TRIM Notices Are Here...Fight!

Got my trim notices about 10 days ago. My property taxes actually went down across the board (as well as my insurance). Some clients of mine are not so lucky - some are reporting increases in assessed value. According to the Palm Beach Post, the tax assessor's office is preparing for a record number of challenges this year. Story below:

By ALEXANDRA CLOUGH

If you own property in Palm Beach County, chances are you recently received a notice in the mail, explaining how the property appraiser's office valued your property as of Jan. 1, 2008.

And if you're like most people, in years past you might have been in the habit of tossing the notice on top of the pile of other paperwork to be filed.

But not this year.

Owners of both residential and commercial properties are expected to scrutinize their TRIM (Truth In Millage) notices in ways they never have before. These TRIM notices are important because they include a tentative tax notice.

Lower property values mean lower taxes, and that's something of interest to everyone.

Given the precipitous decline of the real estate market, many people will be pleased to see the market and assessed values of their property decline. But others will conclude their property value should be lower than the numbers determined by the country's property appraiser. Experts predict a wave of property value changes by homeowners hoping to cut their taxes.

"The economy is so bad, everybody is counting their dollars," said Jason Sharff, a North Palm Beach entrepreneur who has started a business to help homeowners challenge their property values.

During the go-go days of the recent real estate boom, the values of residences and commercial properties shot up, pushing values to astronomical levels. Taxes based on those higher values zoomed up, too. But since the market began its decline in late 2005, values steadily have fallen.

Not enough for some people, though, especially since the market is, and feels, so much worse than it did at the beginning of the year. Therefore, many property owners are expected to file petitions challenging the values of their homes or businesses.

The property appraiser's office is ready for it. Along with TRIM notices, the appraiser this year also sent out a detailed guide explaining the notice. (Check out the guide at www.co.palm-beach.fl.us/papa/index.htm). For the first time, the county also is allowing property owners to file an on-line petition to challenge values by clicking on the county clerk's Web site, at www.pbcountyclerk.com.

But it's likely most residential property owners won't even need to go that far.

First, "take a deep breath," said Tom Barnhart, director of appraisal services for the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's office. Then, pick up the phone and call the property appraiser's office. At that point, property appraiser representatives can explain that even though home sales have cratered during the past few months, only the comparable sales pegged by Jan. 1, 2008, count.

"It's that snapshot in time, one day," Barnhart said.

While the property appraiser will consider sales that took place later in the month, it's really the sales from 2007 that help determine a property's value, Barnhart said. Sometimes a property's value can be adjusted if the homeowner provides data that supports a change in the value. Barnhart said the vast majority of challenges are resolved without a hearing, either because the homeowner accepted the appraisal or the appraiser's office received more information about a home that did change its value.

"We're here to work with you," Barnhart said.

If both sides can't agree, however, homeowners can spend $15 and file a petition to challenge their property value and appear before the Value Adjustment Board.

Some people would rather just hand off the process to someone else, however. In that case, there are professionals who can be hired to handle appeals for property owners. Delray Beach real estate attorney Michael Weiner, who handles property tax petitions for clients, predicts a "huge cottage industry" of companies designed to help more property owners challenge their property values.

One of those is Sharff's company, Real Estate Property Tax Fighters (www.reptf.com). Sharff, a 26-year-old armed with a business degree from the University of Florida, said he recently was brain-storming ways to capture business from the real estate downturn.

He came up with the idea of a business that, for a flat fee, will handle property value challenges for residential customers. For $59, he'll handle the paperwork and assemble comparable sales culled from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) used by real estate agents. Then he'll provide this information to homeowners who can then move forward with their challenges. But for $169, or "the package deal," his company will take the added step of representing homeowners before the Value Adjustment Board.

"It's an intimidating appeals process," Sharff said, explaining why he saw a need for his business. And he thinks many customers signing up for his service just don't want to be bothered with the process, which is why more people are signing on for the $169 service that relieves them of having to make a personal appearance to challenge their property values.

Read the full story here.