Why Are Our Houses Worth More Than Last Year?

Within the past couple of days I have had several acquaintances tell me that they have received their property tax bills and are obviously both shocked and dismayed at the amounts. It seems that their property tax bills have risen.

I thought that the property tax is based on a percentage of the value of the property. It seems that the majority of properties around the country are being appraised at less than their original value, and in some cases for many thousands of dollars less.

This means it is time to ask the government how they have come up with an increase in property values. Actually, it is time to demand that government officials tell us. Here is why.

Once we receive a Government written notification that it considers our property to have increased in value over the past year, we should immediately going to the bank or mortgage banker which owns our mortgage and provide them with this U.S. Government information. After all, state government officials are a part of the same U.S. Government which bailed out several large banks after the earlier mortgage fraud and abuse. So the banks had better listen.

Since our Government claims each property is worth more than last year, this should reflect on housing prices and for the ability for almost everyone to be able to refinance their current mortgage and take advantage of these low rates. How dare these appraisers continue to act as though thousands of homes have lost value, when the U.S. Government is documenting that they have actually increased?

This is the time to take action to enable those who have faithfully paid their mortgage but have been stuck to have more options instead of punishing these people because of those who did not and cannot make their payments.

On the other hand, there could be some licensed and professional appraisers who disagree with the Government’s assessment of current property values, especially since their jobs may be on the line and their abilities questioned. If they can prove otherwise, these appraisers should be working with home owners to challenge the U.S. and state Government determinations about local property values increasing. In that event, thousands of current homeowners would see a significant reduction in their property taxes and finally have a benefit from the status of the current real estate market.

I’m waiting, but I should not be alone in doing so. Who is right about property values?

Flood Safety Awareness Week is coming..........

Flood Safety Awareness Week is March 16 through 20. Based on the heavy rain and snow that hit much of the northern part of the country last weekend, this is especially important. I didn’t realize until this week that FEMA reports that 90% of all natural disasters in the country involve flooding. I’ll admit I would have guessed fires and hurricane winds before flooding.

To that point, the National Weather Service has contributed more data and additional resources to increase knowledge of what to do before, during, and after a flood. Especially before. The government web site, www.FloodSmart.gov, has beefed up the information it now provides.

It is worth knowing about, even for those who do not live in a flood threatened area. And once again, if you are a realty agent or a lender, you should let your current and potential clients know about this. If I were an agent or lender and there is a river, lake, or creek in my farm area with any flooding history, I would be alerting nearby homeowners to this site, whether my clients or not. Again, it not only helps the community, but it presents a positive publicity spin.

Don't Stop Short

I've been hearing it all week from realty agents and mortgage lenders. Now it seems the banks are, understandably, waiting for their government money to help bail out the mortgage crisis. However, this is not without short term effects.

Some of the investors ready to cash in on a bargain have lost out to even lower offers on homes entering foreclosure. Now that it appears the banks will receive additional funding, some of these banks are rejecting the "even lower" offers because they will soon be able to sell for even more with government funding.

This means that for right now, the "short sale" is again a thing of the past in many instances.