A Unionville friend of mine decided that she was paying too darn much in property taxes. So she sat down and did some in-depth research about how exactly the taxes are calculated. She talked to an informative civil servant in Harrisburg, learning all about things like the "common level ratio" (currently 0.56; it's the relationship between your house's assessed value and its market value). She paid for an appraisal of her house and hopes her argument is bolstered by the fact that a neighbor's house, on a bigger lot than hers, sold recently at a bargain-basement price.
She will present her case at a tax assessment hearing in mid-July, and the decision will be made by October.
She said several of her neighbors have already succeeded in lowering their assessments, and others have submitted their intention to appeal.
Wendy, The more people do this, the more chance is that the county will do things like cut back on hours at the CC Library. It's selfish, frankly, and certainly not in the community spirit. Plus, I'm betting she can afford the taxes.
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