Today we’re going to be talking about the property tax statement that you’ve recently received in the mail. It’s in a green and white envelope, and it shows you what the county thinks your property is worth and how much they will tax you based on that.
In Utah, every county assesses properties differently. They will come up with a valuation based on previous sales from the prior year. They do this in lump sums, and they know that with this method they won’t get it perfect. Their goal is to undervalue a property, but 15% to 20% of the time, they will overvalue it instead.
If your taxes are too high, you can petition the county to bring them down. A commonly perpetuated myth says that the value they assess your property for is how much it’s actually worth.
“If you feel your taxes are too high, you can petition the county to bring them down.”
That’s not true at all. I’ve never seen a buyer willing to pay more or less on a home because of how a home is taxed. The most important thing is getting your assessed value as low as possible so you don’t have to pay as much in taxes.
Our assessors know that they’re not perfect and never will claim to be. However, they have given us a way to appeal our property taxes if you believe your property is overvalued.
The first thing they say to do is contact a Realtor, like myself, who is willing to help. I’d be happy to do a market analysis on your property to determine what it’s actually worth. I’ll write up the letter, you’ll submit it to the county assessor’s office, and that’s it. Most of the clients get the reduction on their taxes they are looking for.
The best part is that I do this for free, with one small stipulation. If you, your friends, or family are looking to buy, sell, or invest in real estate down the road, I ask that you keep me in mind.
If you have any questions in the meantime, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
