Appealing Property Tax Assessment on Real Estate in Lexington KY

Have you been wondering if your home's tax assessment is too high due to house values falling over the past couple of years? Even though house values in Kentucky haven't decreased as dramatically as some of the harder hit markets like California and Las Vegas, values have still decreased somewhat and your property tax assessment should reflect that.

 

If you own real estate in Lexington, KY, and your home is assessed at a value that's unrealistic, here's how you can appeal that value assessment.

 

First, you need to determine whether the assessed value of your home has continued to increase each year instead of reflecting the downward trend in pricing of the past couple of years. To do this, go to the Fayette County PVA site (www.fayettepva.com) and click on property records. Enter your address and review the history of your home's assessed value. If your assessed value has continued to increase the past two years, your home's estimated value may be higher than its actual value and your corresponding tax bill may be too high as well.

 

If you believe your home's assessed value should be lowered, you may want to file an appeal so you can decrease your property tax bill. If you own real estate in Lexington, KY, here's how the process works:

 

First, you need to know that if your property's assessed value has changed since the previous year, you'll be sent a property value notification in April of that year. You don't have to have received an increased assessment in the current year to file an appeal, but it's just good to know when to be on the lookout for the tax notice.

 

If you plan to appeal your assessment, the most important thing you need to know is that you have a very limited time period each year to do so -- the period begins the first Monday in May and continues for 13 days (including Saturdays), so you'll need to act fast.

 

Second, you need to begin your appeal by researching values of other homes in your neighborhood so you'll be able to present evidence of your home's actual value. To do this, look at the list price and sales prices of homes in your neighborhood over the past year. It's important that you look in your actual subdivision, not in another subdivision that may be close by. This is the area your assessor will look at when determining your home's value, so this is the area where you need to begin your research.

 

What are you looking for when comparing your house to other listed/sold homes in your area? You're looking for homes with similar structures and similar upgrades. Calculate the cost per square foot of homes that are listed or have sold (preferably of sold homes) by dividing the sales price of the house by the number of finished square feet. Once again, try to find a home that is similar in structure -- if you have a ranch with a basement, find another ranch with a basement if possible. If you have a condo, you really need to compare it to other condos.

 

(*Note -- if you're having trouble tracking down recent home sales in your area, feel free to contact me and I'll be happy to research sold homes in your area and send you the information you need.)

 

Once you've calculated the price per square foot of similar homes in your area, compare your home's assessed value per square foot and see if there's a difference. If you can find several similar homes in your area that are listed or have sold for less per square foot, you may have a good case to get your home's assessed value lowered.

 

Okay -- you've done your research, now what? Your first step in the actual appeal process is to call someone in the Fayette County PVA office at 859-246-2722 or stop by their office at 101 East Vine Street, 6th floor between 8am and 4:30pm Monday through Friday. (You must speak with a PVA employee before actually filing an appeal.)

 

If, after presenting your evidence to the designated PVA employee, you are unable to reach an agreement on the correct value of your home, you will then need to file an appeal in writing, which will be sent to the Fayette County Clerk's Office, 162 E. Main Street. The appeal must be postmarked by May 18, 2009 or hand-delivered to the County Clerk by close of business May 19, 2009.

 

If you've followed these steps and still haven't gotten a satisfactory adjustment in your home's assessed value from the Local Board of Tax Appeals you, you can then appeal to the Kentucky Board of Tax Appeals and then to Circuit Court. (Note --  If you decided to have an attorney file your appeal for you, you have to include a letter of authorization advising the board that this person has the right to act on your behalf.) It may end up costing more in attorney's fees than you'd save in property taxes for the year you're appealing, but you need to think about the fact that lowering your home's assessed value this year will decrease your property tax bill for years to come, so it may be worth it to have an attorney handle the matter for you, especially if your home is significantly over-valued.

 

To get an accurate assessment of your home's value for tax purposes or sales purposes, contact Sharon Roark, Lexington KY Real Estate specialist and home staging expert at 859-433-3676,