Personal Finance Tips - Legal and Legitimate Ways to Lower Your Property Tax!

There are always ways to try and save money and one of those ways is often overlooked by many homeowners and that would be property tax. Anyone knows that your property tax is based upon how much your home is supposed to be worth.

In today's economy a lot of homes are going down in value and some may not know it but you can apply to get your property taxes lowered. The way in which the tax is lowered is going to vary from state to state but below is a basic guideline for you to at least get a start.

First off, don't sit there and think that the tax man is going to be the nice guy and come by and offer you a way to lower your property tax. Come on, you aren't going to find the nicest people in the world of collecting taxes. We all know where they stood back in the days of Jesus even.

So as the value of your home continues to drop you need to do something about continuing to pay the same high property taxes, because no one else is going to do it for you. You're going to have to fight this battle on your own.

You will need to get yourself educated. When it comes to this kind of taxes it is really important that you are aware of the housing market and the situation that it is in, especially in your own area.

You need to find out how much homes like yours are selling for in your immediate city and even on the block that you live in. You will need to put together some sort of record of the prices of real estate in the area as evidence to support your claim that your property taxes need to be lowered.

Next you need to get in touch with a local property tax assessor. You should ask them what the criteria is that they use to come up with how much you home is worth. If anything that they say doesn't seem to be in line with what the current market is showing then you need to challenge it.

Make sure all the details that you have on your home is correct. It' not very uncommon for an assessor to make an estimate on your home about features you may not even have just to inflate the value.

You also should talk to a local real estate agent. You can get an official valuation done on your house by them. Also make sure to ask them for evidence of the sale prices of homes that are similar to yours that have been sold in the past 6 months.

It is very important to find houses that are very similar to the one you own and that have seen their values drop. Make sure to do a report that includes all of the information that you get from the agent.

Once you have gathered all of your information you will then need to make an appeal at the property tax office. You will need to be ready to answer questions about your property and in relation to the appeal. They are going to do everything they kind to find a way not to lower your taxes. (EA)