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[Highland Park] real estate taxes
by Irina Livezeanu 27 Mar '09

27 Mar '09

Thanks everyone for the information you sent. I'm as confused as ever. Responses ranged from "appeal and represent yourself to you must hire a lawyer, to the tongue-in-cheek". I did speak to one lawyer who suggested that I should not appeal because the process opens the appealer to possible further tax increases! The system clearly favors owners who do renovation work without work permits, i.e. illegally. The lawyer said that the whole tax system should be changed. One issue is still not clear to me--why would bigger structures with 3-4 times as much living space and rental units that bring in substantial income be taxed lower than single-family smaller houses on the same block? Here is a sampling of the responses I got: Tell them you work for AIG. We went through an assessment hike in Highland Park 10 years ago, and when we moved to Squirrel Hill, we were hit with a reassessment a year after we moved in. Both times it was shocking. I think you mail in your appeal form, and then they slowly send you back a “court date” when you can argue your case. My wife and I did a lot of research, driving around, taking pics of other houses, looking through the county website to ascertain home prices & selling dates of nearby homes that were comparable, etc. See: http://www.alleghenycounty.us/opa/ and http://www2.county.allegheny.pa.us/RealEstate/Search.aspx. The latter has info on every property in the county. We documented what the county website had “wrong” about our house. We also looked at the “Comparables” they suggest on the website, and basically came up with comparables we felt were closer. If I recall, the comparables need to be homes that have sold in the last few years (5?). There are more detailed records on your house available at the County Courthouse. Each time we compiled our “argument” it was basically a set of comparables: our house is like that, which sold for this a year ago… so our house must be similar. The current downturn must make everything more difficult to judge: 5 year old data is useless. We assembled the examples and a summary in a big paper packet, and I went down there in person to argue our case. It was a bit harrowing, nervous. You basically go in to a small room and argue against a school board official, who wants to see your assessments high, and the country tax officer watches and makes a judgement, which can be appealed. I felt it was important to be clear, precise, with god evidence, and LOTS of it. Both times we “won,” and the tax hardly went up. I don’t really have evidence, but I’ve heard that if you hire someone to help you in the legal process, they treat you worse, but if you present your own evidence, it’s better. That’s all I really have: it was a bunch of work, but worth it, I guess. We appealed our county property assemesment a few years ago. If I remember right, they had wanted to raise it about 9-10 months after we had bought the house. I believe they wanted to value it at $30,000 or something more than our purchase price. Our appeal was successful on the first try. I did not have a lawyer represent us, but I think I had talked to a friend or two who was a lawyer who had given me some good advice about how to approach it. Base on that, I kept our rational for the appeal simple and reasonable, which is why I think it was successful - only took less than 30 minutes of conversation with the assesment office (once they called me for my appt). - I noted that what we paid for it less than a year ago should be considered fair market value, and a good representation of "market value" since the house was on the market for at least 9 months, maybe 12 months before we bought it. -I had clear range that I suggested/asked to have it be revalued at - I think it was a $5,000 window around our purchase price (as I will readily admit we got a good deal on our place). I was clear with the assesor that I had no intention of trying to get them to value it for less than what we had just paid for it. -I think I did bring in information on comprables we had used when putting together our offer to buy the house, and comprables for the county website, so that I was prepared with that information. Again, I stuck with comprables that were truly comprable and in the range we were looking to be assesed with. -I had documentation to back up what I was suggesting - our offer on the house, my notes on the market history of the place, etc. I don't think they really looked that closly at it but having that helped point out that I had a pretty straightforward reason to suggest the assesment rate be changed. My experience was that as long as you are reasonable in your dealings with them, you'll get a good response. If you aren't suggesting something "reasonable" they aren't going to go for it, and honestly, there is no reason they should considering that they should aim to be "fair" to everyone. In your case, if they increase they are suggesting is more than the improvements you have made, I would suggest that you approach them with a goal of bringing the increase back down to original assesment plus what you've invested in the improvements (taking depreciation of those improvements and the actual increase in sale price into account). If the work was not improvement work, but was more of a substantial repair work, like fixing the foundation, I would think you could state that "maintaining" the condition of the house would bea good justification for either maintaining the current assesment rate or going up only a moderate amount. If you did not increase your square footage substantially because of this work, that is an important point to make, as I've had friends who had their assesment change because of square footage being calculated wrong after they'd had some work done that required a building permit. Making existing improvements to the current structure without adding square footage should be less of a reason to increase your assement value. As far as I understand it (not well) they have to use the 2002 assessed value.... Your argument is "The law states that the base year for assessments is 2005" End of story. You might also want to check the assessment on every house on your block/street, pick the conditions that are similar to yours, and see what their assessments are. The best strategy I have heard of, and that worked, is to look at houses in the area that are comparable to yours and see what the taxes are for these. A friend of mine did this and found that the taxes were all over the place. Some houses that were comps had higher taxes, some had lower. There was no rhyme or reason to the tax structure. Armed with this information in a Powerpoint presentation, he argued that because there were no standards, raising his taxes amounted to discriminating against him. His taxes stayed the same! The only suggestion I have is for her to get an independent appraisal that would conflict with the tax increase.? It probably depends on what kind of work she had done.? I.e., an addition vs. a remodel, etc. Hey Irina: don't do this yourself, get a lawyer who specializes in it. We did that a few years ago when our assessment got raised. Didn't have to do anything (not even show up at the hearing) and got a nice reduction in our assessment. The deal we had with that guy was that his fee would be half of our first-year tax savings, which amounted to a few hundred bucks IIRC. So it was pretty painless from the wallet standpoint too. You hire an appraiser (costs a few hundred $) and go to your appeal with the appraisal. BUT, let them go FIRST. If their appraisal is lower than yours, just accept it - that's what happened to me. I tried a few years back to fight an assessment by myself and lost. I then had an appeal scheduled for our home on Jackson Street. I got a call from Jim Uhler (who I didn't know) because he saw that I was scheduled and had no representation. I signed a paper, didn't go to the appeal, and had our assessment lowered substantially. The fee was 1/2 of the reduction in the assessment for the year. (our taxes dropped $2,000/year, so I paid $1,000 for the appeal). This guy is not a lawyer, but he knows what he's doing. I have given him info three rental properties I own to try to lower the assessment this year.

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[Highland Park] Coupons Needed
by Kathy Cuda 27 Mar '09

27 Mar '09

Please post the following ad - thank you. _______________________________________ If anyone has coupons for golf at 7 Springs that are in the Entertainment and Enjoy Books and have no use for them, would appreciate having them. They can be mailed to me at the following address - however, if you prefer a stamped addressed stamped envelope, just let me know and one will be sent to you. Thank you!! Kathleen Cuda c/o Portnoy & Quinn, LLC One Oxford Centre, 36th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15219

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[Highland Park] Break-in
by Stacie Chandler 27 Mar '09

27 Mar '09

My neighbor's house (on Jackson between Negley and Highland) was robbed sometime between 8 and 11 p.m. on Wednesday night. She was out and the thief(s) cut the screen and opened a rear first-floor window to gain access. They took computer and game equipment, as well as carefully chosen pieces of jewelry and a gun (properly registered, she says). Neighbors on both sides of the house, as well as in the other half of the duplex were home at the time and heard nothing. It was reported to the police, but I thought everyone should be aware.

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[Highland Park] Highland Park Survey
by Colleen Young 26 Mar '09

26 Mar '09

Hello Neighbors, I am a Highland Park resident and a Masters student at Pitt's School of Social Work. One of my classes is centered around urban planning and we are doing a project on the public parks in Pittsburgh, which will be shared with the Pittsburgh Parks Authority. My group is putting together a plan on Highland Park. We want to get a feel from the community on what you like about the park and any ways you think it could be improved. You may see me or my group mates Amy and Shayla in the park taking pictures and asking questions. If you do, please feel free to share your ideas, as we really want recommendations to come from those that use the park. I have also attached a short survey, which will take about 15 minutes to complete. This survey is meant as a format for you to share your thoughts about Highland Park. Please answer any questions you wish, and return it to me before April 6. Surveys can be sent to colleenpyoung(a)yahoo.com Once the project is complete, I will be happy to post the results on the list-serve. Thank you, Colleen Young 800 block Mellon St.

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[Highland Park] Classifieds
by Tamara Hayes 26 Mar '09

26 Mar '09

Hello Fellow Neighbors, If you are interested in anything, please do not hesitate to phone (412.719.1145). Everything listed is in Great Condition. *Here is a short list of some of the items…* *Aquarium Stuff:* 25W & 150W - Aquarium Visi-Therm Deluxe Submersible Heater MarineLand Aquarium Penguin Power Filter 200 Aquarium Whisper power filter 2 Aquarium Systems Minijet 404 PowerHead Metal Scroll Stand fits 30 gallon tank* 36x12 All-Glass Aquarium 30gal Wood Trim LIGHT 36" TWIN TUBE FLUOR AG OAK Aquarium – Eclipse System 6-Gallon Aquarium *Electronics:* Pioneer PureVision PDP-4350HD Plasma TV Euro-Pro Convection Toaster Oven - Stainless Steel (TO289) Krups Waffle Maker Type 653 Hamilton Beach Crockpot – Chrome George Foreman – Large Brookstone Massaging Foot Bath & Spa Honeywell HV141 14 Commercial Grade Floor Fan GoldStar R5050 Air Conditioner Humidifier Alarm Clocks Extension Cords Steam Iron Vacuum *Furniture:* Antique Stereo – General Electric Chair & Footstool Book Shelves – Light Wood (2) T.V. Stand – Light Wood Book Shelf – Dark Wood Rugs (ranging in sizes 9x12 / 8x10/ 6x8 /5.5x7.5 / Runner) Sofa Table - Solid wood w/ Glass top Lamps – Table and Standing Coffee Table – Dark Wood Coffee Table – Light Wood Office Table & Chair Coat Stands – Metal and Wood Mirror – Large Trash Cans - Metal Ikea Shelf w/Plastic Containers - Perfect for child's bed/play room *Kids Stuff:* Crib w/Mattress - Light Wood Baby Bjorn Carrier (Blue Denim) Nilo Train Table w/ drawers Wood Doll House Pottery Wheels w/clay Parents Around the Block Walker - w/wood & fabric blocks Radio Flyer Little Red Roadster Toys, Toys, Toys - Leap Frog, Fisher Price, Discovery Toys, Usborne Books, Puzzles, Books, Neurosmith Musini, etc. *Misc.* Kitchen pans/cookie sheets/serving dishes/etc.

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[Highland Park] Table for sale
by Gary Cravener 26 Mar '09

26 Mar '09

Hi All, I have a smaller, contemporary dining room table for sale. It measures 34" X 64" (it's actually a desk that I've used as a table) It has a 3/8" thick glass top with a frosted glass underside. There are a couple scratches on the top and a few nicks on the wooden (cherry) parsons-style legs. It. was $1,300 new and I'm asking $175. Gary Cravener 6430 Jackson St.

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[Highland Park] RCA Television
by Melissa Dorsette 25 Mar '09

25 Mar '09

1995 27" RCA Television Console Oak in Color (excellent looking condition/well cared for) Remote Manual Cable Ready AV Jacks Connected Swivel Stand Goes well with any decor Very good picture and working condition (need remote for power button) NEVER any repair issues - works well Still hooked up (waiting for you) - will demonstate working ability/picture Selling due to larger television acquisition - $75.00 (GREAT BUY) First Come, First Serve You Pickup and Haul (can help you carry out) Reply by email - SERIOUS inquiries only please

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[Highland Park] Pittsburgh Promise
by Pierina Morelli 25 Mar '09

25 Mar '09

Hi OnQ a local program on WQED is looking for families to interview that have moved into the city of Pittsburgh for the Pittsburgh Promise. If your family or you know of a family please email me. Thank you. Pierina

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[Highland Park] Survey for Pittsburgh Filmmakers... Win tickets for two to a screening...
by Dan Martin 25 Mar '09

25 Mar '09

Hi neighbors, A number of my grad students are working with Pittsburgh Filmmakers to determine interest in its continuing education programs (i.e., "personal enrichment" courses) in film, photography, and digital media. The students are seeking from responses from any and all Pittsburgh residents over the age of 18. As an added incentive, everyone who completes the survey is eligible for a raffle for a "cinema package for two" courtesy of Pittsburgh Filmmakers. The survey should not take more than ten minutes to complete. http://tiny.cc/PghFilmmakers33 We're eager for your input. best, --dan + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Dan J. Martin, Associate Professor Director, Institute for the Management of Creative Enterprises Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 t: 412.268.6086 | f: 412.268.3590 | e: djmartin(a)cmu.edu http://www.artsnet.org | http://www.danjmartin.org + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

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[Highland Park] Thefts
by Beth Barnhill 25 Mar '09

25 Mar '09

Hello, neighbors! In the past three days, I have had 3 planters stolen from my front porch in the 1100 block of Mellon Street. They were regular, terra cotta-colored plastic: one long windowbox type, one round about one gallon size, and a somewhat larger vertical rectangular one. All had dead( last years') plants in them. The thief ripped out the dead plants, and took them, dirt and all. I am flabbergasted, to say the least. I could almost understand someone stealing a valuable, expensive ceramic planter, but these were run-of-the-mill plastic that you could buy at Target, Walmart, K-Mart, or--as I did--Home Depot. If anyone saw anything, please let me know. I will be calling the police to update my report--I just saw the last theft as I was leaving for work at 6 am this morning. On a totally different note, one of my two cats has just been diagnosed with "panleukopenia" hope I spelled that correctly--the "boy in the plastic bubble" disease. Her white cell count is 1/4 of what it should be. Has anyone heard of this, or had a cat treated for this? I'd be grateful for any information. The vet gave her a shot and gave me some pills to give her, and a tube of vitamin stuff that she hates, though she is a trooper with the pills. I'd appreciate any information on either of these items. Thanks much, Beth Barnhill

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