Comments on: Challenge Your Property Taxes and Win! http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/ Money Management, Small Business, Career Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:44:55 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Patrick http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/comment-page-1/#comment-17194 Patrick Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:09:16 +0000 http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/#comment-17194 <strong>Jody: </strong>I had my mortgage payment increase once as well for the same reason - the estimated property taxes weren't enough to cover the bill and the escrow account needed replenished. Rather than charge you the difference all at once, the escrow company probably added the amount needed to bring your escrow account current to your monthly mortgage payment. They also had to add more to your mortgage bill to bring up the monthly difference between the amount you were paying and the amount you will owe for next year's property taxes. That means this year your payments are a lot higher than what you were expecting, but they may actually drop next year because you aren't adding money to make up for the low amount in your escrow account. You can read more about it here: http://cashmoneylife.com/2008/01/29/mortgage-payments-adjust-change/ Jody: I had my mortgage payment increase once as well for the same reason – the estimated property taxes weren’t enough to cover the bill and the escrow account needed replenished. Rather than charge you the difference all at once, the escrow company probably added the amount needed to bring your escrow account current to your monthly mortgage payment. They also had to add more to your mortgage bill to bring up the monthly difference between the amount you were paying and the amount you will owe for next year’s property taxes.

That means this year your payments are a lot higher than what you were expecting, but they may actually drop next year because you aren’t adding money to make up for the low amount in your escrow account.

You can read more about it here: http://cashmoneylife.com/2008/01/29/mortgage-payments-adjust-change/

]]> By: Jody http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/comment-page-1/#comment-17182 Jody Fri, 20 Mar 2009 04:24:12 +0000 http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/#comment-17182 My mortgage payment recently increased by over $400 per month after two years in our new home. Talk about getting priced out of your house. Though my wife and I had rather not, we can currently afford this increase, but what a bunch of crap. We were told by Countrywide that our property taxes had been incorrectly calculated which ultimately resulted in a negative balance in escrow. In this board's opinion is this amount considered a little outrageous or are we just supposed to take such a huge increase each month in stride? Help. My mortgage payment recently increased by over $400 per month after two years in our new home. Talk about getting priced out of your house. Though my wife and I had rather not, we can currently afford this increase, but what a bunch of crap. We were told by Countrywide that our property taxes had been incorrectly calculated which ultimately resulted in a negative balance in escrow. In this board’s opinion is this amount considered a little outrageous or are we just supposed to take such a huge increase each month in stride? Help.

]]> By: Imani http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/comment-page-1/#comment-16325 Imani Sun, 01 Feb 2009 02:37:04 +0000 http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/#comment-16325 Another great post. This is something (challenging my property tax assessment) on my list of to do's this spring. The flag for me was when I called my home insurer a couple of weeks ago to discuss coverage and they showed my home as a two-family, which it is surely not. So maybe something is not right. Anyway, I did get a reduction of almost $400 on my insurance. So that is good. More money for ING :-). Another great post.

This is something (challenging my property tax assessment) on my list of to do’s this spring. The flag for me was when I called my home insurer a couple of weeks ago to discuss coverage and they showed my home as a two-family, which it is surely not. So maybe something is not right.

Anyway, I did get a reduction of almost $400 on my insurance. So that is good. More money for ING :-) .

]]> By: Pinyo @ Moolanomy http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/comment-page-1/#comment-4734 Pinyo @ Moolanomy Sun, 27 Jan 2008 19:05:53 +0000 http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/#comment-4734 Patrick, that's good information. I am glad you are able to get your property taxes reduced Patrick, that’s good information. I am glad you are able to get your property taxes reduced

]]> By: Art Dinkin http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/comment-page-1/#comment-2734 Art Dinkin Wed, 28 Nov 2007 03:44:42 +0000 http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/#comment-2734 I see your point too Patrick and think you made the right choice. I asked these questions because I think we sometimes tend to get too short-sighted. All we want is lower property taxes now... until we try to sell our house and then think our house is worth a lot more than the realtor's opinion. I have never had a huge increase in my property taxes. In fact I celebrated the tax bill when the assessment was finally more than I had paid for the house! I think it took 3 or 4 years before that happened. :) Great blog Patrick. You have a new reader. I see your point too Patrick and think you made the right choice.

I asked these questions because I think we sometimes tend to get too short-sighted. All we want is lower property taxes now… until we try to sell our house and then think our house is worth a lot more than the realtor’s opinion.

I have never had a huge increase in my property taxes. In fact I celebrated the tax bill when the assessment was finally more than I had paid for the house! I think it took 3 or 4 years before that happened. :)

Great blog Patrick. You have a new reader.

]]> By: Patrick http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/comment-page-1/#comment-2730 Patrick Wed, 28 Nov 2007 01:03:42 +0000 http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/#comment-2730 Art, great question! No, I am not concerned that I convinced the government that my house is worth less than the government thinks. My house was incorrectly listed as having one more bedroom and several hundred more square feet than it actually has. The appraisal was over $30,000 more than it should have been. When it was reappraised it was actually brought equal to fair market value. This saved us about $700 per year for two years when it will be reassessed again. We will not sell the house between now and then so in my opinion, that is money I should not have to pay, and it is money I can have working for me now in some other investment. I do get the point of your question, and I think it is an excellent point! Art, great question! No, I am not concerned that I convinced the government that my house is worth less than the government thinks.

My house was incorrectly listed as having one more bedroom and several hundred more square feet than it actually has. The appraisal was over $30,000 more than it should have been. When it was reappraised it was actually brought equal to fair market value.

This saved us about $700 per year for two years when it will be reassessed again. We will not sell the house between now and then so in my opinion, that is money I should not have to pay, and it is money I can have working for me now in some other investment.

I do get the point of your question, and I think it is an excellent point!

]]> By: Art Dinkin http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/comment-page-1/#comment-2716 Art Dinkin Tue, 27 Nov 2007 17:31:38 +0000 http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/#comment-2716 Are you at all concerned that you just successfully won the arguement that your home is not worth nearly as much as the government thinks? Could this come back to haunt you if you sell you house? Are you at all concerned that you just successfully won the arguement that your home is not worth nearly as much as the government thinks? Could this come back to haunt you if you sell you house?

]]> By: Patrick http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/comment-page-1/#comment-2586 Patrick Mon, 19 Nov 2007 23:48:41 +0000 http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/#comment-2586 Good point, Mrs. Micah. Using a lawyer is also an option for a personal situation, but you have to be careful that you don't spend more for the lawyer than the amount you save on taxes! ;) Good point, Mrs. Micah. Using a lawyer is also an option for a personal situation, but you have to be careful that you don’t spend more for the lawyer than the amount you save on taxes! ;)

]]> By: Mrs. Micah http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/comment-page-1/#comment-2569 Mrs. Micah Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:24:50 +0000 http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/11/19/challenge-your-property-taxes-and-win/#comment-2569 All good stuff. The building I work for actually has an item in the budget to have lawyers go over our property tax assessment and challenge it if it's over what the company thinks it is. And this year, they won back thousands. All good stuff. The building I work for actually has an item in the budget to have lawyers go over our property tax assessment and challenge it if it’s over what the company thinks it is. And this year, they won back thousands.

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