The Marketing of Downtown Midtown Crossing Condos

The Journal Gazette reports on Midtown Crossing condominium selling in the Harrison Square area. I found it interesting that home owners property value increases doubled while Midtown crossing value only increased up from between $5,000 to $10,000 in over 17 years.

Demand for the condominiums pushed sales prices 10 percent to 20 percent higher, Davis said. Two-bedroom condos are selling for $55,000 to $70,000. The same units sold for $50,000 to $60,000 a few years ago, he said. Davis has noticed the biggest jump in the past 18 months.

According to the article half of the 104 condos are owner occupied/52 and the other half are leased/ restricted ownership. Sounds like investing making money off of renting space, until the price increase enough to sell or purchase more of the units.


How is this possible? Read Indiana Law blog for more information about the problems with assessing property value.

The reassessment mania has spawned a mini-industry of consultants and mass-mailings offering to help people cut their bills. Last month, Protest, a property-tax consulting firm in Arlington, Texas, sent mailers to its clients and others, reminding them that they have just 30 days to challenge their latest assessment.

The firm charges a $150 fee, plus a "success fee" of between 50 cents and 75 cents per $100 of market-price reduction on a home. Tim Spoonemore of Protest says that while most people "can do this on your own, it's time-consuming when you have a hectic schedule."

Indeed, tax experts generally say there is little reason to hire help when appealing an assessment, particularly given that the fee can wipe out much of any first-year savings.

A surprising number of homeowners don't realize they can fight the assessment. "It's the best-kept secret," says Marc Vorchheimer, a financial planner in Nanuet, N.Y., who is gearing up to help several clients appeal their assessments in May.

Assessors and appraisers say they recognize that mistakes are certain to occur. After all, values are generally based on mass assessments of tens or hundreds of thousands of properties in a short period.

Joe Young, a commissioner in Bonner County, Idaho, says, "In 86% of the cases we were able to get to, we saw that assessors had made a mistake." His own assessment surged to $343,000 from just less than $200,000, while his neighbor's, with similar house and land, rose to just $285,000. "That's what aggravates people -- they see these inaccuracies," Mr. Young says.

The best way to win a reprieve is to back your case with evidence.

Thanks Wall Street I've saying this for at least 3 years.