Today is the first day that the St. Louis County assessor's office is taking calls to set up informal conferences about the property reassessment process. Homeowners interested in challenging the assessed value of their property should call 314-615-4981 to request a conference time. We did that today and talked with a very nice gentleman who identified himself as a licensed appraiser who has enough time in this market to help the county with the reassessment. He took all of our information and then asked why we thought that our home value should be reassessed. I told him that we had just purchased our current home in October of 2008 so we had a purchase contract to use as evidence of the need for a reevaluation of our assessed value. He concurred and said that we would be contacted with an ASAP conference hearing date.
For homeowners interested in pursuing an appeal, the following link provides access to a homeowner's individual property record. Link to St. Louis Co Dept of Revenue. There are also additional helpful links about the property tax appeals process. The following link is a brochure about the process also. Appeals process brochure.
We will keep you posted about our experience in trying to appeal our property's assessed value. Share your story if you are taking on the county as well!
Yesterday, St. Louis County Missouri posted the new assessed values of residential homes. This is a very sensitive topic for homeowners considering the current home values in our market after the recent market decline. St. Louis County has determined that overall, in the St. Louis market, home values have dropped aproximately 9%. Lawmakers have opined that the drop should have been steeper than that. Especially since property taxes increased an average of 22% in 2007, the last assessment year. Understandably, homeowners expect to see commensurate drops in their property taxes. But that may not be so. Hard to believe, but true. School districts who make up the largest percentage of St. Louis County property taxes may be able to minimize the impact of lower property values through a "roll up" process. This means that state law allows a school district to roll up their taxation rates to keep tax revenue flat. There are limitations to this law however, and some school districts have already maxed out their rates. The only way for these districts to raise their revenue would be to ask voters for a tax increase which would be extremely unpopular during these economic times.
Starting in May, homeowners can appeal the assessed value of their property. To schedule an informal hearing, residents should call 314-615-5000. To prepare for your hearing, refer to the online information located at http://revenue.stlouisco.com/brochures/Real%20Estate%20Appeal%20Process.pdf. This brochure gives general information about the process to appeal the value of residential real estate in St. Louis County.
St. Louis real estate in both 4th quarter of 2008 and first quarter of 2009 had been a bit sluggish. Just in the past few weeks we are seeing encouraging signs. We have been doing a lot of listing, but now our listings are starting to sell. That is what we have been waiting for!! What we don't understand is why sellers have had such a hard time selling their homes. They hire experienced professionals who tell them exactly what to do: Price it right (we even tell them what that probable price is) and great condition. We tell them how buyers are out there cherry picking the best homes and looking for the best values. We call it a "Price War and Beauty Pageant". Really! That is what is going on. If the home isn't the perceived best value, it won't sell. There are so many choices out there. Buyers can afford to be, and should be choosy.
We can speak from personal experience because we put our own home on the market in October of 2008, right as the stock market was in free fall. Everyone said we were crazy for putting our home on the market then. Would it really sell?? they wondered. We figured if we couldn't sell our own home, we were in real trouble. So, on the market it went. Granted, buyer traffic was slow as the stock market tumble had paralyzed most buyers. But after only 4 showings we received a contract offer. Not exactly the price we were looking for (after all, real estate agents are sellers too!) but it allowed us to take advantage of a sluggish real estate market and purchase a home we hadn't dreamed we could have afforded just a few years before. We listened to the advice we tell all of our sellers: It must look good, smell good and be priced right. Homes that are priced right and are in good condition have, and always will, sell. Amen, brother.
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We are full time real estate agents specializing in the St. Louis and St. Charles markets. West St. Louis County and Lake St. Louis are our specialties. We love referrals. See us at: Lindaandjim.com
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