Truth to Power

So what’s your house worth?

Overtaxed homeowners start to fight back

Now that the housing bubble has burst, up to 60 percent of the nation’s taxable property may be overassessed, meaning owners are paying thousands of dollars more in taxes than they need to, experts say.

That is leading to a flood of appeals in many markets from homeowners eager to cut their taxes and speed the process of aligning tax valuations with reality.

While home prices have fallen by 30 percent on average since their 2007 peak, according to the Case-Shiller Home Price Index, many counties only reassess every three to five years and have little incentive to move faster considering how important property taxes are to funding local government operations.</em>

As an aside, as two of the few people attempting to BUY a house in these times, gotta say its becoming a trying process. Gah!


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