Experience appealing property taxes in Wilkes-barre, PA

[Bill Robinson]

All,

I am interested in finding anybody with experience in appealing property taxes in Wilkes-barre, PA. To this point my research has turned up the following (1) property assessments in WB are from several years ago, (2) appeal of assessment cannot be made based on current comparables (mainly because the market is so lousy for sales).

It just seems that I am missing something and I would be interested in hearing from people experienced with this particular city.

Bill R.

[Richard Sanderson]

Bill:

I'm relatively new to BiggerPockets (BP) but have a lot of experience in tax assessment appeals. I've posted a few things recently to my BP blog and have made comments to a few forum postings that may help you. I urge you to talk to the folks at the assessors office in Wilkes-Barre or the county assessment office who assesses properties in that area. Despite what you may think, most assessors will explain the appeal process and prove helpful. Many Pennsylvania counties haven't been reassessed in 10 to 20 years. I usually don't recommend that you hire an attorney to start. Learn the process yourself and hire an attorney if you can't get satisfaction. Attorney fees and appraisal fees usually outpace tax savings unless several years of taxes on a major assessment are at stake.