Randy DeLaMare

There is an animal in there, you may have to look twice. I did

I was out showing ahouse this morning then was off to do a little research for a post, I looked north and this is what I saw.

I was glad I was at a distance, they looked pretty menacing. It didn't take to long for the snow to hit after I got in the car from taking the pictures.

This is looking towards the Salt Lake Valley from Herriman, Utah

I received a message from a client the other day. "Would you like to see what we have done to our house?" It was a young couple, first time home buyers. I spent several months out looking at Short Sales, Home Path, HUD homes and everything in between. I think you probably know the drill.

We found several homes they liked, wrote several offers and finally HUD sent me an email saying that they were the top bidders on a home. Probably their favorite. Someone else had a higher bid but didn't go through with the sale and we were the 2nd highest bidder so it was offered to my clients. I could go on about some of the hurdles we had to overcome finalizing the deal but this is not about the deal.

I made an appointment to go and see what they had done to the house. On the appointed day I arrived and they welcomed me into their home. They had painted the entire main floor and had new carpet installed. The house looked great. But the smiles and the pride of ownership I saw in their faces was the greatest reward I could receive. Their 3 year old son took me to his room to show me how awesome it was. He loved their new house. They loved their new house. As I left I realized even though I received a commission for helping them find and purchase a home this experience was way more rewarding.

When Would you Want the Value of Your Home to drop?

The question is a little absurd. Why would you ever want your home value to drop? Well actually you really don't want the value of your home to drop. But when the tax man is looking at your home that is the time when you want your home to have the lowest possible value. Why? Because your property taxes are most likely to be based off the value he comes up with. When your tax notice comes later this year you will want to look at the value they have for your home. If it is higher than you think you would be able to sell it for you may want to get a CMA. What is a CMA you say? Current Market Analysis. A Realtor® can give you a CMA. They will do comparables from the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) to show what the value of your home should be based on current sales in your area. Don't be confused with the CMA being an appraisal. One must be a licensed appraiser to give an appraisal. In many states if you want to appeal the tax value on your home the CMA will work from a licensed Realtor®. Why would you want a CMA instead of an appraisal? We can't charge for CMA's. You will pay for an appraisal. I was able to save a family member $350 on their property taxes last year by supplying a CMA. Most any other time you really want your home value to be high but not when the taxing authority is looking at it.

Another way you can appeal your homes value is if you recently purchased it. If you paid less than the tax value you can appeal by showing the final HUDs from your home purchase. If you don't have them you can ask for a copy from the Title or escrow company you went through or from your Realtor®.

The information on this post is for information only. Check with yur own taxing authority to see what the appeal process is for your area. As of the publishing of this post a CMA will work for most taxing authorities in the State of Utah.