How to challenge your property taxes

CINCINNATI - With home values way down, many Tri-State homeowners may be paying more in property taxes than they need to.

That's particularly true if you bought your home in the last three years, but it turns out that about a third of the people who challenge their taxes see some savings, according to the Non-Profit National Taxpayers Union.

Daniel Leitman loves his home, but knows it's not worth what it was just 3 years ago. So he just challenged his property taxes and got a big reward.

"We received a very healthy reduction in taxes," said Leitman. "Which is a little bit over 20 to 25 percent."

But it's not so simple.

Our partners at Consumer Reports Magazine say to dispute your property taxes, you have to establish that the county's assessment of your home is too high.

"So there's a couple of ways you can make your case: You can either show that your home isn't as big or as nice as what the assessment states, or you can show that your home's value isn't in line with comparable properties," said Tobie Stanger from Consumer Reports.

In Ohio, the Hamilton, Clermont, Butler, or Warren County Auditor's Office should be your first stop to see how homes are assessed. In Hamilton County, you need to make your challenge during the first three months of the year:  after April, you have to wait until the following year.

In Kentucky, check your county's tax office.

Then you will know what to focus on. In Daniel's case, he hired an appraiser who based his report on recent sales of similar homes.

"You could pay an appraiser several hundred dollars to do it. Or you could try it on your own. You can go to your town hall and look at public records of comparable properties or you can ask a real-estate agent to help you," said Stanger.

Also check that the records on your house - like the number of baths and bedrooms - is correct. if not, the assessor may have your property valued too high.

"A good way to tell if it's worth challenging your property taxes is if your home's value has gone down recently by at least 10 percent," said Stanger.

Daniel picked an appraiser familiar with the real-estate market who helped him make a good case.  "A savings is a savings," said Leitman. "If you can save any amount of money on your taxes, why not go for it?"

If you're considering a tax challenge, Consumer Reports says it's important to continue to pay your taxes in full until your case is decided. If you're considering hiring an attorney to take the matter to court, you'll want to balance that cost against any possible savings: it may not be worth it.

As always, don't waste your money.

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