L Ellis Appraisals

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Many Homeowners are upset at their latest tax assessment.  Many ask, “how can my property taxes continue to rise, even while my property value is in decline?”  The truth is that each and every homeowner is entitled to appeal their tax assessment.  If you are in Nassau county you can initiate an appeal with the following link, https://www.nassaucountyny.gov/wps51/portal/AROW 

With the values of our home decreasing in this market, challenging the latest tax assessment is basically a neccessity.  Unfortunately, most people go into these challenges unarmed. They may pull some information from the Internet to support their claims, but have no real basis for their claims.

A Real Estate Appraiser can  provide the accurate answers to the question of value.   With a properly supported Real Estate Appraisal by a Certified Appraiser, you arre armed with the tools to win your tax appeal.  An appraisal from a qualified appraiser would be a step in the right direction in any dispute with your local tax assessor.  Without an appraisal, you will not have certified unbiased proof of your home’s value.  If you feel as if your home was unfairly assessed, please go to www.lellisappraisals.com and let us assist you in finding your home’s true value.

www.lellisappraisals.com

Settling an estate is an important and sometimes stressful job. As an executor you have been entrusted to carry out the wishes of the deceased as swiftly and exactly as possible. You can count on us to act quickly and with sensitivity to the feelings of everyone involved.

Attorneys and Accountants rely on our values when calculating real property values for estates, divorces, or other disputes requiring a value being placed on real property. We understand their needs and are used to dealing with all parties involved. We provide appraisal reports that meet the requirements of the courts and various agencies.

Settling an estate usually requires an appraisal to establish Fair Market Value for the residential property involved. Often, the date of death differs from the date the appraisal is requested. We are familiar with the procedures and requirements necessary to perform a retroactive appraisal with an effective date and Fair Market Value estimate matching the date of death. The ethics provision within the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) binds us with confidentiality, ensuring the fullest degree of discretion.

All too often, people do not fully appreciate the need to have a detailed real estate appraisal prepared in support of the numbers being used in documents filed with revenue authorities.

Opinions of value used in documents filed with the revenue authorities should be supported by a detailed report as to how the appraiser arrived at his conclusions. Such a report will certainly demonstrate to the authorities that the numbers used are well founded and substantiated.

Having a professional appraisal gives the executor solid facts and figures to work with in meeting IRS and state agency requirements. It assures peace of mind to everyone concerned because we are there to stand behind the appraisal if it is challenged.

In an article written by Bernadette Starzee, i found the following interesting information.   Wow I’m not sure that i agree, but: 

These days, when you drive around on Long Island, it seems like there’s a “for sale” sign on every block.

The number of homes on the market has increased significantly over last year. In May in Nassau County, there were 8,351 homes listed for sale, compared with 5,316 for May 2005, according to the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island. In Suffolk County, inventory for May was 11,817 homes, up from 7,862 homes listed for sale a year ago.

Despite the increased supply - and despite what friends who are trying to sell their houses may have told you - prices are still going up. The rate of increase, however, has dipped sharply from the meteoric rise in prices in recent years. According to the same report, the median price in Suffolk County rose 4.8 percent, from $377,000 the prior year to $395,000. In Nassau, the median price of homes sold rose, too, but by just 2.2 percent, from $468,000 to $478,500.

“For the past five years, the rate of increase was in the double digits,” said Pearl Kamer, the chief economist for the Long Island Association, a business and civic organization. “And now we’re seeing low single-digit increases.”

But, as Kamer noted, “while the increase is moderating, we’re not seeing a lot of price decreases.”

Home-sellers, on the other hand, are still pricing their homes as if prices will go up by 15 percent every year. “It’s amazing how many people call us in for a price, and when we tell them, they say, ‘I could have gotten that price last year,’” said Carol Tintle, senior vice president of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty and manager of the company’s Cold Spring Harbor office.

Tintle said sellers’ overpricing is a big reason for the glut of homes on the market. “People are putting their house on the market for 15 percent more than they would have gotten last year, but the prices aren’t rising by nearly that much,” she said. “If a home is priced properly, it will sell. There are still enough buyers out there.”

But buyers are benefiting from a much more relaxed pace than the frenzy of the past few years. “A couple of years ago, when there was no inventory, you had to make a split-second decision or lose the house,” said Dottie Herman, president and chief executive officer of Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate. “Now buyers are taking their time and looking at more properties, which … leads to homes staying on the market longer.”

According to Herman, the time it takes to market a home has returned to what is generally considered to be “normal.”

“It takes about three to six months to sell a mid-level property, from the time it is put on the market until contracts are signed,” she said. “It takes longer to sell a higher priced property.”

This stands in contrast to the recent hot market in which sellers could put their home on the market and accept an offer within an hour - usually for list price or higher.

Herman said the increase in inventory may be due in part to “people who heard the publicity about the real estate bubble and who think if they’re going to sell, they should do it before prices come down.”

“And if they don’t have to sell right away, they may be putting their homes on the market for higher prices than they should,” she added.

Which, naturally, means they will take longer to sell. And which inevitably leads to more discussion about whether the bubble will in fact burst.

According to Kamer, it’s not likely, at least not any time soon. Prices will continue to moderate and perhaps decline slightly, she said, but they won’t go crashing through the floor.

“If long-term interest rates rise, and I think they will, we will see some price declines, but modest ones only,” she said. For the next year, “any price corrections will be in the 3- to 5-percent range.”

Prices won’t drop any more than that because “the economy and labor market are strong,” Kamer added. “Mortgages on existing homes were predicated on two wage owners. As long as both wage owners keep their jobs, we will not see many foreclosures.”

With the Internet, homebuyers are more educated than ever before, said Kate Rossi, president and chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage of Long Island and Queens. “There are more homes on the market and buyers are looking at everything. There are still a lot of buyers, and demand is still there, but buyers have so many choices.”

The bottom line: A house has to be priced right to sell.

“It’s basic economics,” said Lawrence Paul Finn III, director of corporate services for Coach Realtors. “If homes don’t sell, prices will move down to a number where they will start selling again. If you bring your list price down, you will have buyers.”

Though things have improved dramatically for buyers, Herman called the current market “a level playing field.”

“I don’t think it’s lopsided either way,” she said. “It’s a healthier market. There is more time and more selection. People will get a fair value. In the past they were just paying whatever they had to pay to get a house.”

L Ellis Appraisals Offering Real Estate Appraisals in East Meadow 11554, Wantagh 11793, Levittown 11756, Merrick 11566, Massapequa 11758.  24 Hour Turn time.  

We are a trusted source for all of your appraising needs.  Earlier today i read an interesting story :

Queens appraiser indicted
A Whitestone real estate appraisal company and its CEO have been indicted for allegedly stealing identities of appraisers and inflating property values. D & T National Appraisals and CEO Donato Odato, 54, are charged with forgery, falsifying business records, identity theft, scheming to defraud and conspiracy. Odato allegedly recruited appraisers through the Internet as a ruse to steal their personal identity and then allegedly forged their names on appraisals filed with residential mortgage applications. The alleged scheme was discovered after the appraisers were accused of inflating property values and lost work. “This type of mortgage fraud has the potential to needlessly cost lenders and purchasers millions of dollars, as well as undermine the credibility of the entire real estate market,” said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. TRD

After reading this i wanted to reach out to the community in order to relay the message that a quality appraisal report is needed for all of your real estate transaction (Sale, refinance, investments, insurance, divorce, estate, etc.)  At L Ellis Appraisals we offer appraisal reports of the highest quality  and ethically sound.   We can assist you in all of your appraising needs.  www.lellisappraisals.com