Detroit residents are protesting the amount of their property taxes for a viable reason. The taxman is charging homeowners exorbitant property taxes on homes that aren't worth the tax percentage being demanded. The same scenario is seen with underwater mortgages right now, people are trying to make money off of property that is no longer valuable.
If Detroit residents want to appeal their property tax numbers, they can attend a workshop being hosted by their state Representative, Sharon Tyle. The meeting is today at 6:30 p.m. in the commons area of the Niles Campus of Southwestern Michigan College, located at 2229 U.S. 12 East.
Communities in and around Detroit will begin their boards of review this week so residents will be able to protest the amount any unfair taxes. “Taxable values are going to go down just by operation of the law,” David Nykanen stated to Freep.com, a Birmingham real estate lawyer who specializes in tax appeals. “Unless you built something new, it’s going to go down.”
This is the type of situation that caused the housing crisis to begin with. Homeowners were given overpriced loans for overpriced houses, then the people were unable to pay their mortgage payments. Now those residents, which are still the reason our housing market hasn't recovered, are being overcharged for property taxes.
A mortgage is underwater when the mortgage amount owed is greater than a house's worth. If exorbitant taxes are still being charged for these homes, those residents will never be able to catch up. Something should be done, not just in Detroit but the rest of the nation as well to stop over-taxing and to help modify loans on the verge of default or foreclosure.
At least the city is doing what it can to help inform residents on ways to protest their property taxes, but there are ways to lower mortgage payments as well. What's done is done in terms of bad loan giving, but the government and banks are slowly but surely enforcing the Home Affordability Modification Program (HAMP) to help people modify their overpriced loans.
Written by Amy Munday
Huliq.com
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