Home Sweet Homestead.
No. 940 FYI: the City of Pittsburgh, the City School District and the County all have increased their Homestead exemptions. If your assessment is low (like in the 20′s) your real estate taxes are going to be very, very low. You may not be paying any school taxes at all. The City increased the Homestead [...]
If you hadn’t become a lawyer, what would you do?
One day, I heard him telling a friend in the elevator that if the management company didn’t stop bothering him about it, he was going to buy the building.
CFPB Closes Comments on Reg to Require Three Day Disclosure on Settlement Costs.
No. 918 The Massachusetts Law Blog reports that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has recently closed comments on a new reg which would, inter alia, require a three business day advance disclosure of settlement costs. If the numbers change during the three days, the time period starts over. Fascinating. Perhaps they should add a provision [...]
Assessment Appeals: Informal Review Results, Special Appeals and Late Appeals
No. 901 The results of the Informal Reviews were mailed during the week of August 6. If you made an informal appeal, you should have received a notice in the mail. Don’t look at the assessment blotter, however. At least among the limited number I reviewed, changes had not been made. However, don’t bother to [...]
Assessment Appeals: Look for Low Sales Prices that the Assessors Culled.
No. 898 Traditionally, assessors have culled sales prices that they think are too low to represent fair market value. In normal times, they may have been right. But not now. In the past four years, extreme low prices have been the market in many places — especially in lower priced areas. But the trend extends [...]
Lien Priority Under Mechanics Lien Law
No. 888 Under the Mechanics Lien statute before it was amended, construction lenders had to take special measures to prevent contractors from obtaining a lien priority by starting excavation before the mortgage was recorded. The Mechanics Lien Law of 2006, which became effective on January 1, 2007 changed that — or did it? In Metro [...]
Unexpected Consequences Department: Negative Home Equity is Boosting Prices.
Properties under water stay off the market. This deprives non-selling owners of comparable sales at true market value — lower than the mortgage in many cases. Short sales and sales by banks are often culled by assessors as not being representative of the market. Sometimes they are wrong — those low values ARE the market.
Reassessment Appeal Tip
No. 876 If the comparable sales listed by Assessment are fairly far away, search for lower comps close at hand. Start by looking at every property on the street where the subject property is located. Then try cross streets. This is tip is especially helpful when the comps are in a better neighborhood than the [...]
And now, the Common Level Ratio for Allegheny County is . . .
No. 870 The Dog Days of Summer came early; Temperatures will be in the upper 90′s all week; and The annual Common Level Ratio computations from the State Tax Equalization Board have been announced. Allegheny County stands still at 1.17. That means that there has been only a 17% increase in the median sales price [...]
Supremes Dismiss Grant of Cert. on First American v. Edwards
No. 861 This case raised the question whether Article III of the Constitution permits Congress to authorize a statutory cause of action when the plaintiff has no damages. Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, there is a prohibition against kickbacks, even when there are no damages. Here’s what the SCOTUS Blog had to [...]
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