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Mount Pleasant SC Homes for Sale, Mount Pleasant SC Real Estate for sale, Mount Pleasant SC Condos, Mount Pleasant SC Homes for Sale Listings, Charleston SC Fractional Homes for Sale
Charleston County Property Tax Appeals 2012In these uncertain times, many home owners have had to face the fact that the current market value of their Charleston County homes is less than they once thought. Yet, most of these home owners continue to pay property taxes based on that higher value.
Higher taxes may also make a property less appealing and affordable to buyers, since higher taxes will increase their overall costs, at least until the property is reassessed. That's why it's a smart strategy for Charleston County property owners who might be considering a sale to appeal their property taxes at the next opportunity. South Carolina law now mandates that counties must conduct a reassessment every five years. The S.C. Department of Revenue ordered Charleston County to implement a reassessment for tax year 2000 and every five years thereafter. The 2005 reassessment is Charleston Counties second reassessment under the five year system.
Evaluating Your Assessment The vast majority of taxing jurisdictions throughout the United States assess residential property based on market value: the amount a willing buyer would pay a willing seller without duress. However, assessments are generally not reviewed on an annual basis, so a property's assessment will never be 100 percent of market value. To compensate, taxing bodies apply an equalization ratio, which is designed to ensure that assessments are relatively equal among different taxing districts to all assessed values. For example, a property worth $100,000 with an equalization ratio of 50 percent would be assessed at $50,000. Home owners can obtain their equalization ratio from local taxing authorities. If, after a review with a residential broker or appraiser, a home's assessed value seems out of line with current market values, the home owner should undertake an investigation to determine what might have caused the incorrect valuation. Here are some steps for you to follow. 1. Arrange a visit with the local tax assessor and request a complete copy of the home's tax records. Property record cards are public records and are universally available. 2. Pay particular attention to the market comparables listed on the property record card. These recently sold homes are the basis for the assessor's valuation of your home. Visit those houses or view them online, and compare them to your house. 3. Take the appropriate equalization ratio and multiply the market value you believe appropriate for the home by that rate. If the number is lower than the current assessment, you should file a tax appeal. Filing an Appeal Most home owners should be able to properly file the appeal without counsel, but most jurisdictions require a licensed real estate appraiser to prepare an expert analysis of local market values for the local tax board. Home owners should work closely with the appraiser to review all the amenities and issues that might affect the valuation of their home. Many times an appraiser may not be aware of construction, zoning, or general neighborhood issues that negatively affect value. Real estate brokers familiar with the property and the area may also be a valuable resource for this type of information. They may also be able to assist the appraiser in determining which properties are the best comparables for a particular home. All of the appraiser's conclusions need to be properly documented with supporting evidence in the appraisal report that will be submitted with other supporting paperwork prior to the hearing. In addition to compiling evidence, the taxpayer should take care to learn and follow the rules of the local board of assessment review. Each taxing jurisdiction has appropriate appeal forms. It is also critical to determine the deadline for filing an appeal. The final step in an appeal is a hearing before the assessment appeal board. Proper preparation is the key to a successful hearing. The home owners and the appraiser should prepare a script detailing the important points that need to be made during the appraiser's testimony in order to prove a lower market value and assessment. The key focus should be comparing the home in question with every presented comparable. The appraiser should be prepared to analyze each important amenity and discuss how it positively or negatively affects value. During uncertain economic times, the effort of appealing a property tax bill reduction may prove well worth the time and effort involved. Charleston County Tax Assessor:843-958-4100 UPDATE : County assessors say appeals have not been up significantly following their most recent reassessments, compared with other years when home values are re-evaluated.
Part of the reason likely is because most homeowners got a tax break with Act 388. The act shifted the burden for school operating taxes away from most homeowners by creating a penny sales tax. It also capped at 15 percent the amount home taxes can rise within a five-year period.
But the act has had some unintended consequences by:
• Putting a greater tax burden on second homes and business property
• Failing to account for the drop in sales tax revenue from a weakened economy
• Reiterating the requirement that county tax assessors use fair-market value when assigning tax values on properties
Many in the real estate industry have rallied for years at the State House for reform of Act 388, but so far, reform measures have failed.
UPDATE: 12/05/2011 Most of the people who think Charleston County overvalued their property during reassessment this year will have to wait a while longer for their appeal to be heard. The lengthy appeal process is not related to the delayed mailing of county property tax bills, which most property owners received last week. Rather, it's a matter of 22 county appraisers reviewing 12,793 appeals, for an average of about 581 each. Reassessment is the process conducted roughly every five years in which counties recalculate what properties are worth for tax purposes. Reassessments redistribute the property tax burden by estimating which properties gained more or less value than the average. Some property owners end up with higher tax bills, some get lower bills and many see little change. Owners who believe the county overestimated their property value can appeal in any year, but appeals typically spike after reassessment. The post-reassessment appeals amounted to 7.6 percent of properties in the county. The earliest appeals were filed in July, and the deadline to appeal was Sept. 28. Many appeals were based on misunderstandings about the reassessment process While property values broadly declined from 2007 to this year, the county's reassessment looked at the change in values from 2003 to the end of 2008. Reassessments typically look back to an earlier date, so assessors will have broad data on property sales to review. Most properties gained value from 2003 to 2008. But when it comes to tax bills, the only thing that matters is whether a property's value increased more than the average property in the county. People who appealed, and had a conference with an assessor, and followed up with a protest letter, will receive a revised tax bill in mid-December that reflects 80 percent of the amount due, while their appeal is pending.
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