Appealing An Assessment
How To Appeal Your Assessment
The appeal process has been established and refined as a part of Michigan citizens' assurance that the state's tax system will operate fairly and equitably. The appeals process represents a safety valve for property owners and it is your right to take advantage of it. The process is not difficult if you take the time to properly gather the facts and then arrange them for presentation in an organized manner.
Frequently Asked Questions
The first point for you to determine is the actual market value or "true cash value" of your property, then compare the figure with the assessor’s judgment of the valuation.
The State Equalized Valuation, listed on all property tax statements or bills, and on notices of assessment increases is 50 percent of the assessor’s judgment of your property’s actual market value.
If you recently bought your home for less than the value placed on it by the assessor, and others recently purchased in your neighborhood also sold for less than twice the assessed value as equalized, this is the clearest evidence that the actual market value may be lower than the true cash value (TCV) established by the assessor. However, the Board of Review must consider state law MCL 211,27(5) which states"...the purchase price paid in a transfer of property is not the presumptive true cash value of the property transferred. In determining the true cash value of a transferred property, an assessing officer shall assess that property using the same valuation method used to value all other property of that same classification in the assessing jurisdiction."
If you have owned your property for some time and your own estimate of your property’s value is lower than the assessor’s true cash, you need to build a provable case regarding the TCV of your property. In the final analysis, your property should be assessed at fifty percent (50%) of its true cash value. More importantly, your property should be assessed in uniformity with comparable properties (same story height, similar size, and age) in your neighborhood.
A cooperative real estate agent or loan officer at a financial institution where you do business may be able to help you find the recent sales price for houses that are comparable to yours in size, construction, age, location, style, and other factors. We also keep available a list of all sales reported to us by Wayne County.
Not taken by itself. Of course, every citizen who brings an appeal does so to get the task assessment lowered, but a successful appeal must be based on the validity of your assessment. You must be able to show that the assessor’s judgment of the value of your property was in error.
The assessor may have valued your home way above the actual market value, the valuation may be above that of identical or similar houses in the area or there may have been inaccuracies in the structural appraisal on the house. It’s also possible there may have been an error in the computation of the assessment.
Generally, it would not. Normal repairs replacement and maintenance cannot be considered by assessors in determining the cash value of your home, particularly when repairs are done using like materials.
Landscaping, or the lack of it, may affect market value but it is not taken into consideration by the Assessor when determining your assessed value. Fences are another item not given consideration by the Assessor.
If you receive a judgment from your Board of Review that you find unsatisfactory, it is not the final step open to you. You can appeal further to the Michigan Tax Tribunal. This body, established by the Tax Tribunal Act of 1973, hears appeals from judgments of the local Board of Review.
You Cannot Take Your Appeal Before The Tax Tribunal Unless You Have First Protested Through The Board Of Review Appeal Process.
If you wish to petition the Tax Tribunal concerning the decision rendered by the Board of Review on protest, you must do so by July 31 during the year in which you initiated the appeal. Its address is Michigan Tax Tribunal, P.O. Box 30232, Lansing, MI 48909; telephone, (517) 335-9760.
Most of the changes in the assessments only reflect inflation in the housing market.
The assessor’s office makes a direct physical inspection of all properties periodically, but inspects only a small portion of properties each year. However, the assessor must place a value on each property annually. Studies of property sales in the neighborhood or locality are often used to establish a basis for assigning a value to all properties. If the assessor’s office has not directly inspected your property recently, the assessment is generally made based on their judgment of its value based on the information they collect about each neighborhood.
That’s why it‘s particularly important for you to double-check the appraisal records from your assessor’s office when you are preparing your appeal. You may find that the assessor’s appraisal was based on assumptions that you can easily prove are false and would weigh in your favor with the Board of Review.
The Assessor's office will send a notice of change of assessed valuation the last week in February capsulizing events affecting market value in Grosse Pointe Woods and the mathematics of determining your taxable value. You have the right to appeal your property assessment to the local Board of Review. Although this right entails some responsibilities on your part, you should understand your rights and take advantage of them if the circumstances of your case provide a basis for appeal.
Proposal A changed many aspects of the property tax. The tax is no longer predicated on the State Equalized Value but rather on the TAXABLE VALUE. Each year a new taxable value is computed (or capped) using formulas based upon state law that assures the increase cannot be greater than 5% or the consumer Price Index whichever is less. The SEV is still required to represent 50% of true cash value while the Taxable Value will generally be lower. A reduction in the SEV does not necessarily mean a reduction in the Taxable Value.
State law MCL 211.21 a(3) provides that a property that has transferred in one calendar year must have the cap removed and use the SEV as the taxable value the following year.
Be sure your appeal is based on the validity of your property assessment. Boards of Review and the Tax Tribunal have no authority over the tax rate or over the purposes for which tax moneys are used. Including arguments about such issues in your appeal would be irrelevant and would waste part of the time allotted for your presentation. If you limit your remarks to the assessment itself and avoid burdening the Boards with issues that they can’t do anything about, your chances for a favorable judgment may be increased.
The factors which are considered are the age, size, quality, and type of construction of the house, the size of the lot, the neighborhood in which the house is located, and the USUAL selling price for properties with similar characteristics. A property owner may review the appraisal report for his or her property with the assessor without filing an appeal.
Assessors occasionally make mistakes in recording the structural features of your house. Property tax records are public information and Michigan law requires that records of your appraisal and those of your neighborhood be made available to you upon request from your assessor’s office. You should check to make sure that the recorded dimensions of the house and the lot are correct. The appraisal worksheet may have missed defects that might tend to reduce the house’s value, such as settling or shifting on the foundation or being adjacent to commercial property. Unfinished attics and basements might also be misrepresented in the record’s description of rooms.
REMEMBER THAT NORMAL MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR FACTORS ARE NOT CONSIDERED STRUCTURAL FEATURES WHICH WOULD AFFECT THE ASSESSED VALUE OF THE PROPERTY.
So, if you don’t repaint your house for a number of years, you can’t hold that its value has decreased and have your assessment lowered.
Gather the facts along the lines listed above. You should be able to provide documentation of comparable housing sold at a lower price than your TCV, or of appraisals you received through a private firm.
Before a formal appeal, you should discuss your valuation with your assessor. Upon recognition of errors, most assessors would be willing to adjust your appraisal, thereby saving you and themselves the nuisance of a formal protest to the local Board of Review.
If you find you must proceed through the formal appeal process, it is crucial that you observe the relevant deadlines. The BOARD OF REVIEW meets sometime during the first three weeks in March. In addition, they also must meet on the Tuesday after the Second Monday in December and Tuesday after the third Monday in July for corrections of clerical errors or mistakes of fact. Appeal of the market value dispute is not heard at July or December Board of Review meetings, only the March Board of Review. If your protest is not filed in a timely fashion, you will miss the opportunity to appeal the assessment upon which your tax bills for that year are based So, if you think you may want to file an appeal, the actual dates appear on the annual city calendar or call the assessor’s office early in the year to verify the filing dates for appeals.
In Grosse Pointe Woods, as in most communities, the resident taxpayer or taxpayer’s agent ( relative, neighbor, attorney) must appear in person before the Board of Review.
Contact Information
Assessing Department
Robert E. Novitke Municipal Center
20025 Mack Plaza
Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236
Ph: (313) 343-2452
Fx: (313) 343-2785
Tax Dept. Ph: (313) 343-2435
wca@gpwmi.us
Hours
8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Monday-Friday*
*Please check the City Calendar for holiday office hours.