Our Clients Ask Us: Common Area Real Estate Taxes

Does our Board have to pay real estate taxes on common areas? The county records say that it has a high market value, but we can never sell it, as it is a common area. Can we have the taxes lowered?

YES and YES. Most counties in Ohio will begin accepting Board of Revision Complaints on January 1, 2012 and will continue through March 31, 2012. The purpose of the Board of Revision Complaint is to challenge the market value on record with the county, that is, if the county valued the real property too high or too low. This will, in turn, cause the owner to pay higher or lower property taxes. The Association provides an appraisal of your common area, and the Board of Revision uses the appraisal to determine the value of the property. If the Board of Revision agrees with the appraisal, the Association would pay lower taxes or no longer have to pay property taxes on the particular parcel (Association must have title to the parcel in order to file a Complaint.)

If the Board of Revision disagrees with you, the taxes may actually increase.

The majority of the counties in our area will not charge a filing fee to file a Board of Revision complaint, however, you will have to employ an appraiser as an expert on your behalf, and association appraisals can become quite involved. Please contact our office as soon as possible should you decide to file a Complaint or require more information.

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