Perceptions outside of the niche practice of property tax often differs from those perceptions within. Many people outside of this practice know of the attorneys who often go to trial and to the Court of Appeals. Typically, people want an attorney with a lot of trial experience and that is not a bad thing in and of itself. But you should ask yourself whether you want an attorney who settles little, tries cases a lot, hires expensive appraisers in most cases, takes cases up to the Arizona Court of Appeals regularly, and charges fees only on an hourly basis or an attorney who settles almost all of his or her cases well, most often does not have to engage an appraiser at the client's expense, rarely has a case taken up on appeal, and has a flexible fee structure. Many of the attorneys in the property tax field charge only on an hourly basis. This can be very expensive, especially not knowing the outcome. Some may wonder whether the attorney has no incentive to settle or takes cases blindly not really knowing whether the case should have been filed in the first place so as to make money to the client's detriment. I am not suggesting an attorney would do that. But I know the thought creeps into the heads of clients.
Before I commit to taking a case, I will evaluate the case quickly to get an idea whether the case is worthwhile and arrive at an expectation for success and the amount of that success. Depending on the circumstances, I may charge for my time to evaluate the case, usually limited to an hour, regardless of how much time I spend. Should I conclude the case if worth appealing, I will discuss with you attorney fee options. Most of my clients prefer to pay me on a percentage fee basis where I am paid a percentage of the tax savings. Some of my clients will opt to split the percentage fee and my hourly fee. A few of my clients decide to pay me on an hourly basis. There are a few exceptions to this depending on the expected outcome. Regardless, I will try to find a fee basis that you would find comfortable.
If you are interested in learning more about property tax appeals or about appealing the property tax on your property, then please call me at 480.612.0577 and let it ring through. You also may email me at mtynanlaw@cox.net with your questions or even your property address and/or parcel number so we can explore whether a property tax appeal is warranted. I will promptly respond to all communications.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
June 2013 successes
During the past few months my clients received tax refunds in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. One notable case involved a luxury home in Paradise Valley where I reduced the full cash value of the home from over $5 million to just over $2 million for three years. Not only did we get the Assessor to reduce the per square foot value, but I discovered an almost 1,000 square foot discrepancy in the total square feet of the home that reduced the total square footage by one-tenth. This will result in a perpetual tax savings. This case, like almost all of my cases, settled without having to hire an appraiser or go to trial.
I settled another case in Paradise Valley of a luxury home where we reduced the full cash value from over $5 million to below $2 million for two years. Like the previous case, no appraisers were involved and the case settled without going to trial.
I have several property tax appeals involving vacant land. In one case involving a large tract of land in the southwest valley, we reduced the per square foot value by almost 80% and saved my client hundreds of thousands of dollars just in the first year of the appeal. Because of the large reduction in the first tax year, the subsequent years appeals warranted lesser reductions. Nevertheless, I still was able to save my client around an additional $150,000 in property tax.
In another appeal of vacant land in the southeast valley, the property was zoned both for commercial and residential uses. This case also settled without benefit of an appraiser and saved my client well over $100,000. We now are appealing the 2013 and 2014 tax year full cash values. The 2013 tax year valuation has settled on the value I put before Maricopa County. We are awaiting a response from Maricopa County on the settlement offer I made on the 2014 tax year full cash value. I expect that will settle, as well.
I have had many more successes earlier this year. I was able to get Maricopa County to agree to reduce the full cash value of a commercial property near the Sky Harbor Airport from $7.1 million to over $2 million. This appeal involved several tax years and saved my client several hundreds of thousands of dollars. Currently, we are appealing the 2014 tax year and are awaiting a response to my offer from Maricopa County.
There were several other cases we settled well for my clients this year involving office buildings, residential vacant land, apartment buildings, and a warehouse near downtown Phoenix, among others. The warehouse appeal was interesting. Although it was a warehouse, it was dilapidated and not in use. Not only did Maricopa County agree to settle close to the value we sought, but Maricopa County also agreed to reclassify the property as vacant with a 16% assessment ratio from commercial with a 20% assessment ratio. This alone would account for a 20% reduction in property tax.
I have many more cases in varying degrees of progress. Several are close to settling. Should you wish to explore whether I can obtain tax savings for your property, then please contact me either on my office phone at 480.612.9577 or my cell phone at 602.677.2691. Better yet, send me an email at mtynanlaw@cox.net. I will respond.
I settled another case in Paradise Valley of a luxury home where we reduced the full cash value from over $5 million to below $2 million for two years. Like the previous case, no appraisers were involved and the case settled without going to trial.
I have several property tax appeals involving vacant land. In one case involving a large tract of land in the southwest valley, we reduced the per square foot value by almost 80% and saved my client hundreds of thousands of dollars just in the first year of the appeal. Because of the large reduction in the first tax year, the subsequent years appeals warranted lesser reductions. Nevertheless, I still was able to save my client around an additional $150,000 in property tax.
In another appeal of vacant land in the southeast valley, the property was zoned both for commercial and residential uses. This case also settled without benefit of an appraiser and saved my client well over $100,000. We now are appealing the 2013 and 2014 tax year full cash values. The 2013 tax year valuation has settled on the value I put before Maricopa County. We are awaiting a response from Maricopa County on the settlement offer I made on the 2014 tax year full cash value. I expect that will settle, as well.
I have had many more successes earlier this year. I was able to get Maricopa County to agree to reduce the full cash value of a commercial property near the Sky Harbor Airport from $7.1 million to over $2 million. This appeal involved several tax years and saved my client several hundreds of thousands of dollars. Currently, we are appealing the 2014 tax year and are awaiting a response to my offer from Maricopa County.
There were several other cases we settled well for my clients this year involving office buildings, residential vacant land, apartment buildings, and a warehouse near downtown Phoenix, among others. The warehouse appeal was interesting. Although it was a warehouse, it was dilapidated and not in use. Not only did Maricopa County agree to settle close to the value we sought, but Maricopa County also agreed to reclassify the property as vacant with a 16% assessment ratio from commercial with a 20% assessment ratio. This alone would account for a 20% reduction in property tax.
I have many more cases in varying degrees of progress. Several are close to settling. Should you wish to explore whether I can obtain tax savings for your property, then please contact me either on my office phone at 480.612.9577 or my cell phone at 602.677.2691. Better yet, send me an email at mtynanlaw@cox.net. I will respond.
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