Belgeri and Associates

• 	Contact Information: Michael Belgeri 954 465 6069 1482 Garden Rd Weston, Florida 33326 Get Directions http://www.belgeriassociates.com belgeri@gmail.com
  State laws and state government manage property taxes, but it is the county operational budgets that need them to operate and provide services. When the appraisal system assesses property it has a vested interest.  That interest is pretty much defined by the financial needs of county governments who use tax money to offer services.  Unfortunately the recent downturn in property value as well as the rising unemplyment rate has put such strains on departmental budgets that property assessment has been turned to by government as easy prey for new revenue.  That's not a good thing for property owners. Even more of an issues is the time it takes to go through the appeals process.  Each state tends to work on a billing cycle.  In Florida the cycle begins in November.  Key dates include April 1, Jun1 and September.  As a home owner dealing with the upcoming tax notice you have certain timeframes in which you must appeal, certain values on which you can base those appeals and a certain place you must go to make your appeal or send it in a timely manner.  Since we live in a society, community and neighborhood we must pay our fair share of taxes as part of citizenship and residency in that society.  However, we should not have to pay MORE than our fair share and to keep our 'fair share' fair we have to be vigilant and exercise our rights under the regulations and rules that the state makes available to us. It all begins with completing the right forms, compiling comparable tax data on nearby properties, documenting the impact of sales, foreclosures and short sale activity that affects your property's value.  Where it ends is when you sell your home for more because you have been able to keep Just Market Value for your property high and Assessed Value of your property as low as market condtiions dictate.  The process is dynamic and ultimately the task of the property owner.  I'll do my best to help you navigate the process in your neighborhood with the resources available only to licensed Realtors.  I practice in Florida and hold a license in good standing with the Florida DBPR. As a Realtor in south eastern Florida I have secure access to Broward, Miami and Palm Beach County tax records directly.  As a Realtor I also have a professional relationship with agents in every county and every state.  Here is the background of my neighborhood-Florida's counties (source Wikipedia): There are 67 counties in the U.S. state of Florida. It was a territory of the U.S. in 1821 and started with two counties: Escambia to the west and St. Johns to the east, divided by the Apalachicola River. All of the other counties were apportioned from these two original counties. Florida became the 27th U.S. state in 1845, and its last county was created in 1925 with the formation of Gilchrist County from a segment of Alachua County.[1] Florida's counties were originally subdivisions of the state government. In 1968, counties gained the power to develop their own charters.[2] Most of Florida's counties are named for local or national political leaders. Some are named for Spanish explorers or conquistadors, marking the influence of 200 years of Spanish rule. Natural features of the region, including rivers, lakes, and flora, are also commonly used for county names. Florida has counties named for participants on both sides of Second Seminole War: Miami-Dade County is partially named for Francis L. Dade, a Major in the U.S. Army at the time; Osceola County is named for a Native American resistance leader during the war.[3] Population figures are based on the 2008 United States Census estimates. According to that estimate, the population of Florida is 18,423,878, an increase of 14.8% from 2000. The average population of Florida's counties is 274,983; Miami-Dade County is the most populous (2,398,245) and Liberty County is the least (7,957). The average land area is 805 sq mi (2,085 km2). The largest county is Palm Beach County (2,034 sq mi, 5,268 km2) and the smallest is Union County (240 sq mi, 622 km2). The total area of the state is 65,795  sq miles; of this, the land area of the state constitutes 53,927 sq miles while the water area constitutes 11,868  sq miles.[4][5]