TIPS FOR REAL ESTATE TAX APPEALS
FOR SOSNA MEMBERS

Appeal Deadline: October 7, 2002

1) When you receive a reassessment notice from the Board of Revision of Taxes, this is for the next calendar year. The notices being received now will effect the tax that is due in 2003, meaning that you either have to pay the tax in full by February 28, 2003, or make payment arrangements with the City for monthly payments. If you are paying a mortgage and your mortgage company pays the tax, they will analyze your escrow account next year and send you a notice of an increased monthly payment.

2) You have until October 7, 2002 to file an appeal with the assessor for Calendar 2003 reassessments. You can request an appeals form from the assessor. The name of the 30th Ward Assessor is Margaret Jiminez and her telephone contact number is: 215-686-9251.

3) Don't assume that the assessor knows better than you the correct value of your house. The assessor bases her findings on recent sale prices in the area and an external inspection of properties. Adjacent sales prices are raw data, and they may not directly correlate into an increase in the value of your home. If a house on your block just sold for $150,000, that does not mean that your house is also worth $150,000 and should be taxed at that amount. Possibly the house that sold for $150,000 had marble baths and gold faucets. Possibly that high-priced home had a deck, a brand new kitchen, working marble fireplaces, top-of-the-line hardwood floors, central air conditioning, and a garage. If your house is either next to or down the street from the high-priced house, file an appeal based on the fact that your house is not as luxurious as the high-priced house, does not contain the same amenities, and is not worth as much.

4) The assessor inspects the exterior of a house. Have you just painted the front of your house, but the inside is still a habitable shell with an old furnaces, old utilities, and an old kitchen and bath? Make this fact known when you file your appeal. Sometimes houses look much better on the outside than they really are on the inside. You are not required to have an interior inspection of your home.

5) Call the Realtor or Real Estate Agent who sold you the house. They have access to a computerized "Browse" of your street. Ask for a copy. This "Browse" will provide all the recent sales prices on your street. You can determine from this "Browse" what the sales prices have been and if you are being taxed at too high an amount.

6) Is there something on your block which detracts from the value of your house? Is there a vacant, trash-strewn lot? A vacant building or a group of shells? An auto-body shop? A dry-cleaning plant or industrial usage? Is your house next to a shell? All of these factors can be cited as detracting from the value of your house? TAKE PICTURES OF VACANT LOTS, SHELLS, ETC.

7) Even if you paid $150,000 for your home, no other homes on your block may be worth as much. Don't be afraid to claim that you overpaid, and the price does not reflect the true value of your home. File an appeal, citing the other lower-priced sales as evidence that the market value of your home is too high.

8) Is your house and lot size smaller than other houses on the block? Is it only a 2 story home whereas others are 3 Stories? Base your appeal on the smaller size of your property compared to the higher-priced home or other properties on your block. The assessor takes into account house size and lot size.

9) Is there drug activity on your block? Are there open drug sales or a notorious drug house? Do prostitutes ply their trade on your block? Is there an illegal speakeasy? Are people hanging out on your street, or sitting on stoops of vacant buildings and drinking liquor? Is there a problem bar on your block? Are car windows frequently broken on your street? The 17th Police District maintains records of reported crimes, and these can be cited as impacting the value of your house. All of these factors detract from the value of your home and can be cited in your appeal.

10) The assessor will often negotiate with you after you file an appeal. The BRT cannot hear thousands of appeals, and the assessor attempts to negotiate settlements to reduce the number of formal appeals which the BRT must hear. Don't be afraid to negotiate and reach agreement if you think that the assessor has reduced the assessment to what you consider to be a fair value for your home. If you feel that the assessment is still too high, then pursue the appeal and obtain a hearing before the BRT, and argue your case. Be prepared to cite the sales prices and other data at the hearing, when you explain why your home should be valued at a lesser amount. You can bring a Real Estate Broker or other experts to support your views.TAKE PICTURES OF VACANT LOTS, SHELLS, AND ADJACENT BLIGHTED LOCATIONS AND BRING THEM TO THE HEARING. SOSNA wishes you the best of luck in your hearing.

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SOSNA is the Neighborhood Advisory Committee for the area from South Street to Washington Avenue, Broad Street West to the Schuylkill River, funded by the Office of Housing and Community Development to provide citizen input into their redevelopment process in our community. SOSNA is a registered nonprofit corporation exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Site contents copyright SOSNA except where indicated.