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  1. #1

    Default How to Protest High Property Taxes

    State: New Mexico

    According to (NM 7-36-15), “...the value of property for property taxation purposes shall be its market value as determined by application of the sales of comparable property”.

    Our appraiser calculated adjustments for the comps at $30/sf for our morgage. Our local tax office did this at $88/sf. Big difference.

    Are there some rules, a government office needs to follow, on how to calculate adjustments? I was told at the tax office that they do this differently than the appraisers. When I asked the tax office and our appraiser for the rules on calculating the adjustments for the comps, they didn't reply. It looks like there is no transparency or certainty in this proces.

    Since the adjustments for the comps were done at a high $/sf, our house was assessed at the cost of rebuilding and not at the market price. I argued, but I was just told that they do this differently than the regular apprisers. No wonder why. But I would just like to know if there are any regulations they need to follow.

    Thank you!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
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    19,901

    Default Re: Protesting High Property Taxes

    The appraiser wasn't likely YOUR appraiser but the bank's appraiser and is likely to be conservative. Of course, the tax office wants to be liberal. The truth lies somewhere in between. Get your own report of recent sales and make your case for the decreased valuation and file your protest.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
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    18,340

    Default Re: Protesting High Property Taxes

    Quote Quoting HOAonemember
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    I would just like to know if there are any regulations they need to follow.

    Thank you!
    There is a specific procedure you have to follow to file an appeal of your tax assessment. You can find it on your assessor's website. There will be a deadline to file. If you missed it already you'll have to wait until next year to file the appeal.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
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    19,901

    Default Re: Protesting High Property Taxes

    The procedure AJ is called "PROTEST" and yes it must be done within 90 days of the of the event (typically the notice of assessment). There are online forms. The protest may result in a hearing on the issue (or they may just agree with the taxpayer's request). Only after the protest has been denied do you get into the realm of an appeal. Appeals are handled as general judicial appeals (no evidence is presented).

    Further if you have paid the tax at the "erroneous" rate, your other option is to file a civil case in district court.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Posts
    988

    Default Re: Protesting High Property Taxes

    Pay keen attention to your deadlines and get a timely protest or what ever it is called filed . Miss a deadline and you are zapped for,now at least.

    Makes no sense to be assessed on replacement cost if law requires assessment on market value.

    but I Can suggest that local assessments sometimes are hard to change on first pass and you need to bank on future steps needed. Simple economics may be root cause...if property values have tumbled and everyone gets a reduced assessemnt then that requires a higher tax rate to balance the budget.

    A three to one spread of lending value to market value does not add up....the assessor need not consider what the bank thinks or your insurance company thinks.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Around me assessments are so wacky that there are lawyers trolling for business to do tax appeals on contingency basis ..perhaps equally wacky in NM?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
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    7,056

    Default Re: How to Protest High Property Taxes

    Quote Quoting HOAonemember
    View Post
    State: New Mexico

    According to (NM 7-36-15), “...the value of property for property taxation purposes shall be its market value as determined by application of the sales of comparable property”.

    Our appraiser calculated adjustments for the comps at $30/sf for our morgage. Our local tax office did this at $88/sf. Big difference.

    Are there some rules, a government office needs to follow, on how to calculate adjustments? I was told at the tax office that they do this differently than the appraisers. When I asked the tax office and our appraiser for the rules on calculating the adjustments for the comps, they didn't reply. It looks like there is no transparency or certainty in this proces.

    Since the adjustments for the comps were done at a high $/sf, our house was assessed at the cost of rebuilding and not at the market price. I argued, but I was just told that they do this differently than the regular apprisers. No wonder why. But I would just like to know if there are any regulations they need to follow.

    Thank you!
    Property tax assessments serve several purposes and that is to apportion the tax burden among the properties in your jurisdiction and to keep your town comparable to others in your county.

    The total assessed value of your town is divided into the tax burdens for local, school, county, etc. to come up with the tax rates usually per $100 of assessed value. Then your assessed value is multiplied by the tax rates to calculate your property tax.

    So as long as all the properties are assessed to the same standards (whether high or low) it is fair until spot assessments and appeals make the process unfair over time. Then a reassessment is usually done.

    If all the assessed values where lower, the tax rates would be higher and you would end up paying the same amount.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Posts
    988

    Default Re: How to Protest High Property Taxes

    a uniform standard may be nice but that is not what the law in your state says to do..it says to base it on market value......doesn't say cost or replacement cost

    And if some building with an honest replacement cost of $500 sq ft happens to be in a neighborhood where it's market value is a mere $25 a square foot.....well so be it.....

    but it follow the rules to challange and plan on muliple rounds

  8. #8

    Default Re: Protesting High Property Taxes

    Quote Quoting flyingron
    View Post
    The appraiser wasn't likely YOUR appraiser but the bank's appraiser and is likely to be conservative. Of course, the tax office wants to be liberal. The truth lies somewhere in between. Get your own report of recent sales and make your case for the decreased valuation and file your protest.
    You are right!
    An appraiser from our bank assessed our property very low, using $30/sf for adjustment on the living area, in order for us to pay a higher down payment to the bank, therefore reducing the risk to the bank.
    The tax office assessed our property first time at $122/sf. I argued with them that they took the most expensive properties for our comps and that they didn't even consider properties in our subdivision. They lowered to $113 as to be their final reduction. They greatly exaggerated the adjustments for the comps and therefore came up with a higher number for our house. I asked for the regulations they follow in order to calculate the adjustments and they said that this is the way they always do! But the average market price in our area is $85-90/sf.

    I will present my case at a hearing. Good luck with lowering the number! Our politics in our small town are so corrupt and their goal is not to reduce my property taxes.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    19,901

    Default Re: Protesting High Property Taxes

    Let us know how it turns out. You have the ability to appeal to circuit court still if denied.

  10. #10

    Default Re: Protesting High Property Taxes

    Thank you! I will. A hearing is at the end of August.

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