IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN when all the home owners of West Bloomfield are getting their notice of assessments in the mail.  Many of you will not be happy with the way your taxes have been calculated and certainly not happy with the amount that you are going to be liable for in 2009 for your property.  Many people in West Bloomfield are also wondering how the taxes might be going up when we are in such a depressed market.

Unfortunately, most assessors are not using the foreclosed or distressed property prices as comparable sales to those West Bloomfield properties that are privately owned.  You can try and get some relief if you think that your tax bill is too high by going in front of the Board of Appeals for West Bloomfield and presenting your case.  People who have lost their job, have a disability, or temporary circumstances that inhibit their income at this time might be able to get some temporary tax relief due to Hardship.  A hardship case does have to be presented on a yearly basis to keep your property taxes from rising again to current levels.

Also, if you are living in your West Bloomfield property, do make sure that your “Homeowners Principal Residence” is marked as 100%.  If it is marked 0% you are not getting the benefit of being an owner occupant and you are paying more than you should have to in property taxes.

Even investors might want to appeal their taxable values if they feel that the assessments for their investments are too high.  An investor doesn’t get the Principal Resident Exemption; so, they need to be very aware that their taxes are in line with the value of their West Bloomfield property.

The West Bloomfield Board of Review will have days & times available for you to make an appointment to sit down with them and go over your assessment.  It is a simple process where you plead your case as to why you do not feel that your assessment is in line with what it should be.  It helps to have back up information to support your claim as to what you think the assessment should be.  If you have comparable sold properties, try and have privately owned sold homes rather than just distressed sold homes to support what you think your value of the property should be.  You might want to call West Bloomfield to see what months/years they are using for sold comparables to set the taxable values so you can have supporting sales for the right time frame.

As West Bloomfield property owners, we are all in the same boat.  Sinking prices without the sinking taxes. We can try and do what we can now to get some relief and just look forward to the better days when our West Bloomfield properties will be worth so much more.