Chandler owners say ‘hidden’ property tax penalty charges increases residence price
If you own property in Maricopa County, are you being overcharged for your taxes and not even realize it?
Some visitors inform us that the County reclassified their houses as apartments or “secondary” belongings, which means they pay more in taxes.
Kathryn Kerr has lived in Chandler domestic for nearly 14 years.
But after making loan payments all this time, she and her husband were given a few troubling information.
Their mortgage changed into about to spike.
“We were given the word inside the mail that our loan was going to be going up to $ hundred and fifty a month because our belongings taxes went up,” Kerr stated.
Kerr says she desired more details on her mortgage going up and determined some stressful numbers that raised eyebrows.
According to County statistics, Kerr and her husband had been hit with a double whammy via the County.
They slammed them with a mysterious $428 civil penalty, and at the same time, they misplaced a $428 annual state credit score for their house, no longer being particular as their number one residence.
“It became approximately $850 that we had to pay more because they somehow decided to reclassify our belongings from number one house to a rental,” said Kerr.
Owners of secondary homes, like rental property, pay the County extra.
But don’t forget, Kerr and her husband don’t work out of their home. They live there and very own no other property. It’s no longer the first time taxpayers have had their houses reclassified and subjected to better taxes.
In the latest 3 On Your Side report, Lawrence Ek says the same element occurred to him despite living in his home for more than twenty years.
“I cannot trust that it is just a sincere mistake. Something needed to have occurred,” said Ek.
So, why are a few homes being reclassified as condominiums?
We contacted the Maricopa County Assessor’s Office, but no one could speak to 3 On Your Side on camera.
However, they did give us proof. In Kerr’s case, the employer claimed they received a few address exchange notifications from the Post Office, prompting them to change her home to a rental.
But Kerr says she has no concept of what the Assessor’s Office is speaking about and says if that became authentic, all of her mail could be forwarded, which never happened.
“It’s not honest; it’s frustrating and time-ingesting, and I want it resolved. And I need to realize how and why it got changed in the first place after residing right here for 14 years,” said Kerr.
Kerr says the whole reclassification ordeal is suspicious, and he or she now needs to go through the appeals procedure to fix the error.
Kerr wonders what number of homeowners are, by chance, letting it slip by because their taxes are being automatically paid from their escrow account, and they do not notice the spike.
“I need different human beings to recognize that this may show up to them, and you must be diligent if you get hold of any notices approximately higher taxes. It would help if you saw precisely what it’s far,” stated Kerr.
If you need to find out if your property is classed efficiently:
1. Go to the Maricopa County Assessor’s page.
2. punch in your deal and click on your private home parcel variety (APN number).
4. Scroll down, and underneath “Description,” ensure it says “PRIMARY.” If it says something else, you’ll be paying an excessive amount.
I can affirm that we’re trying to use all of the felony treatments we can and offer the remedy for the years they have no longer had the home as their own homeowner. I’ll also reach out to the Kerrs about using the e-mail they furnished on their appeal to relay comparable statistics, as we’re persevering with painting the appeals we obtained for this year.
To be sincere, I can’t confirm why we received a Notice of Change of Address. It might have been that the Kerrs were filling out a form, and the Post Office misinterpreted it. It could have been someone accidentally who stuffed out a shape while one wasn’t vital. The exchange became about ten years ago, though, so I don’t recognize it. But I know that the Assessor’s Office takes this very critically and operates to accurate this inside our legally to be had options and provide alleviation for previous years that might be overvalued and overpaid.
We sadly can’t get someone on the digital camera. However, we can say:
• Property owners must check their property information on our website, MCAssessor.Maricopa.Gov. Make sure the mailing address is where you would like to obtain essential notices.
• If your home is assessed as Legal Class four, but you each personally live in that home (even if you are no longer claiming another domicile exemption like in some other kingdom), you can contact our office online or over the smartphone. We can see paintings with you to get that constant. You will want evidence that you are a resident there, such as a duplicate of a voter ID card or a driver’s license with that property address listed.
