From the Office of Fay Boland, Tax Collector rentwood
TAX
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From the Office of Fay Boland, Tax Collector rentwood
CITY BRIEFLY OF MCKEESPORT BRENTWOOD NEWS
Once again approximately ten thousand property assessment tax appeals have been filed in Allegheny County, PA for 2017. Some of the appeals were filed by residential or commercial property owners, but most of these tax appeals have been filed by school districts or the municipality challenging the current assessments based on a recent sale price, which is often a surprise to the property owner. This should be a major consideration when buying a house for substantially more than its current assessed valuation. This page should help property owners have a better understanding of the appeal process and increase their chances for a reduction. The assessed value of a property may be appealed annually and there is no filing fee for this service.
However you must:
1. Complete and return the Annual Appeal Form to the Office of Property Assessments( available each year from certification in January until March 31st). 2. Submit by March 31st of the current year. 3. Submit by mail, in person, or email or Online, do not submit by Fax.
* You will need to bring up your parcel on the county’ s real estate website http:// www2. alleghenycounty. us / RealEstate / Default. aspx and click on the " Appeal Status " tab to see the appeal option.
The Process: To significantly increase chances in an Allegheny County assessment appeal, you must have some basic understanding of the tax appeal process.
1. First, there is a BPAAR( Board of Property Assessments Appeals and Review) hearing administered by a hearing officer, who has professional real estate experience( i. e. appraisers, agents, etc.). The BPAAR hearing is typically held at the Allegheny County Office of Property Assessments, located on the 3rd Floor of the County Office Building. At the first level BPAAR hearing, evidence is offered by both sides, and the hearing officer then makes a written recommendation to the actual Board of Property Assessment. The Board of Property Assessment typically takes about 60-90 days to render a decision, called a“ Notice of Disposition”. Once the decision, or“ Notice of Disposition” is sent, all interested parties then have 30 additional days from the mailing date to appeal this BPAAR decision to a second level BOV( Board of Viewer) hearing.
2. Second, there is the BOV( Board of Viewers) hearing. This is a more formal hearing in the Court of Common Pleas
38 Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall
of Allegheny County. The BOV has a civil docket number and is held on the 8th floor of the City County Building in front of an assigned administrative judge. If the parties are unable to resolve the tax appeal, the matter is scheduled for an actual trial, where all applicable Allegheny County local rules of court apply. Once the BOV court renders a decision, all parties may appeal to the discretion of the Honorable R. Stanton Wettick, whose review is limited to the evidence from the BOV hearing, and legal briefs are submitted by the parties.
3. Third, and finally, if the parties are still not satisfied, an appeal to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania can be filed alleging that the lower court abused its discretion or made an error of law. Few cases are appealed this far. Theoretically, the case could also be appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
The Evidence:
1. In order to change a property assessment in Allegheny County, the filing party has the burden of proof. Specifically, to prove market value of the subject property. This is most often accomplished through comparable sales, but other valuation methods may also be used( i. e. cost approach, income approach).
2. Recent sale prices are persuasive, but NOT conclusive, meaning a sales price is NOT controlling in an assessment appeal, and the evidence must include comparable sales. If you have been appealed, and the taxing entity only presents a deed or county web page, they should lose because they did not present comparable sales to support their appeal.
3. The primary issue for 2017 current appeals( property owner or taxing entity) is the fair market value of the property, either in the current year( and then applying a ratio) or as of the base year January 1, 2012.
4. The Appellant( appealing party) can use either a base year valuation method or a current fair market value method in their argument. The base year valuation method focuses on what the property was worth in 2012 by looking at sales information around that time. The current fair market value method focuses instead on more recent sales, and requires that this opinion be depreciated backwards to reflect a 2012 value.
5. The best evidence is to provide proof of similar properties, similarly located, which have recently sold for less than your property is assessed.
6. You should have a minimum of 3 comparable sales, but if you can find more it can be very persuasive to submit them, if they help.