Citi Offers Six Month Stay In Exchange for Keys
Citi announced today that it will let borrowers stay in their homes for six months if they agree to a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.
In exchange for the deed on their property, homeowners will also get a minimum of $1,000 for relocation assistance and counseling, as well as coverage for certain property expenses if Citi determines the borrower can no longer afford them.
Borrowers must continue to pay utilities on their own, though homeowner’s association and escrow fees will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
So what’s the catch? Well, as part of the agreement, homeowners must maintain the property in its current condition and agree to bi-monthly meetings with relocation specialists. Read the rest of this entry
Tax Appeals, Presumption of Correctness
Recently, many municipalities have performed revaluations in order to make certain that all their assessments reflect the current market value of the properties located in their municipality. When a property owner files a tax appeal to challenge a tax assessment after a revaluation, who bears the burden of proving whether the new assessment is correct - the tax assessor or the property owner? The answer is the property owner by virtue of the “presumption of correctness”.When appealing a tax assessment, it is very important to understand how the presumption of correctness works. Once a tax assessor imposes an assessment, the County Tax Board and Tax Court are required to presume that the tax assessment is valid and the taxpayer is required to rebut the presumption by cogent evidence. The New Jersey Tax Court has held that in order to overcome the presumption, the taxpayer must produce evidence that is “definite, positive and certain in quality and quantity.” This is a difficult standard to comprehend, but clearly requires a good showing by the property owner.
Tax Appeals at an “ALL Time” High
A recent article published in the Newark Star Ledger noted that the number of property tax appeals filed in New Jersey for the 2009 tax year is considerable. The author notes that nearly 16,000 tax appeals were filed in the State of New Jersey in 2009 which is nearing the record of 16,300 set in 1992. In Ocean County, appeals have tripled to more than 14,000 from the levels filed in 2008. In Essex County, the number of appeals is nearly twice the amount filed in 2008.
Interestingly, the article highlighted several arguments that taxpayers often make in seeking a reduction in their property tax assessment. These often range from “I overpaid for my property” and “I bought at the peak of the market” to “my home is outdated and needs to be modernized”. For those property owners who did not file a tax appeal in 2009, they will have to wait until the 2010 tax year to challenge their assessment as the deadline to file for 2009 was April 1st.
Nonetheless, it is not too early for a property owner to start preparing for the inevitable tax appeal next year. Below are a few tips that will aid all classes of taxpayers from the residential homeowner to the commercial developer.
- DO YOUR HOMEWORK – At times, a taxpayer will focus on the attributes of their own home and disregard how their property sits in the general scheme of the surrounding neighborhood. Using www.MyPropertyPoints.com with give you the information you need to know if you qualify for an appeal. We will provide appropriate ratios and comparable information needed to justify a reduction in your assessment.
- VERIFY YOUR INFORMATION – The tax assessor in each municipality maintains a property record card for every property within its taxing district. The property record card identifies the particular attributes of each property and provides an excellent starting point for anyone looking to lower their taxes. Sometimes, the property record card contains an innocent error or miscalculation that the tax assessor may relied upon for determining a property’s assessment. Accordingly, sometimes a property owner can justify a reduction in its assessment based upon a correction of an error in the property record card. A property record card which is a public record can usually be obtained by contacting the tax assessor’s office – however, every assessor’s office has their own procedures for obtaining a copy of the card which should be strictly followed as a matter of courtesy and procedure
- KNOW AND MEET THE DEADLINE – The deadline to file a tax appeal for the 2010 tax year in most municipalities will be Thursday, April 1, 2010. In those municipalities undergoing a revaluation and reassessment which may not be concluded by the statutory deadline, the April 1st filing deadline might be extended (but not automatically). If the filing deadline is extended, the taxpayer will receive a written notice from its tax assessor listing the revised filing date. By rule and procedure, tax appeals must be RECEIVED by the filing deadline.
Mortgage Rates are below 5%, this week!
Great time to buy property!! rates are cruising lower. .
Mortgage rates decreased for a third straight week, sliding below the all-important psychological five-percent threshold, according to mortgage financier Freddie Mac.
The widely popular 30 years fixed averaged 4.99 percent during the week ending January 21, down from 5.06 percent last week and 5.12 percent a year ago.
The 15-year fixed continued to move lower, averaging 4.40 percent this week, down from 4.45 percent last week and 4.80 percent last year.
Fixed mortgages rates continue to follow bond yields lower.
Welcome to MyPropertyPoints.com!
Welcome to MyPorpoertyPoints.com, the site that gives the information that every investor should know “before” they buy!! We call it “next step” investing. You already have the motivation, means and even a property in mind. But is the property a “good” deal?? We are a consulting company, and the first of its kind, to help the investor with consistent “Mypropertypoints” packages explaining if the property fits a certain investors criteria.
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