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Real Estate Law
Alert January 8, 2009
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Property Tax
Services Team Members
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LOCAL PROPERTY
TAX ASSESSMENTS
Over the next
several weeks, local property tax assessing officials will send
notices of 2009 assessment changes to owners of real property in
Michigan. Property owners may be surprised to find that once
again in a period of falling property values, some change notices
will actually show an increase in assessed value. This may
result in part from the fact that the sales studies on which
assessments are based relate to sales activity that took place two or
three years ago, and also that the validity of the data used in
these studies is sometimes faulty. Moreover, even when a property's
assessed value remains the same or falls, its Taxable Value, the
amount on which property taxes are actually calculated, may still
increase.
A property
owner who is concerned about a real property tax assessment has
avenues of possible relief. In each municipality, the local
Board of Review meets during the month of March to review tax
assessments. An owner of commercial or industrial property may,
but is not required to, appear before the Board of Review to protest
a tax assessment. An appearance before the Board of Review is
mandatory to protest the assessment of residential real property.
The results of
Board of Review hearings are usually sent out by April 30. A
property owner who is dissatisfied with the decision of the Board of
Review (or, in the case of commercial or industrial property, chooses
not to make an appearance before the Board of Review) may thereafter
protest the assessment to the Michigan Tax Tribunal. The
deadline for filing a petition with the Tribunal is May 31st for
commercial and industrial property, and July 31st for residential
property.
Clark Hill PLC has decades of experience in pursuing property tax
assessment appeals on behalf of property owners. We have dealt
with all types and classes of property, from personal residences to
chemical and steel manufacturing complexes. If you are
considering an appeal of your property tax assessment, we would be
happy to meet with you to discuss the process further.
Tom Nowinski
is a Member with the Personal Legal Services Practice Group of Clark Hill's
Detroit Office. Joe Kopietz is a Senior Attorney with the Real
Estate Practice Group, also in the Detroit Office. For more
information regarding this article or other Personal Legal Services
or Real Estate law issues, contact Tom at (313) 965-8244 or tnowinski@clarkhill.com,
or Joe at (313) 965-8815 or jkopietz@clarkhill.com.
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To find out more
about Clark Hill and our Property Tax Services, visit clarkhill.com
or call 800.949.3124
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