When you buy a Columbus HUD Home you will typically pay less than market value. Most likely your purchase price was lower than the auditor’s tax value. If this is the case you are entitled to lower property taxes. However, this tax reduction is not automatic. You need to file an appeal with the board of revisions.
Here is what you do: You need to complete a “Complaint Against the Valuation of Real Property” form DTE-1, which is the same for all counties in the State of Ohio. You must submit this form before March 31 of the following year. Include documentation to show why the value of your home is lower than recorded by the auditor. The best documentation is your HUD-1 closing statement from when you purchased you Columbus HUD Home. You may also include a list of comparable sales – your real estate agent can prepare this list for you.
It will take a few months for the county to review your request. You will be invited to appear before the board of revision. When you appear in front of the board you simply bring the documentation you already submitted, including a copy of the HUD-1, comparable sales, and an appraisal (if you have one and if it is lower than the auditor’s value). The review only takes 5 to 10 minutes, if you bring all this documentation. The board mails a written notification of its decision a few months later.
As property taxes are paid almost a year after they were incurred, the revised valuation is retro active, and you can get a refund on taxes you already paid.
It is really important to file this complaint, especially in times of falling property values. Many Columbus HUD Homes have been overvalued by the auditor and you have a very good chance to get your taxes adjusted to the purchase price of the property.
The appeal may be a lengthy process, but it is not difficult. You can do it yourself. I appealed the valuation of all my rental properties earlier this year (March 2008). I provided closing statements and comparables to the board of revisions in July 2008, and in December 2008 I received notification of the adjusted values. Franklin County reduced the valuation of all my properties to their purchase prices – which were lower than market values, because I purchased most of these properties from short sales or foreclosures. In average the auditor’s value was reduced by thirty three percent (33%)!! This means that my property tax bill will go down by one third. This is really significant. If you consider that property taxes of an average Columbus Home are around $3000 per year, you will save $1000 per year!
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Posted by: Susanne Novak, ABR, FIS
Specializing in HUD Homes, Shortsales, Investment Real Estate
(614) 975-9650
