My County Property Tax Appeal -- Bad News and Good News

I finally heard back from the Saint Louis County Board of Equalization to see if I would have my home assessment value reduced. Unfortunately they decided their assessment valuation was just fine and they would not budge on the number. I was hoping to at least get it down by 10% or so but they must not have liked my data that I supplied with my appeal request. I included my report from ValueAppeal.com which I spent $99 on back in May, along with the county's decision on my neighbor's house which is assessed almost $50,000 less than ours and the sales data for a larger house up the street which sold for almost $20,000 less than our assessment just last year. There is now another house for sale on our street which has a sales price only $15,000 over our assessed valuation, but which will never sell for that much. That house has a floor plan this is an almost identical mirror image to our own but the kitchen is still from 1950 and the basement layout leaves a lot to be desired. Plus it is sitting next door to a newly constructed house which still does not have a lawn, allowing mud to flow from the construction site to the for sale home's driveway every time it rains. It still seems like a nice house, though (I visited the open house), and I hope some nice family purchases it soon!

The good news on my assessment appeal being declined was the response from ValueAppeal.com. I was afraid it was going to be difficult to get my $99 back from them using their 100% guarantee, but once I sent them a scan of the letter from the county they sent a check to me which showed up just yesterday. I e-mailed them on Sept 13 and received the check only two weeks later with no questions asked. So if anybody wonders if ValueAppeal honors their money back guarantee and how difficult they hem and haw to pay it, I thought I would say that they repaid me without incident. It is always good to see a company that stands behind their word and does not make things difficult for their customers. If only the St. Louis County board would be as nice.

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