Help with options after a reassessment

[Mary Davidson]

Hello all,

I am wondering what to do.  I purchased 2 rental properties (my first) and didn’t realize how much a tax reassessment would affect my numbers.  I was told by someone in the auditor’s office that a sale wouldn’t trigger a reassessment.  Well, she was wrong.  I finally received the paperwork about a year later and submitted my appeal letter.  I just got the reply, saying it was denied and the assessment stands.  I don’t know that doing anything to appeal it at this point will accomplish anything.

We will just about breaking even on the one house.  The other one will still have some cash flow.  I thought about making a lump sum payment toward the principal, but that just shortens the length of the mortgage, not the monthly payment.  My question is about something I just read about, recasting your mortgage, where you pay a lump sum and they refigure your monthly payment, but the length of the mortgage stays the same.  Has anyone done this?  Is it worth it to be doing better than breaking even each month, or should we just keep our extra funds in the bank ready for emergencies?

Thanks for any advice!!