. Homeowners should seek out highly recommended books while avoiding those that are not highly recommended. This may prevent the homeowner from wasting time reading books which are not informative and may even be inaccurate.

Using the Internet for Research

The Internet is another resource which can be very valuable for homeowners who are considering re-financing their home. The Internet is filled with valuable information but there is also a great deal of misinformation floating around on the Internet. Homeowners who are completely uninformed about the re-financing process may not be able to distinguish between the useful information and the misinformation. As a result these homeowners may be led astray by inaccurate information on the Internet. Homeowners who wish to avoid the potential for this problem should consider verifying the information they find online through an outside source such as a published book from a renowned author or by conferring with an expert in the subject of re-financing.

Homeowners should also do the majority of their research on well established websites. This includes websites owned and operated by major lenders which have been in business for years. The information on these websites is likely to be much more up to date and accurate than websites which are created for profit by website owners.

Consulting with Re-Financing Experts

Finally, consulting with financial experts who specializes in re-financing can be very helpful for homeowners who are considering re-financing. This might be the most expensive option as many of these experts will likely charge a fee for their services but it can also be the most reliable source of information.

There are a number of advantages to consulting with an industry professional as opposed to researching the subject independently through published resources. The most significant advantage is the ability to ask questions throughout the re-financing process. This will help to ensure the homeowner fully understands the available options. It will also help to ensure the homeowner receives the best possible re-financing option for his specific needs. The re-financing process works best when the homeowner offers their input about the type of re-financing they are seeking as well as the benefits they hope to obtain through re-financing. The re-financing expert can than make a better recommendation which will suit the homeowner’s needs.

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The Decision to Re-Finance

Posted by admin on Sep 10, 2009 in Refinancing | 0 comments

The decision to re-finance a home mortgage is a serious decision which should not be taken lightly. Homeowners should give this decision a great deal of consideration to ensure they are making the best possible decision for their financial situation and personal needs. Some factors to consider when deciding whether or not to re-finance is the type of loan to choose, the lender to choose, the costs associated with re-financing and the hassle of the process.

Consider All of the Options

Homeowners who are seriously considering re-financing owe it to themselves to consider all of the options available to them. They may have a friend who recently refinanced with a specific type of loan but this might not be the solution for all homeowners. Each homeowner should consider their situation to be individual and not likely to closely mirror the situations of others.

Some of the options to consider include the type of re-financing loan. The basic options are fixed interest rates and adjustable interest rates. There are also mortgages which combine these two options. The homeowner may have a specific type of mortgage in mind but the lender may or may not be willing to offer the homeowner this type of loan. Lenders are more likely to offer fixed interest mortgages to homeowners with good credit and adjustable rate mortgages to homeowners with poor credit.

Consider the Lender

Homeowners will also have to carefully consider the lender they select. This is important because not all lenders are going to be willing to offer the same interest rates and terms to the homeowner. Homeowners may have to receive quotes from several different lenders in a short period of time to make an accurate comparison. This is important because interest rates can change without notice and homeowners who wait too long to make a decision may find the rate they were originally quoted is no longer available to them.

When selecting a lender the homeowner should also consider how responsive the lender is to their questions. This is important because a lender who does not pay attention to the homeowner or respond to their inquiries in a timely fashion can make the process of re-financing considerably more stressful than necessary. Selecting a lender who offers slightly higher rates but is more responsive may be warranted.

Consider the Cost of Re-Financing

Re-financing is not cheap. There are certain costs associated with re-financing. These costs are typically very similar to the closing costs associated with securing an original mortgage on a property. These costs may include application fees, loan origination fees, property taxes, appraisal fees and other miscellaneous items. These costs can be quite extensive and homeowners may find they are often left paying more than the benefits they are going to gain from re-financing. In this type of situation the homeowner should make the decision not to re-finance because it is not a financially sound decision.

Consider the Hassle of Re-Financing

Let’s face it; re-financing can be an absolute hassle. The time and energy spent researching different re-financing options and contacting lenders to see who will offer the most favorable rates can be quite taxing. A homeowner should consider the time and effort required for this endeavor in deciding whether or not to re-finance. Simply stated, refinancing is a hassle and homeowners may better spend their time with family and friends rather than running around trying to find the best rates in town.

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Getting Your Feet Wet – Begin Investing

Posted by admin on Sep 2, 2009 in Investing | 0 comments

If you are anxious to get your investments started, you can get started right away without having a lot of knowledge about the stock market. Start by being a conservative investor with a low risk tolerance. This will give you a way to making your money grow while you learn more about investing.

Start with an interest bearing savings account. You may already have one. If you don’t, you should. A savings account can be opened at the same bank that you do your checking at – or at any other bank. A savings account should pay 2 – 4% on the money that you have in the account.

It’s not a lot of money – unless you have a million dollars in that account – but it is a start, and it is money making money.

Next, invest in money market funds. This can often be done through your bank. These funds have higher interest payouts than typical savings accounts, but they work much the same way. These are short term investments, so your money won’t be tied up for a long period of time – but again, it is money making money.

Certificates of Deposit are also sound investments with no risk. The interest rates on CD’s are typically higher than those of savings accounts or Money Market Funds.

You can select the duration of your investment, and interest is paid regularly until the CD reaches maturity. CD’s can be purchased at your bank, and your bank will insure them against loss. When the CD reaches maturity, you receive your original investment, plus the interest that the CD has earned.

If you are just starting out, one or all of these three types of investments is the best starting point. Again, this will allow your money to start making money for you while you learn more about investing in other places.

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