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ATTENTION AGENTS!!!

June 7, 2016 by 6 Comments

Attention Agents - The Coyle Group

Attention all Real Estate Agents!  Do you want to stand out from the crowd and really stay in the minds of your clients and prospects?

Well, you’re in luck…its tax appeal season!  For the next few of months homeowners across the Philadelphia region will have a chance to appeal their tax assessments.  This is a great opportunity for real estate agents to reconnect with current clients, old clients and prospects!  It’s also an opportunity to bring real value and show them that you’re not just any-old real estate agent but, a trusted partner who is looking out for their best interest.

Over the next few weeks, try reaching out to your old clients and prospects suggesting that they might want to consider appealing their taxes.  Show them that you’re looking out for them and want to help them save money.  Imagine how happy your client would be if you were able to help them save hundreds or thousands of dollars off their tax bills each year!

If you have any questions on how the assessment and appeal process works (in Philly, Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware, Chester or Berks Counties) or how to figure out if your clients/prospects would be good candidates for an appeal, please feel free to contact our office.

The Coyle Group’s team of Philadelphia appraisers are a leading provider of appraisals for Estate/Probate, Divorce, Bankruptcy, Tax Appeal and Pre-Listing. If you need a guest speaker at your next sales meeting, please give us a call. We would welcome to opportunity to speak to your group and field any appraisal related questions you may have. For more information please visit our website at www.TheCoyleGroupLLC.com You can also contact The Coyle Group at 215-836-5500 or appraisals@coyleappraisals.com

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Tax Appeal Deadline Approaching!!!

July 21, 2015 by 2 Comments

The Coyle Goup - Tax Appeal - Philadelphia AppraisersHey, I know it’s kind of last-minute but, if you or your clients live in Montgomery, Bucks, Chester or Delaware County you have until the end of business August 1, 2015 to file the paperwork for your tax assessment appeal.  If you live in the City of Philadelphia you have until Monday, October 5, 2015 to file your appeal.  This is a great way to reduce your tax burden.  It typically involves filing the necessary paperwork with the county assessors office along with a fee.  You should check with your county assessors office to find out what the exact fee may be.

After that, if you live in the Counties, you will receive a hearing date at which time you will be able to plead your case in front of the Board of Assessment (please note that Philadelphia works a little differently, go figure).  You will want to take with you any evidence, photos or data that would demonstrate that your property is over-assessed (MLS Sheets will usually not cut it) .  The most effective way to illustrate your case to the board is with a current appraisal of your property showing that the value is less that implied assessment value and they you deserve relief.  Now, some folks represent themselves at the hearing, others hire attorneys to handle their case.  Either way the burden of proof is on the property owner.

Real Estate Agents: this is a great way for you to reconnect with past clients by offering them professional assistance without trying to sell.  Imagine how happy our past client would be if you were able to help them save hundreds or thousands of dollars off their tax bills each year!

If you have any questions or if we can help you or your clients determine if an appeal is reasonable, feel free to contact our office before the deadline.  We can also help you with an appraisal of the property prior to the hearing.  Good luck!!

The Coyle Group’s team of Philadelphia appraisers are a leading provider of appraisals for Estate/Probate, Divorce, Bankruptcy, Tax Appeal and Pre-Listing. If you need a guest speaker at your next sales meeting, please give us a call. We would welcome to opportunity to speak to your group and field any appraisal related questions you may have. For more information please visit our website at www.TheCoyleGroupLLC.com You can also contact The Coyle Group at 215-836-5500 or appraisals@coyleappraisals.com

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Philly AVI Confusion

March 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment

TCG - City of Philadelphia

 Ever since the new assessments were released by the Philadelphia Office of Property Assessment (OPA) last month, our phones have been ringing off the hook with property owners wanting to engage our services.  Believe me, I’m not complaining.  It’s a great problem to have. 

However, more times than not, especially with residential callers, I suggest a “wait and see” approach.  The fact of the matter is that the OPA is trying something completely new this year…the First Level Review (FLR).  The FLR was established as a way for property owners to dispute the assessment without having to go through the appeal process.  In the FLR, the property owner can file documents (including photos and recent appraisals)  that state why they feel their property is improperly assessed.  That will initiate an informal review by the Office of Property Assessment (OPA).

Here’s where the confusion sets in.  Most homeowners that call us are under the impression that the FLR is an appeal, which it is not.  As stated above, it is an informal review conducted by an OPA Evaluator that could result in the assessment being lowered, increased or remaining the same.  

The most important part of initiating a First Level Review (along with any photos, additional documentation and appraisals) is to do so by March 31, 2013 or 30 days from when you received the Assessment Change Notice.  So, it is very important that you check your Notice and know when it was received.  That being said, it is not always necessary to submit an appraisal along with your FLR .  It may help your case, however, your case may be strong enough on its own merits without having to incur the expense of an appraisal.

The “Wait and See”  Approach:  Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t like to turn away work.  But, what I suggest to property owners is that they file the FLR citing their reasons and rationales, and then “wait and see” what the results are.  If they get a reduction, great!  They did so without having to put out $350-450 for an appraisal.  If they didn’t get a reduction or maybe got an increase, then they can file for a formal appeal with the Board of Revision of Taxes.  This is when having a full appraisal of the property completed will be best investment.   Now, if a property owner is insistent upon having an appraisal to file along with their FLR paperwork, I’m more than happy to oblige. 

So be sure to get your First Level Review paperwork in by the deadline.  If you are not sure of your particular deadline, check your Notice or call the OPA at 215.686.9200. 

As a side note, if you decide to move ahead and get an appraisal to submit along with your FLR or appeal, I strongly recommend having a full appraisal with interior and exterior inspections. The main reason is that with a full inspection, the appraiser instantly has more accurate information about the subject property than the assessor, who rarely has the opportunity or time to inspect the interior of a property. Right off the bat, the appraiser has a superior understanding of the subject’s interior condition, actual size and knows if there is any damage. Why wouldn’t you want to have better information than your opponent (the assessor)?  In my opinion, Drive-by appraisals or BPOs don’t cut it when appealing your tax assessment.  You may save some money but, you get what you pay for.  If your appraiser and the assessor appear at the appeal hearing with the same information based on an exterior inspeciton and public record data, guess who’s going to lose?  Hint, not the assessor.

If you have any questions about your Assessment Notice or if you need an Residential or Commercial Appraisal to submit along with your Assessment Appeal, please feel free to contact The Coyle Group at 215.836.5500 or appraisals@coyleappraisals.com

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Potential 32% Reduction!

June 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

A property owner in Whitpain Township contacted our office about doing an appraisal of his property for tax assessment appeal.  As we do with all of our assessment appeal clients, we ran the public records on the property and searched for any prior MLS data on the house.  This gives us a preliminary understanding of the property.

In this case, the house was a 5 year old 1 story rancher.  Not very common in this particular market where 2 story colonials are the norm.  The public records indicated that the house was over 5,100 square feet…large for a rancher.  Digging a little deeper we found that 2,000 square feet of the listed gross living area (GLA) was contained in the finished basement. 

Why does that matter you may ask?  Well, from an appraisal perspective, below grade living space is generally not valued the same as above grade living space; nor, is below grade living space included in the overall GLA calculations.  So, again from an appraisal perspective, the actual above grade GLA for the property is really about 3,100SF with 2,000 of finished basement. 

This matters when an appraiser is reporting the Fair Market Value (FMV) of a property.  FMV is the basis for a property’s assessment. 

 While an assessor, for the purpose of assessment, may value below grade living space the same as above grade space, an appraiser does not.  The reason being is that when appraising for FMV the appraiser takes into consideration the actions, preferences and trends within a given market.  In this case, Buyers within this market will generally not value below grade living space (no matter how nice) the same way they would value above grade living space.   For example, Buyers might be willing to pay $125 per square foot for above grade space but only $50 per square foot for finished basement space. 

The property we were looking at had an Assessed Market Value of $889,300.  They were being taxed as if their home was worth $889,300!  Their annual taxes were in excess of $14,000.  That’s a lot for a modest rancher.

Our initial search of recent sales showed no sales of 1 story ranchers in the prior 12 and 24 month periods.  So, we expanded our search to include any and all sales within the subject’s municipality and school district.  What we found was that the average sale in the prior 12 months of all homes in this area was right around $600,000.  Keep in mind that these sales are all 2 story colonials, some much larger than our rancher.   Without having done an appraisal of the property and only using broad averages of the market we were able to present the following scenario to the property owner. 

If the property were to appraise at the market average of $600,000 and this amount was agreed to at the assessment hearing, the homeowner could potentially reduce their assessment by 32.5%.  They would save approximately $4,550 per year in taxes!   Keep in mind that the average is based on available 2 story colonial sales.  Chances are that the actual appraised value of the rancher may be less than the average resulting in a deeper assessment reduction.

So as tax appeal season approaches property owners should take a good look at their assessments and the public data available on their property.  They should check for errors in the public records, especially incorrect square footage, room count and exterior features such as pools.  These are often incorrect in the public records and, if left unchecked, could greatly affect your assessment and tax burden. 

Real estate agents and other professionals that work with property owners, now is a great opportunity for you to offer a value added service to your past, present and potential clients.  Offer to conduct a review of their assessment card and public records.  If you notice something out of the ordinary you can bring this to their attention and instruct them on how to proceed.

If anyone has any questions about their assessments or how to proceed with a tax assessment appeal, please feel free to contact our office at 215.836.5500 or email appraisals@coyleappraisals.com .

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