I live in Fayette County, Texas. FEMA recently re-drew the flood zone map, and my property is in it. Because my home is financed, the Mortgage Company requires me to carry Flood Insurance, resulting in an additional cost of almost $800 per year. Homes in my area that are not in "THE ZONE" do not have this added expense. Based on this info, shouldn't this drop the value of the property, thus dropping my property taxes??? Should I decide to protest this appraisal, would you please provide me with some insite on how to go about presenting "my side of the story", and perhaps some tax law and/or property appraisal info that I can reference to back me up?
2007-05-31 07:07:05 · 6 answers · asked by Dominicks Granny 4 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
No real experience in this area....BUT, as a consumer, if I were to look at 2 similar homes in the same area, one of which is in a flood zone which I KNOW is going to carry an added yearly expense of flood insurance, and 1 that is not, I am going to choose the one that is not. Less maintenance, and less possibility of having to repair flood damage. So, I think that the marketability of your home just went down.
2007-05-31 07:12:41 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check your property appraisal date - most tax appraisals are done once every three years and the increase is phased in over those three years. Thus, while market value may be decreasing, if your home was appraised for tax purposes during an upswing, the phase in makes it look as if teh appraisal is still going up. Also, check with your tax appraisal office. In many cases, if home values have declined a lot, you may be able to request a re-appraisal. I am not sure how oit is in your neck of the woods, but in Maryland, most tax appraisals tend to come in under the actual property value (at the time the appraisal is done), so a re-appraisal doesn't always help.
2016-05-17 22:06:40 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your best course of action is not to protest the property value (which you do NOT want to do), you should devote your energy to protesting being in the flood zone.
Often surveys are needed to show where the water is in comparison to your property. FEMA probably already did this, so get whatever information they used to establish the flood zone. You will need historical data on if the area has flooded, if so, when. What dams, levees or other devices are in place to prevent a flood in your area.
This can be a long arduous process, but I know that some people have successfully removed their property from a flood zone.
2007-05-31 07:25:48 · answer #3 · answered by godged 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The value of your property did not change. All that DID change is that you became an unwitting resident in a new flood zone. Because of federal law, you are now required to hold flood insurance (NFIP) on the property.
Sad to say, you may have to take a price reduction in the future when you sell because you are NOW in a flood zone, and that must be disclosed to any future potential buyer.
However, your property value remains unchanged, even though you now have this added expense. Given a few years, you may be able to provide a reasonable case for valuation reduction, if enough homes in the new zone are sold at lowered prices due to the situation.
2007-05-31 07:14:08 · answer #4 · answered by acermill 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I know that paying extra money is a pain ,but having your property appraised lower means you would not be able to sell it at what it is presently worth. You really don't want your property to be appraised lower. Check with a realtor friend.
2007-05-31 07:11:29 · answer #5 · answered by dmjrev 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
do u have to tell ppl about it...???
2007-05-31 07:09:53 · answer #6 · answered by J dog 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋