December 2nd, 2008
Bring it on King County!! My fight to reduce my property taxes
It’s official! I have sent it my petition to King County against my 2009 property tax assessment valuation. After completing the paperwork, copying it (since you have to file in duplicate), and sending it certified mail, I now await their response.
I will continue to do my research to back my claim that my property did not increase in value at a rate of 10% over the last year! The research is time consuming and not as easy as I had hoped. I am not sure how someone without access to the Multiple Listing Service information would get the numbers they need to plead their case. I am curious to see what the response is and how long it will be before I actually get a “trial” date.
My next step to go around and get photo documentation to prove that my property does not have the lake views that other homes around mine do possess. It just seems wrong that lake front property would be worth the same, or less, than mine! They sit on the lake!!! I understand that those properties have less land by square footage, but that land should be valued at a premium since there is only so much it to go around! I am just looking forward to seeing what the rationale is from the tax assessors office.
I will continue to keep you posted on the progress as it occurs. If you are doing the same thing - please let us know how things are going for you in your fight!! Good luck to you all!
One Comment
We just had our hearing this morning and will be notified within four weeks of the result. We appeared before one of the seven Board members who recommends to the entire Board their opinion. We asked if the Board meeting is public - it is not. The process has several flaws: 1. If the hearing before one of the Board members is considered a public hearing , then the Board meeting, as well should be open to the public. And 2. No one has been able to answer our question as to why the three comparables used by the King County Assesor’s Office were assessed at less then their 2007 sales price, yet our property was assessed using the sales price of those same properties? There was an average $44,000 difference between between the assessed value and their sales price. Those properties were not assessed at their full sales price. Yet the Washington State Consititution says that “all taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of property”. Know a good attorney willing to take on a class action law suit?
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