Advantax Group, LLC | PropTax Center » Property Tax Appeals

Kitty Cat Obsolescence

Advantax — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:00:06 +0000

Have you ever walked out of your house and been engulfed in the powerful stench of cat feces? Me neither. Home owners Keith and Doris Cormier however, have had to deal with this problem first-hand. The Cormier’s live in their dream house in the City of Corner Brook, Canada. They say that their prior neighbor owned over 200 cats, and despite their neighbors no longer living there, the felines and their droppings remained which caused a terrible stench around the area.

The Cormiers have been corresponding with Corner Brook officials since 2008 about the cat problem. The city finally acted on the situation when the cats were seized in May of 2012. Sadly, the damage had already been done and the Cormier’s complained that because of the smell, their property’s value had dropped from $292k to around $150k. Almost a 50% decline! They feel strongly that they are deserving of a corresponding reduction in their property taxes because of the stench of cat feces.

The City of Corner Brook doesn’t agree with that valuation, though. Perhaps it’s because they’ve never heard of kitty cat obsolescence. They are willing, however, to have the Cormier’s apply to have their taxes deferred based on financial hardship. The Cormier’s continue to fight this issue and have since taken legal action, and continue to search for ways to reduce their property taxes.

Obsolescence due to kitty cats. What do you think about that?

PropTax Madness: And the Winner is…

David H. LeVan — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 23:00:00 +0000

After heated competition, PropTax Madness has come to a conclusion, at least our virtual tournament. We started with a field of 16 teams competing for the coveted “most maddening thing about property taxes”. We now have a champion. Sorry, we can’t bring the reality of these maddening issues to an actual conclusion. Without them, what fun would we have! But I digress.

You have spoken, the votes have been counted, and the winner of 2013 PropTax Madness is…faxing! It makes sense – why would you easily send an email with your attachment when you could just rewind back to 1995 and fax the document instead? Why do tax jurisdictions insist on keeping the faxing business alive?

Thanks for playing along, everyone! What do you think about the winning team? To catch up on the PropTax Madness tournament, check out our previous posts.

Real Property – Ain’t Nobody Got Time for Dat!

David H. LeVan — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:00:09 +0000

How many of you own or lease real estate? Many of you probably own a house. Some of you may even own commercial or industrial property. Or perhaps the company you work for owns or leases property. Either way, the costs related to owning that property is high – especially the real estate taxes! It’s important to ensure that you are only paying your fair share in property tax. But do you know the steps necessary to make sure you are only paying your fair share? And, if you know the steps, do you have the time to go through the process?

This is where we can be of service. At Advantax, we specialize in making sure that commercial and industrial property is being assessed correctly and resulting in the appropriate amount of property taxes. This means conducting real property assessment reviews, performing property valuation analysis, and representing you throughout the appeal and value negotiation process. We save customers time and money. It’s as if we’re in the “Office Next Door”. Check out our Real Property Consulting Services, or any of our other property tax services, on our website to learn more.

PropTax Madness: Final Four

David H. LeVan — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 23:00:38 +0000

Another round of PropTax Madness is complete! The original field of 16 teams competing for the coveted “most maddening thing about property taxes” has been narrowed down to just four teams. To catch up on the games so far, check out our previous posts here.

Similar to the March Madness games, we have a 1 seed competing against a 4 seed; Wisconsin M-P vs. Bill Back. Which team will go on to the final game?

Who will win the PropTax Madness tournament? I believe that the crowd may be the surprising factor in this final round. We’d love to hear who you think will win the “most maddening thing about property taxes”.

(click image to view larger)

PropTax Madness: The 8 Pack

Advantax — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 23:00:39 +0000

PropTax Madness is in full swing! PropTax Madness consists of 16 teams, annoying things from the field of property taxes. In the first round 8 teams were eliminated.

Here’s the rundown:

In a battle of 1 vs. 4, TX Notarization dominates over Equalization Ratios. It looks like once again, the “Trust Issues” involved with requiring a notary trump the complicated calculations required by Equalization Ratios.
Entrepreneurial Profit with an upset win over Leased Assets. While Leased Assets has some great individual players, it appears they struggle to work as a cohesive team.
Faxing is the first number 4 seed to pull off a major upset! Will Faxing be this PropTax Madness’s version of Wichita State? The final four is only 1 game away!
Big win for Virginia! As it turns out, the ever illusive assessor’s office hours are even more predictable than VA property tax due dates.
Wisconsin M-P wins in a blowout over “Receive By” Dates. The stop signs shine in a big victory for the region’s number 1 seed.
Supplemental Assessments win in a nail biter over 3/1 Assessment Dates. Supplemental assessment showing to be much stronger in this tournament than its sister school “Escape Assessments” who was bounced in round 1 by the always dangerous “Faxing”.
Bill Backs with a comeback victory over Assessment Ratios after being down big at the half, marking this tournaments second #1 seed to be eliminated in the first round. As if tax bills weren’t bad enough the first time around, they are back – with a vengeance!
MD Officer List beats Online Filing in overtime. I think Online Filing was too busy cheering its conference member “Wisconsin M-P” and was surprised by the talent level shown by those pesky Maryland Officer lists.

For all the results of round #1, check out the bracket below.

So, what teams will win in the second round, moving them ever closer to the title “most maddening thing about property taxes”? Post a comment with your predictions.

(Click image to view larger)

PropTax Madness

David H. LeVan — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 23:00:32 +0000

March Madness is in full swing – I often find myself checking scores and seeing how well my bracket is doing. Currently, I’m in last place in the office competition and kind of annoyed with Wisconsin and VCU. Why do they hurt me like that? It got me thinking – there are lots of things that drive you mad when it comes to property taxes. Why not make a bracket for that?? So here it is: PropTax Madness!

PropTax Madness consists of 16 teams, annoying things from the field of property taxes. Like March Madness, PropTax Madness will be single elimination. The tournament winner will be crowned “most maddening thing about property taxes”. We need YOUR help. What teams will win in the first round? Fill out a bracket and post a comment with your predictions.

(Click image to view larger)

Now, let me introduce you to the contenders!

Texas Notarization Requirement: What? You didn’t trust that it was us who signed it?
Equalization Ratios: Another percentage to make things complicated
Leased Assets: These guys can move so fast they’re hard to catch
Entrepreneurial Profit: Entrep – huh? And what?
Escape Assessments: The worst potential result of an audit
Faxing: Hey, 1990 called…
Virginia Personal Property Due Dates: All over the boards
Assessor’s Office Hours: Mondays AND Fridays off?
Wisconsin M-P: The always dreaded red stop sign
Receive by dates: How am I supposed to know when you received it?
Supplemental Assessments: The value was fine the way it was
3/1 Assessment Date: You just have to be different, don’t you?
Assessment Ratios: Lowers assessed value and raises the tax rate. What’s the point?
Bill Back: Can’t live with them, can’t live without them
Online Filing: This would be great if everybody did it
MD Officer List: Does anyone see a reason why they would need this?

Property Tax “Dear John” Letter

David H. LeVan — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 23:00:42 +0000

Have you ever received a “Dear John” letter (and your name isn’t John)? Would you be excited to talk about it if you did? Silly question. Of course none of us like to be rejected. However, if we’re going to be rejected it should at least be for a good reason. Not, “I just want to be friends”. That’s just lame! A bad reason just adds insult to injury.

A friend of mine recently received a “Dear John” letter from the City of Madison, Wisconsin. He had prepared a refund claim because he was taxed on property that wasn’t in the city. Here’s the scenario: the taxpayer moved their equipment out of Madison in the fall of 2012 (before the 1/1/2013 assessment). They did not file a personal property return since they no longer had equipment there. The city assessed them anyway and sent a property tax bill on the equipment, which wasn’t in Madison. They appealed and were rejected.

It’s bad that they were given a “Dear John” letter on the appeal. What makes it worse is the reason they were given in their rejection letter: “I am writing to inform you that on…. the Town Board denied your claim a refund of personal property taxes due at a prior property, which the owner had vacated…. The Town Board sets the local budget based upon total assessed value of Town property. Therefore, any refund would have a negative impact on the Town 2013 budget”

Rejected because Madison already had plans for spending the money! Nothing to do with the legality of taxing property that isn’t located in their town. That’s worse than “I just want to be friends”!

Property Tax Academy Awards

David H. LeVan — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 23:00:25 +0000

Now that award show season is in full swing, it got me thinking about awards for property tax appeals.

Who would you nominate?

Check out our latest PropTax Minute.

PropTax Calendar

David H. LeVan — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 22:00:09 +0000

It’s a new year! That means we have new, exciting things to add to our calendars. Some of us might have major life events planned for 2013 – weddings, graduations, vacations, celebrations, birthdays (I guess we all have one of those). What about the little things? Do they make the calendar?

What do you do about all the dates related to property taxes? Property tax return due dates, appeal dates? If you’re planning to work in the property tax industry, it’s probably a good thing to have those dates, major and minor, somewhere.

Luckily, we’re bringing back the PropTax Calendar again this year. As with prior year’s PropTax Calendars, the 2013 PropTax Calendar clearly lays out deadline dates for real and personal property taxes. With the PropTax Calendar you don’t have to worry about missing a deadline and can focus on celebrating what matters most.

Check out the PropTax Calendar in the PropTax Center. If you’d like a copy to hang on the wall, please contact us or download it from our website.

Was Lady GaGa Singing About Property Taxes?

David H. LeVan — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 23:00:41 +0000

As a taxpayer, have you ever had a bad relationship with an assessor? I think Lady GaGa had something to say about that.

Check out our latest PropTax Minute.