Is There Relief From High Property Taxes

The answer is more likely no. As long as the cost of living continues to rise, property taxes will continue to rise as well. Even with the housing market right now, the economy is still on the rise. Schools still need money, communities need money and other districts need money as well. If no one would need money, like back in the cowboy and Indian days, then no one would have to pay taxes. Since this will never happen, property taxes are going to continue. Schools and school district are the major holder of the capital funds that are brought in by property taxes.

The only way to reduce property taxes and find some relief is to find better ways for schools to utilize smaller amounts of money. One example of poor spending happened in one local community, where the school board approved buying some type of removable flooring for a certain school without considering the time and labor needed to place it and remove between group activities. As a result, the expensive flooring is not used and was offered to another school in the community. This resulted in taxpayer’s money being spent foolishly and is now not available for other needs. Read the rest of this entry »

Property Taxes And The Non Profit Organization

Non-profit organizations do not have to pay property taxes. This is a true statement, but there are stipulations that apply to the rule. The first thing that has to be defined is whether the organization is actually non-profit. Non-profit meaning that they do not have any profits made from monies received. The other qualification is the non-profit organization has to be recognized by the government as a qualifying activity to claim the exemption for property taxes. You need to know the laws of the particular state to know if your organization is tax exempt.

The most common non-profit organizations are nursing homes, social service groups, hospitals, museums, cemeteries, churches and schools. Any property used solely for performances for dance or musicals or any literary adventures and buildings that house historical collections are also exempt from paying or owing property taxes. A union hall however is not exempt from property taxes unless they also offer some training inside the building, then they can qualify for tax exempt status. To qualify for exempt status from property taxes, an organization must fill out an application that is submitted to the state taxing committee. Read the rest of this entry »

Some Ways To Help Keep Property Taxes Lower

There are a few ways for taxpayers to help keep property taxes lower. The first way is to attend public meeting where decisions are being made about spending limits and spending in general. If you do not participate in meeting that is open to the public for suggestions and opinions, you cannot blame anyone for higher property taxes. If the community spending committee we will call them wants to raise taxes so they can afford to give aldermen and government officials a raise in salary, then no one will be at the meeting to voice their opinion and make people think.

 If a committee is interested in buying land from a property owner and it is a substantial amount of money that will require an increase in property taxes, you might use a petition to request a vote when the next election is scheduled. This is done in many states and communities. This allows the voters who are tax-paying citizens to vote for or against the proposal. All spending should be done this way. That way everyone in the community has a say or a vote if you may on whether or not this type of spending is necessary. Read the rest of this entry »

Different Circumstances For Property Tax Reduction

There are some reasons why people receive a property tax reduction. Veterans, seniors, and low income homeowners can apply for a tax reduction or a tax deferral. Keep in mind that not everyone who applies receives the reduction or deferral. The state and community you reside in may vary from other states and communities. If you do not qualify, you can ask for installment payments on your property taxes. This is one way to avoid foreclosure and possible auction of your property.

For low income homeowners owners, the county treasure’s office or an online source can supply you with a hardship application. You need to have proof of ownership, income documents, identification and proof of residency. You can also receive information on challenging your property tax increase, obtaining more time to pay, how to obtain relief from property taxes in the future and find information from company’s that offer low income financial assistance. Read the rest of this entry »

Heard of Hire-a-Helper?

Yesterday my Mother came around to help clear some more of the deck that is still covered with rather forlorn looking rain-ruined boxes from our moving venture on October.   Combining 2 full households worth of junk into one tiny shack meant that we weren’t able to fit it all in.. this left us with quite a few boxes literally on our doorstep.  Unfortunately, wet weather has meant that the tarps hastily thrown over them have not really done the trick, so we are slowly working through the resulting mess that has been created.

Oh how things would have been different if we had had more help at the time of the move.   Today I’m writing a review of the Hire A Helper site, and all I can really say is that I wish this service had been available for us when we had to make what is now known as the “horror move.”  Both my husband and I were sick a week before the move (when we should have been packing) and on the day as well.  Not fun.

It would have been great to have had some of the moving help available on the Hire A Helper site.  The site is dead easy to use, you can pay online, and the helper does not get their money until you are satisfied with their work.   You can even see reviews of the work done by differetn helpers, making it plain sailing to choose the right person for you.

We needed no-fuss moving labor, including all of the services that Hire A Helper provides.    they do everything from unpacking, packing, loading and unloading (yes, even up and down stairs!) and help with driving. 

I REALLY wish I kew about these guys before the “horror move”.  So, if you are moving house, why not Hire A Helper?  Make life easy for yourself.   They are guanrateed and cost effective, you have nothing to lose!