Cleveland Tax Appeal Companies??

Question

Hello - I was wondering if anyone knew of companies that perform tax appeals in Cleveland. Usually they do it for half the amount they save you the first year.  Thanks very much.

David Terbeek · Answer

@Ian M. and @Ryan Zomorodi  You are permitted to file a tax appeal between Jan 1st and Mar 31st every year (you have 2 more months).  This is handled by the Cuyahoga Board of Revisions which is part of the Cuyahoga County Treasurer's office.  You can do this personally but you will need to appear at a hearing so most of my clients use an attorney to file it for them.  I have two different attorneys that do a lot of these, PM for their details.

The value is always considered as of the "tax lien date" which is January 1st of whatever year you are protesting.  If you can establish that it was an Arms Length Transaction between two independent parties they should use the purchase price.

I say if and should because the board tries to take a stance that an REO transaction is NOT arms length.  While I can understand that a sheriff sale could be deemed as a forced transaction (depite the fact that people are openly bidding), there seems to be no rhyme or reason why a REO sold from a (sophisticated) bank using the MLS for marketing is not an arms length transaction.  However, be prepared that you may not get all the way down to your purchase price on an REO but you are likely to get some type of reduction.

In your example of $120,000 current tax value and $70,000 purchase, they might come back with an $80,000 or $90,000 value as a compromise.  There are several boards and they also act a bit differently.

Timothy Murphy III · Answer

@Ian M.

Some good information in this thread. Specifically, @David Terbeek outlined the process quite accurately. You'll need some evidence of the valuation for the tax year you're challenging. If you've had the property for 12 years, that sale will be too old to be considered accurate. You can also testify as to your own opinion of value but that may not be given a ton of weight. Providing recent sales prices of comparable properties may help. Hiring a licensed appraiser to provide an opinion as to value and testify on your behalf will be more persuasive. Depending on which city you're located in and how large a reduction you're seeking, you may face some opposition from the school board who depends on the property taxes as part of its funding. You can do the filings and attend the hearings yourself or hire an attorney to assist you.

Best of luck.

Oren K. · Answer

Another firm (who I used) is Sleggs, Danzinger & Gill Co., LPA (SDGLEGAL.NET); ask for Robert Danzinger or Steven Gill as I have worked with both.

As with other firms in this field, they will do it on % / contingency but also on an hourly basis. If the appeal is based on a recent arms length transaction, it is actually less expensive to pay hourly

Ian M. · Answer

Thanks a ton everyone.  This is actually not a new purchase, its a 12 y/o rental but i thought it was a good idea to try again to reduce it.  Have done it before on other properties, but have been delinquent on this one.  Much appreciated!

Federico Gutierrez · Answer

Very simple process I went through it last year.Fill out the online, key is to submit as much evidence. I like to include the purchase contract which states how much I paid for the property. Print out from the MLS of the listing price and sale price and the final HUD1. All this proves that it was at an arms length transaction and I got my taxes reduced. Always good to turn up in person to appeal the case, if they ask anything in particular about the property

Tom Ott · Answer

I agree, doing it yourself it a good route. If you do not know much, nor have the time, you can contact a real estate attorney. Some will do the appeal for cheap or take a percentage of the cost reduction. It all just depends. But the key here is that it is not IMPOSSIBLE as many people think! Best of luck to out! This will be great if it is a win.

James Wise · Answer

@Ian M.

You can actually file it yourself online HERE

In my experience if it was an arms length transaction and your purchase price and the comparables are much lower than the appraised value you will win without even physically showing up to the hearing.

Jeff Brower · Answer

I did an appeal myself, but in lake county which is on the eastern border of Cleveland's Cuyahoga county. It was for my personal SFR at the time. Tax value was 135k, purchased for 75k with appraisal at 85k. I sent the appeal with a copy of the sales contract and appraisal, and they simply sent me back a letter saying they dropped it to my requested value of 80k. I heard in the past that if you were requesting to lower it over a certain percentage, that you had to appear in court and the school board would be there to contest. Didn't happen for me luckily.

Ryan Arth · Answer

if you want representation I would recommend Karen Baurenschmidt's office. She handles everything down to the appeal in Columbus if needed. I have used her for commercial and residential appeals. You can file the initial complaint if you own in your personal name, but if you want to beat a hearing and further appeal it helps to have legal representation.

Ryan Zomorodi · Answer

Hey Ian! I'm also curious to know of any companies who do this.

Has anyone been through the property tax appeals process in Cleveland? What does it involve?

Is the property supposed to be assessed on fair market value or purchase price?

Example: if I purchased an REO property for 70,000, and the tax record has the value at 120,000 (market value). Think one would have success with an appeal? Thanks for any feedback.

Cleveland Tax Appeal Companies??

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