Appeals to the Tax Board of Review

[John S. Rabi]

Kathy, you sure are right, there are lots of low income people living in Puna and a $40,000 property tax bill would cause a revolution here!

Aloha,
John S. Rabi, GM,PB,ABR,CRB,CM,FHS
808.989.1314
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
"The Next Level of Service!"

[Devany]

Kathy,

I clearly don't think you understand my last post. I am in now way saying we can afford or want to pay CA's ridiculous taxes. Their Prop 13 system is clearly unfair. We have been trying to sell that house since we bought this one last August. But their market is flooded with bad mortgages and even after dropping our price for more than $500,000 less than we paid for it, it is not selling. Yes, we can afford the payments and the taxes... in a sick sort of way. It is eating away at our portfolios for sure.

The whole reason we choose Hawaii as a place to retire is because of the low property taxes and the many exemptions for seniors. The sales taxes are also far less, even if we have to pay excise tax on some things we would not have had to pay for before.

I seriously doubt that someone on a Sugar Company pension is going to have the same property value and taxes as we do. Certainly not the same as CA taxes. Nobody should have to pay those prices for owning a home. That was really a silly comment.


Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany

www.myhawaiianhome.blogspot.com
www.eastbaypotters.blogspot.com

[missydog1]

Devany, I understood your comment. I have pretty decent reading comprehension skills. [] Obviously I didn't know of the information you added in your last post. What I was commenting on was your remark

quote:

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It is laughable how low the taxes (and assessments) are here.

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no, it is not laughable to the people here on pensions. $2000 a year is a lot.

Yes, the pensioners taxes do go up when the square footage assessment rises because of million dollar sales in the area.

ETA - Sorry to bump an old topic, but assessment time is coming round again. Where do people think it will go in 2011, up or down?

[Obie]

Kathy

We bought our home in 2000 when values were very low.Because of the 3 % cap on raising valuations and our 2 exemptions our taxes are $57.00 every 6 months.I figure it will take 30 years for them to catch up with what they should be right now.
I'm with Scott.I even called and verified that this was a real figure.

[Wao nahele kane]

Obie,
The issue is not about where your circumstances are at. It about the county assessor who has in many other cases assessed land far above true market value and exceeded the prescribed law. Therefore your stating that you think all properties that are over assesed should suck it up and get screwed, while you kick back and have nothing to worry about? Nothing is going to change your situation, it will only effect those who have been over assessed.


E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.

[pslamont]

It is difficult to understand how the assessor gets their numbers. My county assessment is $400,000 less than the value given by the appraiser for the bank. I am not complaining, just commenting that there seems to be no trend in valuation. Is it the same guy doing them all? Is it based on sales comps in an area? Does he actually visit each property to give an assessment or does he go off plans filed? I agree it is very strange. At least there is an appeals process, no matter how difficult.

I want to be the kind of woman that, when my feet
hit the floor each morning, the devil says

"Oh Crap, She's up!"

[Bullwinkle]

Agreed ... when I compare my neighbor at twice the square feet and my smaller place ... The assessor values them exactly the same. Based on sales or replacement values those numbers are quite different for the two places, yet the valuation the same ... Im not complaining just curious.

[Obie]

quote:

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Originally posted by Wao nahele kane

Obie,
The issue is not about where your circumstances are at. It about the county assessor who has in many other cases assessed land far above true market value and exceeded the prescribed law. Therefore your stating that you think all properties that are over assesed should suck it up and get screwed, while you kick back and have nothing to worry about? Nothing is going to change your situation, it will only effect those who have been over assessed.


E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.

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Hey Jungle Man

Where did you get that attitude of yours ??Better lose it before you move here or you will be in for a lifetime of misery !!

I didn't say anything about others sucking it up and getting screwed.I was affirming what Scott said about his own low taxes and although I didn't come out and say it I was trying to explain to Carol why some may think of the amount they pay as laughable.Amazing may have been a better word to use though.If you bought when values were down and lived in the house so you can apply for the home owners exemption you get a $40,000. exemption and a different rate than those who are absentee owners and those who own bare land.If you are lucky enough to be over 60 then the exemption is $80,000.There is also an additional 20% exemption that started in 2005.

[csgray]

Our assessment after our appeal is 25% more than we paid for it 4 months ago and 15% higher than the professional appraisal we had done, which the county appraiser discounted as biased because it was done for our lender. That is completely backward thinking because you actually want your appraisal for your lender to be as high as possible.

He used a replacement cost of $138 per square foot to justify not dropping our house to something closer to real market value. The fact that our house is nineteen years old, has never been updated or remodeled and used middle grade finishes when built doesn't matter. According to the appraiser for the county since most houses sold in HPP had expensive finishes like tile and bamboo floors and granite counters our house should be valued the same way. The board's attitude was that we got a good deal on the house and so shouldn't mind paying extra tax on value our house doesn't actually have.

Carol

[Wao nahele kane]

Obie,
There’s no attitude on my behalf, but if you are agreeing with Scott you are agreeing that we should not complain as he says because his taxes are so low anyhow…

“You really need to stop comparing Hawaii with the mainland. Things are much different here and they move much slower.
I’ll bet you will spend more money between your flight and lodging then you will recoup from the evil tax assessor, surprise, surprise.
Our taxes are so low that I have my wife run down and pay them the same day we get it.
I don’t want them to think they made a mistake and under charged me.”

The last sentence is very clear in its intent, he doesn’t want them thinking they made a mistake because we are disputing the assessed value on our land. So who has the attitude? I’m not telling anyone not to exercise their rights and I’m not telling anyone what to do, I’m not telling people to not compare municipal responsibilities. I asked a question regarding whether or not anyone else had filled with the board and made a comment about how most counties across the country are reducing assessments this year and that Hawaii County is failing to automatically reduce assessments like most the other counties.
Now you’re telling me I have attitude? I think you need to hold up a mirror.

I appologize for the question if that was not your intent, but the seming arogance in the reply from Scott was not "kool".

E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.