My Tax Appeal Blog

Unit #1104 at the Watergarden Condo in Fort Lauderdale was successfully reduced from an assessed value of $477,370 to $433,880, for the 2008 appeal.  The Waterfgarden's 315 units are located just off Las Olas Boulevard on the New River in Ft. Lauderdale.

In February 2009, Pam Moore and Britt J. Rosen were able to get the tax assessment reduced for a one bedroom unit at Brickell on the River located at 31 D.E. 5th Street in downtown Miami. This is a new building on the Miami River adjacent to the People Mover in the Brickell corridor. The $32,745 reduction represented a 14% decrease in the total assessment.

Pam Moore and Britt J. Rosen successfully obtained a reduction in the real estate tax assessment for a North Coconut Grove home. The property was assessed for $711,031 and the assessment was reduced to $657,404, or by  $53,627.

Britt J. Rosen, CCIM, was an expert in the case of a Fisher Island Drive condominium where the assessment was reduced from $8,057,830 to $7,500,000. The tax savings was $10,385.23.

Britt J. Rosen, CCIM, and attorney Jim Schiff successfully obtained a reduction of property tax to a multi-tenant industrial complex on Milam Dairy Road (N.W. 72nd Avenue) in NW Miami-Dade County in December 2008. The assessment of $14,090,561 was reduced to $12,863,320 by the Special Magistrate, saving the property owner $22,847.79.

Miami, FL - Britt J. Rosen, CCIM, successfully obtained a reductions in the real estate taxes in both 2007 and 2008 for this corner property locaated at 2830-34 NW 5th Avenue in Wynwood, in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

The property was assessed for approximately $1,119,000 in 2008. Britt presented an income & expense analysis along with comparable sales. 

The Miami-Dade VAB Magistrate reduced the assessment by approximately 30% of the 2008 assessed value.  Similar results were obtained in 2007.

View looking north at subject.  N.W. 5th Avenue is located on the right. This area is known as the "garment district."

For those US Taxpayers that own homes with assessments capped under the "save our homes" act (Amendment 10), the assessment is typically much lower than the market value if the home was purchased many years ago. 

However, the assessment of a homestead property under "save our homes" increases by 3% or the Consumer Price Index as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, whichever is less.  As values increased in South Florida, this provided a substantial savings for property owners.  In a declining market, the property appraiser's office will continue to apply the 3% or CPI formula for assessed values.

For a homestead property with a "market value" higher than the "assessed value", the assessed value will still increase 3% although the market value has decreased.  This is the "recapture rule."

If you need a tax expert, contact Britt J. Rosen, CCIM, for advice at (305) 663-7334 x 107.

Miami-Dade County's Value Adjustment Board began hearing tax cases in December.   Since there is a reported 70,000 appeals that were filed in August and September 2008, the hearings will be scheduled well into 2009.  A solution to lowering the cost of owning a home or condominium is the appeal of real property taxes.

South Florida needs tax reductions, as the values of properties have been substantially lower than at the height of the real estate market in 2005-2006. Since the date of value for tax appeals is January 1st of the current tax year, the comparables used are from the prior year. For instance, in asking for a reduction in 2008, one must present data from 2007 in making the argument.

Therefore, in 2008 and 2009, “tax agents” have the use of many comparable sales that are generally lower than in years past, and tax agents will have the use of this data in their appeals.  Appraiser Pedro Garcia acknowledged this in the public forums leading up the vote for the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser. Mr. Garcia is a long time Realtor and real estate appraiser with 32 years of experience, and he is an appointed magistrate on the Miami-Dade County Value Adjustment Board (VAB).

A $10,000 tax bill adds $833.33 per month to a mortgage.  As the lender typically escrows the taxes and adds it to the overall monthly mortgage payment.  This reduces the purchase price a buyer would be willing to pay for a home or condominium. If one reduces their tax bill, it would help homeowners keep their houses and lower taxes allow prospective purchasers to acquire homes that are more expensive. High property taxes not only discourage development, but they also discourage new developments.

The 2008 Notice of Proposed Property Taxes have been mailed and property owners should be receiving them this week. They are posted on line and please look for the buttons on the left hand side of this page to view your 2008 assessment.

If you feel the value of your property is not accurate and that it does not reflect the true “market value” you can appeal the tax assessment by filing a petition for adjustment with the Value Adjustment Board. The appeal must be made prior to September 17, 2008 in Miami-Dade County.

There are many reasons the tax assessment can be inaccurate. These include:

• Tax assessments are done on a mass basis
• The tax assessor does not make individual adjustments for differences
• The property can be on a busy road or across from a school or commercial property
• The property may need repairs which are not accounted for
• The floor plan may have a "functional" problem or "obsolescence"
• There could be a mistake in the record
• Properties that were joined as one folio such as in “unity of title”
• Commercial properties whose economics may be lower than comparable sales due to long-term leases (leased fee)

Just Value:  Many US Taxpayers do not know that costs of sale can be decuted from the "market value" of a property, resulting in "just value."  Therefore, we argue "just value" at the special master's hearing.

Case Study: Recently I was successful in the appeal of a home in Coral Gables for the tax year 2007. This property was in "fair to poor" condition  and needed substantial repairs/replacements. I researched the county’s comparable sale data included all renovated homes!

The value of an agent representing the property owner in the appeal process is having the experience to analyze and argue the case before the county appraiser.  In this case, I was able to obtain a 25% reduction in the real estate taxes.

The agent can request the comparable sales the county is using in their defense of their market value.  These sales can be researched by us prior to the hearing. There are many inaccuracies with the public records in the past several years. Some of these are due mortgage fraud and recordings of bogus deeds in the public records. Since the assessor is not using the MLS to cross reference the sale info, it is not apparent to them.

The county often will not be able to discern the difference between a “good” sale, that is “arm’s length,” and one that is a “non-arm’s length” sale. These deeds that were recorded along with the fraudulent sales are usually sales that indicate artificially high prices.

Let our experience guide you in your tax appeal and Call Britt J. Rosen, CCIM today regarding representing you in your 2008 tax appeal.

Call Britt at (800) 869-5517 x207