How We Work for You
The property assessments in Allegheny County have been an undisputed mess for over 20 years. The county’s latest attempt to "fix" the problem has led only to mass confusion, angry tax payers, and grossly bloated assessments. The fiasco continues with no end in sight.Currently litigation is pending which could result in the current assessment numbers being discarded and the county being forced to devise a new assessment plan. Although this litigation may not be resolved by the appeal deadline, we highly encourage all property owners who believe their property is over-assessed to file an appeal IMMEDIATELY. Failure to file a timely appeal could result in a loss of rights as well as a significant increase in property taxes. The process of challenging an incorrect assessment can be long, tedious and very expensive. To be successful, you will need to hire a licensed state certified professional appraiser—which is money that comes out of your pocket before the appeal is ever filed. Residential appraisals alone can range from $300 to $1,000, and commercial properties can sky rocket into $10,000 or higher depending on size and complexity. You will also need an attorney with experience in handling property appeals which is more money for you to expend before your case is ever heard. Once your case proceeds to trial you would be required to pay an expert hundreds of dollars for their testimony on your behalf. At Rewis & Yoder, we understand your frustration—lot of money coming out of your pocket with no guarantee that you will win your appeal and receive any tax relief. Our legal experts are ready to fight for you and your right to a fair and proper assessment. We believe in your appeal so much that we will pay to have your property appraised, litigate your appeal at all necessary levels and you pay nothing up front. Zip. Zero. Nada. Depending on your circumstance, we will pay for an independent appraisal of your property—regardless of size or complexity—as well as all filing fees, legal fees, and expert fees. We only profit if we are successful in pursuing your appeal. The appeal process could extend into the year 2007 depending on a variety of factors, but generally will occur if either side is unhappy with the results of the initial hearing and files another appeal with the Board of Viewers. The assessment fiasco has caused Allegheny County to be flooded with thousands of assessment appeals over the past two years. Based on our experience it is highly unlikely that many appeals filed this year will be resolved before 2008. A large number of appeals filed in 2005 remain unresolved and could easily extend into 2008. In the event that this occurs on your appeal we will pay for an updated appraisal of your property, prepare additional expert testimony, and provide additional attorney hours to ensure that you receive the maximum tax reduction for the years in question. The deadline for the appeal to reach our office is April 2,2007 to allow time for us to get it filed. All Appeals received after that date will require the property owner to wait for the 2007 assessment appeals to begin. To learn how we can help you, contact us now. |
How Can We Help?
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