Tax-bill disputes on rise

Housing slump seen as a factor

Dropping home prices, confusion about how taxes are assessed, and a new residential exemption contributed to a rise in the number of Malden property owners who filed for tax abatements this fiscal year.

Malden assessor Steve Fama said 174 abatement applications were filed by those hoping to reduce their property tax bill for fiscal 2008. That number is up from the 137 applications filed the previous year. And, Fama said, it looks like about half of those who applied this year ended up with a smaller tax bill.

"It's really nothing major," Fama said Wednesday. "We expected to see around this amount [of abatement requests]. And when the market's doing really good we expect to see a lot less."

He explained that many people don't realize that tax assessments lag a couple of years behind the market, meaning the taxes property owners pay in 2008 are most likely based on a 2006 value. So, abatement requests often go up in a down market as property owners see a house down the street that recently sold at a low price. Then they glance at their tax bills and wonder why they are paying so much.

"They look at current [values]," Fama said. "We're looking at history. We study the past."

In addition, Fama said, some Malden residents mistakenly filed for a tax abatement when they were trying to file for a new $189 residential tax discount the town instituted this year for those who live in the homes they own.

Bob Bliss, a spokesman with the state Department of Revenue, said the confusion over tax bills is nothing new. "Assessments will not always reflect what the market is currently - it will lag a couple of years," he said. "And I'm sure local assessors are having to explain this all the time."

Both Bliss and Fama said that property owners should look into seeking an abatement.

Fama said successful applications are usually the ones where a property owner has taken the time to research housing prices in their neighborhood, as well as the value of their own house, and can make a case based on data. Unfortunately, he said, a lot of people don't take the time to provide the reason they are seeking an abatement when they submit an application.

Assessors must follow up on each application within 90 days, Fama said. At some point, an assessor will go out to inspect the property and measure the footprint of any buildings, count the number of rooms in a structure, and look at conditions there.

That's pretty much how it happened for Jonathan Bekemeier, a Malden resident who lives in an old firehouse he is renovating on Ashland Street. He had almost $1,300 taken off a $5,000 tax bill after proving to inspectors that some of the improvements he expected to have done by now hadn't yet been completed.

"It's not so much about the money," said Bekemeier, who said he was shocked when he first got his tax bill. "It's just trying to keep everyone in check, just like the city tries to keep all the property owners in check."

Bekemeier said he had no problem filing for an abatement - a first for him.

"It was an easy process . . . you can go onto their website and download a form and hand it in," he said.

"I don't know that a lot of people are really aware that they can do that. I think they just get the bill and assume it's a done deal."

Erin Ailworth can be reached at eailworth@globe.com.