Saturday, 3 November 2012

Work From Home Business - Property Tax Consulting

By Wendy Shafferson


Most people see great disparities in property taxes and helping home owners lower their property taxes can be an excellent if not the best home based business idea. Homeowners should not be paying higher assessments than what their property is actually worth.

We're seeing so many families facing foreclosure and rising property taxes while their home values fall. That doesn't sit right with most people's sensibilities. Most people don't have the time or knowhow to challenge their property taxes. Errors exist in the tax data especially considering that comparable home prices are dropping. That's where this business idea shines. The role of a property tax consultant is to help people with their property tax assessment.

Property tax consultants work on a contingency basis. What that means is that they do not charge their customers other than a onetime investigation fee for their services unless they win a tax reduction for their client.

Lowering property tax is an easy matter since there are so many favorable comparable properties to make your case. You are rewarded from the homeowner by their 1st year tax reduction. The fee in essence, doesn't cost the homeowner any money. It is a win, win situation for all.

Whatever amount you save the homeowner that is your fee. You spread your fee over 2 or 3 years period of time. If you clients property taxes were $8,000 and you saved them 25% on their assessment, you fee would be $2,000.

In this climate of falling home prices, finding comparable sold homes that sold for less value than the assessment price placed on your clients home are simple to find. The time is opportune for this legitimate home business. Upon finding good comparable sold home and with using a good property tax appeal manual, you should be able to get a reduced assessment and pay less property tax on your client's home.

Charge a small one-time fee to help offset your overhead costs. When you are starting out, this is helpful. You'll want to cherry pick the more expensive homes and those cases you feel you have the best chances to win.

It's hard to find someone who doesn't care about their property taxes. A lot are upset over it. And finding clients, especially in today's financial environment, is relatively simple. When real estate values become lower, governments raise the tax rate to meet their budget.

Beginning a new businesss in the tax consulting business niche can an eye opener. There is a lot of opportunity here.




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