Has anyone had the city appeal their property assessment?

[Copanut]

650 bucks? An appraisal would only cost around 350-400. You can represent yourself, no need to spend the extra on an attorney.

[Doowlle34]

That is a good point, Copa -- but as far as I can determine, there is a school of thought that, at least at the first level assessment hearing, a full appraisal can actually do more harm than good. In terms of attending the hearing on your own, some attorneys caution that this opens a homeowner up to questioning, and perhaps the inadvertent disclosure of unhelpful facts, so some attorneys appear to counsel homeowners to send the legal representative instead.

That said, given the small amounts involved in my case, I do give credit to the attorney for advising me that it may not be "cost-effective" for me to spend the $650 for her to attend the hearing.

Of course, to top it off, in my opinion, the factor here that makes these assessments sort of (I'll just say) "stink," (as opposed to the hyperbolic, "the worst injustice in the history of humankind") is of no probative value -- specifically, several of my neighbors, wonderful though they are, have nearly identical homes, but since they have not sold for 10 - 20 years, their assessments are in the neighborhood of $40k - $60k less than mine!

So, I guess spending the money for an attorney, and putting up a pro forma defense, is my own personal version of refusing to go gently into that good night (I'm pretty sure Dylan Thomas was talking about property assessment appeals, right)?

[robrobrob]

With a recent sale I am not sure I would spend any money on an attorney or an appraisal. I would however get an estimate for any recently discovered repairs that you were not aware of when you purchased your home.

I also would be sure to bring up the fact that you got cash back or a credit at closing.