Marty Millner
Real Estate property tax appeal update, Bucks County, Pa.
Over the past several months, I have posted a number of articles on real estate property tax appeals, in Yardley, Newtown, Upper Makefield, Lower Makefield, and all over Bucks County.
I have pointed out how easy the process is, and how most appeals actually succeed.
There was another article in the Bucks County Courier Times, this morning, that addressed the outcome of the appeals, throughout the County this past year, and the overall effect on tax revenues.
As noted in the story, the overall value of property in Bucks County declined by approximately 40 million, according to the board of assessment report. This is the first time in at least 35 years that the overall value declined.
The municipalities that were coping with the largest reduction, are Upper Makefield, Northampton and Buckingham, among others. There were more than 5100 appeals filed this past year, which was an all time record for appeals.
According to the assessment board report, about 80% of the appeals were granted. For those who appealed successfully, you will see the change in your 2010 real estate property tax bills, which will arrive in the spring. As I have pointed out in my posts, it is a relatively easy process to file an appeal. You merely download an appeal form from the county website, and submit it to the County Board of Assessment. You will be given a hearing date, and you must appear at the hearing, with data supporting your position, that your property assessment should be lowered.
Appeals for 2011, will be accepeted from January 1, 2010 through August 1, 2010.
If you have any questions about the process or would like suggestions and/or help, please contact me. See the chart below for the municipalities who lost the most, in the appeals process.
| Buckingham | $7,187,820 |
| Northampton | $6,707,170 |
| Upper Makefield | $4,123,330 |
| Falls | $4,082,540 |
| Hilltown | $3,795,310 |
| Warwick | $2,880,100 |
| Lower Makefield | $2,106,650 |
| Tullytown | $1,682,320 |
| Warmimnster | $1,657,090 |
| Warrington | $1,652,180 |
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Greg;
Thanks for following my blog posts, regarding the tax appeal process. I do have some thoughts about the easiest way to approach the appeal, and would be happy to share those thoughts with you. You are welcome to call me, whenever you have a few minutes. You can reach me at 215-519-1399, which is my cell phone. You are in a neighborhood that would be appropriate for an appeal, based on the age of the house, and when you purchased it. My feeling is that the way to give yourself the best chance to be successful in the appeal, is to hire an appraiser. I can explain the process in more detail, if we have a chance to speak in person. Again, please feel free to call me, when you can. Marty
How long does it typically take to hear anything from an appeal? We submitted one about a month ago, with assessments, comparitive real estate transactions, etc and waived the hearing…. was that a reasonable move to waive it? we felt the documentation was enough of a case….. I assume that any adjustment based upon the appeal does not apply to the tax bill due August 2010, but is efective on the one due August 2011?
thanks
Dan;
Thanks for posting the comment, and question regarding the tax appeal. It is hard for me to answer the question as to whether or not it was smart to waive the hearing, without really understanding specifically, what your documentation was. I also posted the other day, that the County has changed the calculation they use to equate assessment to fair market value. They actually changed that amount by about 12%, which is significant.
Normally, what I suggest to people considering an appeal, is to get an appraisal. The appraisal is really the best documentation that supports the fact that a property is over assessed.
From what I understand, the actual hearings do not happen until August, so you would not generally hear anything, until then, at the earliest.
You are also correct, that it will effect next years taxes, if you are successful, not the current years.
Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Marty
We just bought a house (in Northampton) so does this mean we don’t need to include an appraisal, the HUD1 should be enough? Also, do you recommend waiving the hearing or not? thanks!