so i have been getting notices from different lawfirms stating that my property taxes are high in comparison to the towns average... (i already had a good idea this was the case as i know what my neighbors are paying in taxes) so they want to represent me in order to lower my taxes with their fee contingent of successfully lowering my taxes...

anyone actually go through it with these lawfirms??? anything to look out for?? any success stories?

TIA...

 

I'd try doing it straight through the county tax assessors office. There shouldn't be any need to hire someone to do this for you.

Of course, this is based on CA, so you may need a lawyer in NJ.

 

the only reason i would consider hiring the lawyer to do it, is because i don't have time to go to hearings if i had to... i work during the days and would not want to take time off... also, im lazy with having to file paperwork...

i recall getting a notice from the town a few months back directly giving me the opportunity to appeal my taxes... but i had to shell out $350 admin fee non refundable for them to even review the application... that is BS...

 

I see many homeowners appeal by themselves and do ok.

With a house, I would just order an appraisal at a cost of about $300. Would hire my own lawyer once the process devolved to lawsuit.

You must be joking, the town wants $350 to review?

Tax consultants usually work on a percentage of savings basis. It is hard for them to make money saving poor people money on taxes.

 

they sent out the notice and when i saw the send your application with non-refundable fee... i threw it in the shredder...

but now if this lawfirm is willing to do everything up front and take 20% of my savings, and i don't have to do anything... i would consider it... as long as it is a one time contingency fee on my first years savings... and nothing perpetual...

 

I assume you used zillow.com to compare your house to the ones around you?

 

lawyer just called me back to discuss the fees... he charges 1/3 of successful reduced benefit with a guaranteed 3 yr freeze on the assessment.... so basically a years worth of savings...

 

yes and even zillow has my house 20% lower than what i paid...

 

Drew,
Do it yourself. All you need to do is talk to your realtor and get 2-3 comps for your area. That should be enough. As for hearings, etc., I went to the Appraisal office for 30 min and had the valuation reduced by the 10% they raised it.
That netted me the immediate saving for that year, but also reduced my base for future years.
Why pay someone for something that will take you 1-2 hrs total effort?

 

be professional and polite if you deal with the appraiser's office yourself. Best friend is an appraiser for a county in AZ and tells me all the time people that get nasty dont usually get their taxes lowered. If you're nice you should have no problem.


luther

 

That 1/3 per year for three years is the customary fee.

I just calculated that a $1 per year tax increase reduces your potential maximum mortgage by $44. Taxes are horrible things, as generally evidenced by the red and blue states. There is more to your tax burden than just the potential savings over x years, until revaluation. I find that taxes that were fixed 10 years ago tend to stay fixed, some indexing is often involved in revaluation.

If the law firm has a decent rep, I would use them. Preparing for tax appeals is time consuming. Hope that $350 non-refundable is going to pay for an appraisal. With houses, I don't fool around, just get an appraisal day one, and that will take me all the way to court if need be, and the town sees up front that this is serious, and not trash talking.

Your cheapo lawyer might do things different, likely no appraisal, lots of trash talk, file lawsuit, and then negotiate with other lawers, and that is OK.

 

That assumes you escrow. Do it yourself and earn additional money for yourself. Voila, no change to your mortgage.

 

Agree. Do it yourself. Get your self an appraisal done by a licensed independent appraiser. Im not sure how its done in your state but if you have a conflict with your valuation you usually have a short time to take care of it each year. (usually that time is published by the local city/town as open book/board of review (thats how it is around here) Dont pay a lawyer to do something you can.

Im an appraiser and not the kind most people around here like

 

We were able to get the guy who bought our house a $1200 reduction in property taxes. We waited too long to help us.