Ryan Richmond

For many people, keeping a close eye on their property tax bill is becoming the norm across the country, and for good reason. With the decline in the real estate market and the sheer fact that so many are trying to hold on to every dollar that they can, it is possible to save $100's, and for some $1000's, each year. Lowering your property tax has never been an overly difficult process, but until recently, less than 5% of property owners appealed their property tax assessments every year. Give the dramatic change in property values recently, this begs the question: What can you expect now when trying to lower your tax burden?

Much like visiting the local shopping mall in December, you can expect long lines and roadblocks along the way. Local municipalities and assessment review boards are typically staffed for only 5% of the population to appeal, and like many property owners, they too are trying to hold on to every dollar. By lowering your property tax, this equates to lower tax revenue for local governments. While I am not certain if it is by design, or simply that assessment departments are understaffed, but many of us will find that our tax appeals will not be as efficient or accurate as we would like in many parts of the country.

There may be no surefire method to appealing your latest property tax assessment, but the best way to prepare for what may be a difficult battle is to have substantial evidence of your property's current market value. The days of getting a few comparable sales from your friend or cousin who works as a part-time real estate agent and mailing them to your assessor are now a relic of the past. In many cities, it seems like no amount of convincing will cut through the red tape and get your taxes lowered. In any case, having a licensed appraiser or seasoned real estate broker will prove to be the most effective ammunition to appeal your tax. Review boards are looking for any reason to deny your case, and many will consider independent expert evidence, but not your opinion.

The site LowTaxRate.com lists experienced, and more importantly, licensed professionals in your area that can help compile valuation advice; they may even help you with the paperwork. Ultimately, you should have all of your paperwork organized and complete. To give yourself the greatest chance for success, you should have independent valuation advice from a local professional. While these individuals do not work for free, their fees are usually well worth the investment and can pay dividends for years to come.

Above all, it is important to remember that it is up to you to make certain you are assessed fairly and that you have the right to challenge your property tax assessment.

Ryan Richmond is vice president of Trowbridge Realty in Detroit, MI and one of the founders of LowTaxRate.com and Property Tax Experts, Inc., a national organization of real estate and tax experts.

How does your state's property tax compare to the rest of the country? With property values falling across the country the amount of tax paid should drop, however this is not the case. The inefficiencies with local assessing authorities has created a large inconsistency with assessed versus market value.

The site lowpropertytax.net illustrates average property tax collections per state and ranks each state in terms of tax paid.

We would expect California to see a huge drop in tax collection compared to Oregon for example. Property value decreases have been more prevelant in California than Oregon yet average collections have remained proportional to Oregon even last year. What does this tell us? Assessment values are not falling like they should in California or the state has had tremendous millage rate hikes to offset the drop in taxable value. We know that California has not had any significant rate increases nor have many states, though they are trying.

The Property Tax Experts, Inc is a consumer advocacy group educating property owners to take notice of their property tax assessment. The flagship site, LowTaxRate.com is a free resource for property owners to understand their property tax, tax assessment and resources to pay their fair share of property tax.

Like many American’s last February I went and visited my accountant to prepare and file a federal tax return. Many thoughts raced through my mind on how to spend my newly found fortune, new clothes, a well-deserved night out or possibly pay down the credit card. Although all of them sounded appealing, like many of us I used my tax return to pay my property tax bill. This is a common way for many; use our tax return to pay our property tax.

This vicious cycle has been played out every spring since I became a homeowner. It was not until last year that I thought about all of the planning and preparation that went in to my federal taxes only to glance at my property tax bill and write a check without question or a second thought.

After utilizing many available tax deductions and credits many may find that the amount of federal taxes paid is less than the amount of their annual property tax.

When we examine our local property tax the same concepts apply as federal tax, however we rarely take notice. For example most municipalities allow for tax deductions and credits to offset the amount of property tax due. Many states give you a lower tax rate just for owning the home as your primary residence, being a veteran, or if you are over 65 years of age to name a few.

While these credits and deductions are important to take note of the more important issue is what your local government has valued your home at. This can often make the most impact to taxpayers. Known as your assessed value, this is what is used to multiply your local tax rates in order to arrive at the amount of property tax you will owe for the year. This can be one of the most overlooked aspects to homeowners, especially as of late in this current housing meltdown.

It is first important to find what your local assessor has for a property description of your home as mistakes often occur. Verify the square footage, the number of bedrooms and other data on your property record card is correct. Most assessors never look at your home, rather employ mass appraisal systems and rely on public record information to assess your homes value.

Why are we entrusting our local taxing authority to tell us our homes value? According to the Tax Foundation over 60% of homes in America are over assessed. More than half of us are paying too much property tax. All areas do allow taxpayers to dispute their annual assessment while less than 5% take corrective action. Maybe the IRS should take note of our local taxing authorities and make certain assumptions about everyone’s annual income, I would imagine a few more than 5% would disagree with the figure they propose.

The bottom line is we need to take notice of our own property taxes just as closely as we do our federal income tax filings. In this current housing market where a 10% reduction in home value could equal $500 in tax savings it is up to each taxpayer to assess their own assessment.

The website www.LowTaxRate.com is a free resource for taxpayers to better understand their property tax, tax assessments and offers help to dispute inflated tax assessments. It is important that we all make certain we are paying our fair share of tax.

Signed, The average homeowner.

Is now a good time to buy office space? Their is definitely opportunity so why would it make sense?

For example if you purchased a 10,000 sf free standing office building your scenario would look like this:

Purchase Price:	$800,000
Annual Property Tax:	$15,000
Insurance:	$4000
Maintenance/ cleaning/ etc:	$20,000

Down Payment:

SBA 79a) Loan	$80,000	90% Financing purchase, 85% Refinance, 25 Year Amortization, Good Credit.
SBA 504 Loan	$80,000	90% Financing purchase, Great Program, closing fees included in down payment.
Conventional	$200,000	Typical 25% down in today's market, 20 Year Loan
Land Contract	Varies	Depends on owners equity position and loan terms. Possible to have low or no down payment and often at the lowest rates. Again depends owners ability and availibility of space.

Monthly Payment:

SBA 7(a) Loan	$7862	90% Financing purchase, 85% Refinance, 25 Year Amortization, Good Credit. Includes NNN Charges
SBA 504 Loan	$7862	90% Financing purchase, Great Program, closing fees included in down payment.
Conventional	$8526	Typical 25% down in today's market, 20 Year Loan
Land Contract	Varies	Depends on owners equity position and loan terms. Possible to have low or no down payment and often at the lowest rates. Again depends owners ability and availibility of space.

Monthly Lease Payment:

Lease

$11,667

Gross lease Rate $14 not including NNN Charges

For Office solutions in Michigan visit, MichiganOffice.org

* This is for illustration purposes only. Actual numbers may vary. Contact us for purchase options.

Paying Too Much For Your Office Lease? The trend in commercial real estate across the country is stagnant. Few properties are being sold; Office space sales are down 70% since last year. Tightened credit guidelines make it difficult to purchase these properties forcing many building owners into bankruptcy. As unemployment rises there will be less tenants in the marketplace to lease space providing more challenges to landlords.

In addition to the overall economy, many cash strapped landlords lack the capital required to make significant upgrades to their property in order to compete with lower lease rate buildings that are in better condition. The problem will only get worse for building owners. What does this mean to the tenant? Opportunity.

With a more competitive marketplace, office tenants can upgrade their space and possibly pay lower lease payments every month. The Detroit area’s office vacancy rate decreased approximately 1% over the last year. The average lease rate decreased, while many deals were not disclosed the lease rates still have shown significant decrease. Class B office space continues to see negative absorption, while class A and C gain. Meaning users are either upgrading space or seeking out the lowest cost class C space possible to control overhead.

Ryan Richmond is a broker with GVA Detroit, a local tenant representation firm specializing in office, industrial and medical properties.