In the 9 years that I grieved taxes professionally, I was asked many of the same questions over and over again. I would like to take a few minutes to go over some of this information in order to dispel some myths about lowering property taxes.

The most common questions were as follows:

Does filing a property tax grievance invite a higher assessment from the assessor?

What are my chances of winning?

Do I need a lawyer to file for me?

Is it expensive?

These questions keep many homeowners with legitimate cases from ever filing. The answer to the first question is that the law and many court cases support the right of a homeowner to challenge his property taxes. Actually, when you file a case, you are not grieving the taxes, but rather the assessed valuation that the tax assessor has assigned to your property. The assessor cannot raise your assessment to "teach you a lesson". It is your legal right to pay only your fair share of taxes. The law provides this method for homeowners to challenge unfair assessments without any fear from the assessors office. Remember, tax assessors are only doing their jobs to properly assess properties in order to raise taxes for schools, police fire and other municipal services. They are not the bad guys. All of the tax assessors I have dealt with have been fair and honest. They have a difficult job to do, and do it with remarkable efficiency.

The odds of winning are excellent if you have done your homework to prove your case. The paperwork is not very difficult. It should take less than an hour to prepare the papers for filing. The important thing to remember is that there is a specific day each year beyond which you cannot file your case. Be sure to find out what this day is. If you miss it by even one day, you are out of luck until the following year.

Most states do not require a lawyer to file your case. Usually a lawyer is only required for certain commercial cases that go to court. Residential property does not require a lawyer to file a case on your behalf(most states).

In most cases, the costs are minimal to file a tax grievance, if anything. Some states only require a fee if your case goes before a judge. Most cases are heard before a review board, which is free.

In a later article, I will address evidence that you need to file and some money saving tips for homeowners.