Property Tax Assessment

[jkpescador]

Did anyone else feel that their tax assessment was high?
Anyone going to challenge it?

[WindwardOahuRN]

Did anyone else feel that their tax assessment was high?
Anyone going to challenge it?

What does challenging it entail?

[oceanpacific]

What does challenging it entail?

You have to pay a $25 fee to appeal. I did it a few years ago when my assessment went up 40% when many others in my neighborhood only had 20% increases. Mine went from $312K to $457K. I countered with $380K based on the appraisal a few months earlier when I re-financed my mortgage.

The Real Property Tax (RPT) division called to offer a compromise, decreasing their assessment by $44K to $413K (I would go up $33K). This saved me a net of $125 for one year ($150 - 25 appeal fee). The next year, the assessment went back up to $453K - I didn't bother to appeal.

In subsequent years, the assessed values increased to $513K, $693K (2006), and finally to $841K (2007). The paper indicated a 15% hike, but mine is 21.5%. I don't think I'll bother to appeal.

If you don't settle it with RPT, you go to tax court. To win, you need evidence like sale prices on comparable properties, property appraisals, insurance valuations, etc.

[pzarquon]

Talk about an eye-popper. My mom's older townhome in Mililani's assessed value went up from $370k to $515k. That's a 40 percent increase in one year. Even so, I doubt there'll be an appeal. That's just how insane the market has been. Three units in the same complex sold in the past year (all of which we were nosy enough to check out) with prices in the mid- to high-400k range, which I'm sure contributed to the jump.

[jkpescador]

One house is selling near us for $661,000 so I don't know if our house is worth $722,xxx. Don't you think your mom's townhome should be in the range that others sold theirs for? Especially since prices have been going down. I think they were projecting that prices would still be going up.

[WindwardOahuRN]

You have to pay a $25 fee to appeal. I did it a few years ago when my assessment went up 40% when many others in my neighborhood only had 20% increases. Mine went from $312K to $457K. I countered with $380K based on the appraisal a few months earlier when I re-financed my mortgage.

The Real Property Tax (RPT) division called to offer a compromise, decreasing their assessment by $44K to $413K (I would go up $33K). This saved me a net of $125 for one year ($150 - 25 appeal fee). The next year, the assessment went back up to $453K - I didn't bother to appeal.

In subsequent years, the assessed values increased to $513K, $693K (2006), and finally to $841K (2007). The paper indicated a 15% hike, but mine is 21.5%. I don't think I'll bother to appeal.

If you don't settle it with RPT, you go to tax court. To win, you need evidence like sale prices on comparable properties, property appraisals, insurance valuations, etc.

I don't think we'll bother. The increase was ridiculous but I don't know if challenging it is worth the aggravation.

[tutusue]

Received my assessment today...a 31% increase. Not much I can do about it because the 2007 taxable value is on par with what units sold for during 2006. Oh well!

[WindwardOahuRN]

Received my assessment today...a 31% increase. Not much I can do about it because the 2007 taxable value is on par with what units sold for during 2006. Oh well!


Actually, houses in my neighborhood sold for a bit above what we are being assessed for.

The only ones who win are the ones who are selling, I guess. For those of us who plan on dying here, it kinda sucks.

Except, of course, if we are going for a home equity loan.

Ah, whatever. All in all, I suppose there are many who would trade their troubles for ours. :)

[mel]

People who live near the soon to be proposed rail corridor will be hit with even higher assessments in the near future as developers start speculating and snatching up adjacent properties. It's another reason why I oppose rail... it will drive property values artificially high because of possible development, yet penalize longtime residents with even higher taxes who live near the route.

Of course there is always the possibility of condemnation and eminent domain to think about should the county want to ram a train through peoples' living rooms.

The taxpayers in Hawaii are being screwed big time for 2007. Happy New Year? :eek:

http://macpro.freeshell.org/notax/notax-s.gif

[808shooter]

My assessment went down about 12%

:-D

edit: actually it went down less but I applied for the exemption so the total assessment went down.

[GeckoGeek]

I'll have to dig up the papers and look again. My first impression was that it wasn't far enough off to challenge. (I think you have to show evidence that the correct value is more then 20% (?) off from their assessment to challenge it.) The second thing I noticed is that despite the valuation going up, my tax bill went DOWN. That's what matters.

[buzz1941]

We were appraised a few months ago at $700,000, but our property tax assessment is $985,000. But the dump we live in ain't worth peanuts!

It isn't the house, it's the property.

[timkona]

Buzz makes a good point that most people, especially underwriters, do not understand.

In Hawaii, the land is worth more than the improvements in a lot of situations. This is exactly opposite to the way things are in the CONUS, where land is cheap, and improvement ratios are 2 to 1 or higher.

It's little things like this that cause headaches for homebuyers in Hawaii. If you are trying to buy or refinance a home in Hawaii, make sure to use a local lender to avoid delays. Stay away from those TV ads by Quicken Loans,et al. They can't deal with the vagaries of Hawaii very well.