Dispute of Property Tax Assessment

[Peter J.]

Hi fellow BP members,

Looking to gather your feedback and suggestions related to a property tax assessment. My wife and I purchased a condo unit in the greater Boston area and noticed that the square footage listed in the town's property database overestimates the total square footage of the unit. As it turns out, the Master Deed that was filed with the Registry of Deeds when the property was converted into two condos many years ago had overstated the sq ft space. The two sources include 500 sq ft of unfinished (and unfurnished) space in the basement. I'm looking to evaluate the cost/ benefit of disputing the assessed value due to the square footage error.

The property value metrics are as follows:

• Total Value + Assessed Value for 2018 Tax Year = $426,700
• Sales Price (Purchased October 2017) = $620,000
• FY2018 Residential Tax Rate = $12.13
• Current property tax bill = approximately $5,175.

My scenario is as follows: I plan on renting the unit for the next several years at worst.

Questions:

1) Is it safe to assume that disputing the square footage will yield a proportional reduction in the town's assessed value of the home? Effectively, the square footage of the condo would be adjusted from 1,700 sq ft to 1,200 sq ft. I understand the assessors calculations in determining value are not linear using straightforward inputs like square footage.   Just trying to figure out if the cost to dispute is worth it relative to the yearly reduction I might receive in my annual property tax bill.

NOTE: My assumption is that although the 500 sq ft is technically official per the Registry of Deeds, any buyer down the road would be able to identify the living space vs basement with a quick sizing up of the condo unit's layout via tape measure -  i.e. having the extra 500 sq ft stitched to the unit on record doesn't seem like it would work much to my advantage.

2) Do any members have suggestions on the best approaches to disputing assessed value for property tax purposes? I've seen the BP article referenced here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2012/10/0..., but open to any and all suggestions.

Thank you,

Peter

[Charlie MacPherson]

@Peter J.  I think scrupulous honesty is always best.  

Besides, if you were to knowingly advertise it with more living area than you know it truly has, that constitutes fraud.

Better to get it adjusted down and pay a smaller tax bill.