Real Estate Tax Valuations

As you may already know from receiving a notice yourself, several counties in Northern Ohio and throughout the rest of the state have recently mailed notices to property owners, informing them that their real estate values have increased.  The increased value necessarily means that the property owners (or their dealership tenants) will be paying higher real estate taxes every six months for the next several years.

In Ohio, each county is required by statute to revalue each parcel of property within the county every six years.  There are several counties in Northern Ohio whose revaluation has occurred this year, including Ashland, Ashtabula, Geauga, Mahoning, Richland, Summit, Trumbull, and Wayne counties.  The increased real estate taxes that are associated with these new valuations will begin with the January 2015 tax bill.

Any taxpayer who believes their property has been overvalued is permitted to file a complaint with their county board of revision.  The complaint must be filed between January 1, 2015 and March 31, 2015.  Some counties permit tax payers to request an informal review before the filing period/January tax bill.  Participating in the informal review process does not prohibit a taxpayer from later filing a formal complaint if no reduction is received through the informal process.

It is not unusual for the county's revaluation to be overstated.  In some cases, the valuation is overstated because the county's appraiser did not perform a thorough review or detailed analysis.  In other instances, counties have relied upon incomplete or inaccurate sale information for real estate transfers that are just one component of a more complex business sale involving the sale of personal property or goodwill for an existing dealership.

The attorneys at Sonkin & Koberna, LLC have successfully represented several dealerships throughout Ohio in lowering real estate values.  In many instances, dealerships not only receive reduced tax bills for future years, but also refunds or credits for taxes that were already paid.  Representation on these matters can often be performed on a contingency basis, with no attorney's fees being charged unless a tax reduction is obtained.  Please contact Rick Sonkin or Matt Romano at 216-514-8300 if you would like to consider challenging your real estate value and taxes.

Click here for a list of all Ohio counties conducting revaluations.