About Cayuga County, NY

Dear Community:

I have been swamped with calls from you about the Cayuga County re-assessment. I know that many of you are very surprised and maybe that's an understatement. About a year ago the Cayuga County Office of Real Property Services (ORPS) records were opened up and made public. I just want to share this with you so that you are aware and able to go in and see what information the assessor has about your property on record. There are many properties involved and as when you are doing anything in this volume there can be mistakes made.

Check out your information and make sure the assessor has the correct information.

It is very easy to check this out. If you are unlucky enough to be on dial up remember the local libraries have high speed access either wireless ( aurora - use you own laptop) or computers available - Aurora Library is open MWF 3-8 and Saturday 10-3 and Hazard Library is open Tuesday and Thursday 1-8 , and Saturday 9-4. Just to help, taxes are stressful enough.

Here's the link to the ORPS website: http://www.co.cayuga.ny.us/realproperty/imate/index.html

and here is a step-by-step process to find your property:

When the page opens up you'll see this and click on it

Then you'll see the box below and click on here:

Then you'll see the following box - IT'S VERY TOUCHY - meaning the more information you fill in, the more confused it gets - try just filling in the your last name - and hit search - then scroll through and find your information

Your property information should come up - you'll see a box on the left hand side of the screen that looks like this:

Click on the Report box and check all the boxes that come up on the left - click them all

Now you should be able to look at everything that the tax office has about your property. There have been mistakes made on other people's properties - In the case of assessment, size matters and if they have you with extra outbuildings, extra bathrooms, rooms, square footage, extra shoreline ( if you are on the lake). Wrong information like this will directly affect the amount that you are assessed for.

You'll also be able to see what everyone else is being re-assessed at - it is completely open information.

Keep in mind that if a house sold, let's say, 4 times in the last 20 years the assessment value will be closer to the market value. Market value is usually by definition, what A BUYER will pay for your house on a open market. I am really, really, really unsure and surprised at some of the values that some of you have shared with me.

If you have owned your house for a substantial time (as many of you have indicated) then you were probably re-assessed slowly or not at all - the point of re-assessment is designed to re-align the discrepancies between market value and assessment value. To insure that everyone is on a equal taxpaying level and no one is paying more than their share.

I would suggest checking out the website and looking hard at your assessment and if you chose to, fighting it - you will only go up in the future from this number. The open ORPS site allows you to understand what everyone else is assessed at.

It is my understanding that you are allowed to have an informal appointment where you discuss the assessment, make you case, ask them why you were assessed at that number and lodge your case. Later, I think May, the tentative assessments will become real assessments and then at that point you will need to do the formal grieving process.

I have had MANY CALLS on this and want you to know that everyone has been re-assessed and everyone is very surprised. It may comfort you to know you AREN'T ALONE.

I am not in any way, shape or form responsible for tax assessments but realize that many of you don't know that there's a open source of information available at your fingertips, I just wanted to give you the tools to help yourself.

As always, you are more than welcome to contact me and can reach me by email or on my cell phone 607.351.2353 - as well, I don't have everyone's email please feel free to forward this to your re-assessed friends and family. Share the Knowledge.

Take care and enjoy this Spring Day!

Michelle Miller

Licensed Broker Associate on the Melissa Miller Team at RE/MAX In Motion

If you are considering purchasing a home but don't know where to start go to Eagle Nationwide Mortgage's Home Buyer's Night every THURSDAY at 6:30 p.m. The Blarney Stone, Genesee Street, Auburn, NY tell them that Amy Testa sent you!

You will be able to get all of your mortgage questions answered in a no pressure casual setting and get prequalified if you are interested.

THIS LITTLE PIGGY IS
BUYING A NEW HOME
YOU CAN TOO!


Visit Us or Call for YOUR Preapproval: 252-9675
163 North St., Auburn Available Nights & Weekends by Appointment

Rita 515-0701

Call or Join Us Thursday Nights for More Info
FUN FUN FUN EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT

Play the MORTGAGE MONEY GAME
Learn negotiation tactics and strategies to more effectively buy or sell a home.
And...if you want, get prequalified by our team of mortgage professionals.

6:30 pm at Blarney Stone - 288 W. Genesee St., Auburn
We Welcome 1st Time Homebuyers
MANY Programs Available
Including FHA, Rural, and VA Loans

Here are the most recent real estate sales statistics for Cayuga County from January 1st, 2009 thru February 19, 2009 along with the sales statistics from January 1, 2008 - February 19,2008

These statistics cover all of cayuga county including the city of Auburn, Weedsport, Brutus, Aurelius, Fleming, Springport, Port Byron, Owasco, Genoa, Locke, Ledyard, Scipio, Sennett, Throop, Mentz and Montezuma.

1/1/09-2/19/09

Number of Listings Sold: 29
Average Sales Price: $104,008.00
Average List Price: $114,202.00
Minimum Sales Price: $20,000.00
Minium List Price: $24,900
Maximum Sales Price: $409,00.00
Maximum List Price: $439,900.00
AVERAGE DAYS ON THE MARKET: 121 Days

1/1/2008-2/19/08

Listings Sold: 35
Average Sale Price: $137,909
Average List Price: $149,826
AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET: 114


If you are thinking about selling your home this year remember that the key to sucess is all in the pricing. Call me anytime at 315-515-8348 for a free comprehensive market analysis that will give you the market dictacted price you could expect to sell you home for.

I also offer sellers a comprehensive marketing plan that includes your own unique property website ex. http://www.5879breedroad.com/, professional photographs of the property and a wide array of print and online advertising.

You can sell your house in this market you just have to have a good agent with a good marketing plan and you have to be spot on with your pricing! I will continually update these sales statistics on my blog

Homeowners, who think it is normal for their dryer to take more than one cycle to dry clothes, think again. Lint accumulation or blockage in the vent is a known cause of dryers running inefficiently.

While consumers are aware of the need to conserve energy, they are still unaware that yearly dryer and dryer vent maintenance can help cut energy bills as well as prevent dryer fires. The average home spends about $1900 on energy costs every year, according to research conducted by Energy Star, a program managed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy.

As energy costs increase, consumers need to be made aware of the importance of proper cleaning and maintenance of all their appliances. Here are some tips for maintaining the clothes dryer for energy savings and fire prevention:

• Be sure that dryer vent systems are up to code with city, state and manufacturer.
• Have dryer vents professionally cleaned and inspected annually
• Clean lint traps before and after drying a load.
• Dry loads of similar type and weight of fabric together. Lower dryer temperatures may be used for certain clothes.
• Keep the clothes dryer outside exhaust clean. A clogged exhaust lengthens drying time.

"Consumers who follow these guidelines will find their clothes dryer takes less time to dry clothes saving time, money and extending the life of their clothes," says Stevenson.

In addition, to conserving energy, dryer manufacturers, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), advise annual dryer and dryer vent maintenance to prevent dryer fires, a leading cause of homes fires in the U.S.

This article was written by John Stevenson, owner of Dryer Vent Wizard of Upstate NY, http://www.dryerventwizard.com which specializes in dryer vent cleaning, replacing vents made of flammable material, repairing and altering vents for residential and commercial clients. While cleaning out a vent recently at Erie Village, Stevenson found the cause for the customer's dryer taking longer than it should to dry. There was a bird's nest that had been built in the vent line, even though it had a critter guard at the vent cover.

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Auburn Sherlock Homes Real Estate is located in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of central New York. We are in the center of the Auburn business district making a short drive to any of the outlying areas.

For those not in the "know", Auburn is at the north end of Owasco Lake and only 10 minutes from Cayuga Lake to the west and Skaneateles Lake to the east and 45 minutes from Lake Ontario to the north and from Ithaca (home of the Big Red) to the south. Our region is an outdoor paradise. National Parks, bird sanctuaries, activiites such as boating, fishing, swimming, hiking, skiing, snowmobiling, and skating are a hop, skip and a jump away.

Like history???, we have the Seward house, Cayuga Museum (home of the talking pictures), and the Harriet Tubman home in Auburn alone. And, not to be underestimated, our area features terrific restaurants and of course the Cayuga-Seneca wine trail.......talk about things to do.....

Well, here we are in beautiful central New York...School is out, the weather is gorgeous.....thoughts are turning to those summer activities....fireworks at the lake on the fourth, county fairs, summer concerts, backyard get togethers and all the other great things to do.....Wow!!! But, keep in mind its still a great time to buy a home......interest rates are good and there's a nice inventory of properties available. So, if you're looking to buy, give me a call and you could be in your new home by fall.