Who do I talk to to try to get my property taxes lowered? (Rea: for sale)

[bls5555]

The house I bought in January of 08 is taxed at about 53,000 more than I paid for it. Is there any way I can get it adjusted to the purchase price? Thanks for the help.

What would the title of the person I need to talk to be?

[TinaMcG]

You can protest your home's valuation with your county's appraiser's office. Go to the county website to look for the right page, or phone the appraiser's office to find out when you can appeal and what forms you need tro fill out. We appealed our valuation in Johnson County, KS after they increased our home's value almost 10% in 2008. Unbelievable. We're waiting to hear if they bought our argument, but we're not too optimistic. If they lower the valuation, they lower the prop taxes, and the county needs that money.

[bls5555]

This is what the Platte County page says (where the house is located):

How often is property reassessed?
Real property should be reassessed every odd-numbered year and in even-numbered years the Assessor places a value on new construction. Personal property is assessed every year.

Why is reassessment required?
Under Missouri law, property tax assessments must be based upon market value and should be uniform. Over time, property values may change due to the location of the property, sales in the surrounding areas and other factors.

What is market value?
Market value is the price that your real property would bring if offered for sale if you were not forced to sell and the buyer was not obligated to buy.

So does this mean they will automatically reasses the property this year? If so, when do they do it? For anyone in Platte County, what is the likelihood it gets reassesed at my purchase price?

It also says this though:

Will I be notified of an increase in my assessment?
The Assessor is required to send increase notices to the owner of record of real estate in the county. Notices are sent out the end of March of each odd-numbered year if the Assessor has determined that the market value of your property has increased.

So I should assume that there will only be an upward adjustment if anything at all (which probably wouldn't be likely for them to up it), meaning i need to speak with them?

[RjRobb2]

You need to talk to the Platte County assessor's office. They may come out and do a walk through on your home.

[luzianne]

Talk to a realtor and get a list of comps - homes comparable to yours in the same area. See what those houses sold for. If comparable houses have been selling for less than yours is valued at, list those houses, how many bedrooms/bathrooms, etc. that is similar to yours, in our same neighborhood/subdivision. Doesn't hurt to take a picture of the houses, list their addresses, how much they sold for, etc., and appeal. We tried that before in Johnson County - didn't work though. We felt like we had a really good case but they didn't care, they said no and that was that. So we haven't tried to appeal again; figured it was a waste of time.