Is your Florida property over assessed !

On June 4, 2009. Governor Charlie Christ signed House Bill 521, assuring fairness in Florida property tax assessments. This legislation removes the presumption of correctness from the County Property Appraiser's Office with respect to tax assessment appeals at the Value Adjustment Board (VAB). Now, the County Property Appraiser office must prove their values, if you disagree with their estimated assessment. As long as you have evidence that is more convincing than theirs, you deserve a revised or corrected property assessment. The best evidence is an estimate of value preformed by Harborside Appraisal, an independent fee appraiser, who has the experience and the knowledge to represent you accurately and fairly.

Assessment appeal services

Counties and cities in Florida determine a portion of your property tax burden based on an ad valorem (according to value) assessment of the property's value. There is also a non ad valorem assessment portion of the tax bill. Assessed (Just) Value has an effective date of January 1st of every year. To estimate a value for January 1st of each year requires the Property Appraiser to utilize sales of the previous year. By the time the property owner receives his TRIM notice in Aug/Sept, the estimate for January 1 is approximately nine months old and based on sales as old as 21 months. In today's declining market, assessed value lags behind current sales.

Here at Harborside, we specialize in property tax assessment challenges. Having worked "on the other side of the fence" for three different County Property Appraiser Offices in the past (Charlotte, DeSoto, and Sarasota Counties), Mike Goff has incomparable knowledge of mass appraisal techniques. Often, matters like this can be explained or resolved with a phone call. In this economy, governmental agencies are feeling the downturn as well and doing everything to make up shortfalls in revenue. Do you know if your assessed value is too high? Do you know what your property was worth on January 1st of the year? If, after discussing your assessment with your local taxing authority, you still feel as though your property was overvalued, a professional, independent, third-party appraiser is often your best bet in proving your case.

That's where we come in. Our reputation for unbiased, accurate estimates of market value and our expertise with procedures for appealing assessments is unmatched. There are different procedures for appealing assessments from discussing your assessment with the County Property Appraiser's office, to filing a petition with the Value Adjustment Board, or directly litigating in circuit court. It is important to enlist the help of a professional appraisal firm that has the local knowledge of your particular jurisdiction or market place.  If warranted, it is also important to have the right legal representation that specializes in assessment appeals. We have a list of Florida legal firms specializing in assessment appeals or can also work with your present legal representation.  

Please note: It makes sense to do your own research before determining whether to go forward with a property assessment appeal, especially before you make the decision to hire a professional appraiser or attorney. However, according to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), as well as our own professional ethics, we are not allowed to take "shortcuts" -- i.e., your research -- and use it on its face value as part of our independent evaluation. When you hire us for an assessment appeal, you're commissioning an independent, third-party professional appraisal report. As such, we do our own evaluation, beginning to end. If you are right that your property has been overvalued, an independent report such as ours will be even more persuasive than any other evidence you can marshal on your own. But it depends on our ability to do the work independently.   

Absentee owners, or property owners that do not care to represent themselves, can make arrangements for representation. Sometimes, you will have a hearing or court date on your assessment appeal and will need for the appraiser you have hired to testify on your behalf. Be assured that at Harborside Appraisal and Consulting, we are able to professionally and persuasively testify at appeal hearings.  Mr. Goff, our senior appraiser, has never lost a case before the Value Adjustment Board.  Browse our website to learn more about our qualifications, expertise and services offered.