Latest trend: Pitching for lower tax bill

Area homeowners increasingly are questioning their property's assessed value, looking for a break on their local taxes as a way to pinch pennies.

In several communities, including Andover, Belmont, Lawrence, Tyngsborough, and Westford, the number of applications for tax abatements is on the rise.

"It could just be the economic times," said David Billard, Andover's assessor. "Everyone is scrutinizing every bill they are getting." In his town, 216 applications were filed this year, compared with 160 last year.

Homeowners pay property taxes based on the assessed value of their home. Those who disagree with the value set by their city or town can file an application for a property tax abatement. The onus is on the taxpayer to prove, typically using comparable home sales, that the assessment is wrong.

Jeanne Kidder, chief assessor in Tyngsborough, said homeowners may look at the bleak real estate market and think their assessments and taxes should be lower. But officials are required to base assessments on a prior year's evaluations, which for this year's taxes means using sales in 2007, when the real estate market was strong in some communities, or at least better than current conditions, Kidder said.

That's why a majority of abatement applications will be denied, local assessors say.

"Most people just feel like, because of the declining market, they should see bigger decreases in their assessment," Kidder said. "They look at 2008 sales, but we have to use 2007 sales and there is a big difference."

She said she has received 65 applications for abatements this year, three times as many as last year.

"I find taxpayers' attitude in general is very angry," Kidder said. "With this bad economy, a lot of people are out of work and are looking for every dollar."

Lawrence homeowners are walking into the assessor's office demanding to know why property assessments remain high despite the downward spiral of the local real estate market, said Alexcy Vega, the city's chief assessor.

"It's the recession and they are on a fixed income and can't afford to see increases in their taxes," he said. "To get hit in January with another real estate increase is a huge burden, with property values decreasing."

About 150 Lawrence homeowners file an application for a tax abatement in a typical year, Vega said, but this year, the number more than doubled to 320.

Foreclosures have also caused some confusion among taxpayers. Vega said his city has many applications from residents who bought a home after a foreclosure and expect to pay taxes based on the sale price. Homes purchased after a foreclosure typically sell for much less than their full value. But the assessment must be based on the home's value in the open market, not the price of a distressed sale, he said.

In some cases, assessments have indeed gone down, and many homeowners assume that if values overall are lower, their tax bills should follow suit.

But that's not the case, said Richard Simmons, Belmont's assessing administrator. Communities still need money to pay for services, so if assessments do go down, officials will typically set the tax rate higher so the community doesn't lose revenue.

"The rate will go up to compensate for it," Simmons said.

Belmont saw a slight rise in applications this year.

Generally, applications for abatements must be filed on the due date of the first bill for the fiscal year. In communities that issue quarterly tax bills, the application is due with the community's third-quarter bill, which this year fell on Feb. 3. The community then has three months to decide on the requested abatement, and taxpayers can appeal the ruling to the state.

Assessors say even residents without any proof to back up their case are still applying for abatements, hoping to do anything to save a few dollars. In Westford, one resident bought a home for $1.6 million in November but thinks the assessment should be $1.1 million, said Paul Plouffe, the town assessor.

"You just paid that amount," Plouffe said. "So, realistically, will he be getting an abatement? Probably not."

But not all communities have seen applications for abatements climb. Some, including Acton, Chelmsford, Concord, Lowell, and Winchester, held the same or saw small decreases, officials said.

Assessors in Acton, Concord, and Winchester said the housing market in those communities was still strong in 2007, so residents probably weren't expecting a big change in home values. But that will change next year when values are based on last year's sales, said Daryl Powell, Acton's property lister.

"We'll see an even bigger decline in our assessments next year," he said.

Jennifer Fenn Lefferts can be reached at jflefferts@yahoo.com.