I am resending this since I didn't see it post to the listserve. ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Karen Cadoff <kcadoff@yahoo.com> To: Maritza Mosquera <maritza.mosquera@gmail.com>; neighborhood <neighborhood@highlandparkpa.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 7:28 PM Subject: Re: [Highland Park] land assesment I asked a similar question last month. See below.     I finally received the results of our informal review which was in early March. The building value was reduced from the new 2013 value but the land which had gone from $9100 to $38700 stayed the same. Is there anyway to appeal just the land value? When they asked us at the review what our house was worth should we have disputed the land value too? I thought he meant the total value of land and building not just the building. So instead of 3x increase we have a 2x increase since the land is so high. I checked the 2013 website and it seems throughout the county the land values have skyrocketed. Any comments? Replies: If everybody's land value has skyrocketed, then shouldn't adjustment of millage rate mean that the portion of tax based on land should stay about the same? It seems to me that individuals aren't going to make much headway trying to get land value adjusted downward, unless there's a real reason the land is inferior. Perhaps an argument could be made that property closer to Garfield is worth less than property near the park. They will not listen to valuing the land and building separately. They want to know what the "entire property" is worth land and building together. You answered correctly. They consider the value as a whole combination of the land and building. The land in most areas of Pittsburgh has gone up significantly. The average increase of my clients land values has been 400%-500% increase in value. I hope this is helpful. My understanding (per a meeting I attended on the matter in February) is that you cannot dispute the land on it's own. Not sure then why they list them separately then... And as far as I can tell, the way the assessment company increased most assessments was by jacking up the land value.   ________________________________ From: Maritza Mosquera <maritza.mosquera@gmail.com> To: neighborhood <neighborhood@highlandparkpa.com> Sent: Monday, August 27, 2012 11:20 AM Subject: [Highland Park] land assesment Hi Neighbors; I would like to get some assistance in how to fight the re-assessment of the value of myland.  I already went through the informal appeal and the house value was reconsidered to our benefit, but the land stayed quite high.  Any assistance, knowledge, help would be welcomed. -- Maritza Mosquera Community Collaborations - New Initiatives maritza.mosquera@gmail.com -- REDISTRIBUTE ONLY WITH PERMISSION OF AUTHOR <http://lists.highlandparkpa.com/mailman/listinfo/neighborhood>