Board of Viewers

Project Description

The Board of Viewers is often the last legal step for a property assessment appeal in Allegheny County. In our experience, many property owners try to represent themselves at the first hearing, but are not successful in getting their property assessment reduced. It is particularly true at the Board of Viewers that an experienced real estate attorney maximizes your chances of success. Lowering your property’s assessed value means immediate tax savings that can add up in the thousands of dollars. Sometimes the school district takes an appeal to the Board of Viewers. Sometimes you need to appeal to the next level yourself. Kraemer, Manes & Associates LLC is ready to assist property owners at any point in the process. We will step in and fight aggressively to reduce the assessed value on your property.

Call or email today for a complimentary evaluation of your property: (412) 626-5626 or lawyer@lawkm.com

If you have a Board of Viewers hearing/conciliation scheduled

If you received a Notice of Hearing/Conciliation from the Court of Common Pleas Board of Viewers, it is time to begin serious preparation of the evidence for your appeal. If you don’t present the right evidence at this hearing, you will not succeed in reducing your tax assessment. The backbone of most cases we prepare involves an appraisal or a comparable report. The best evidence to get a good result at the Board of Viewers hearing includes these items:

  • a certified appraisal
  • a professionally-prepared comparable sales report
  • estimates for necessary maintenance and repairs
  • evidence of defects in the property condition
  • mistakes in the county property system

The hearing/conciliation usually begins with an attempt at a negotiated resolution. Attorneys for the county, municipality, and school district will be there to represent the interests of the taxing authorities. You should not go into the Board of Viewers conciliation without your own attorney who will stand up for your rights.

A special master and a lay master are appointed to hear arguments from both sides. The attorneys for the government will be arguing to raise your assessment, and it is our job to argue that our client’s assessment should be lowered. Hearings and conciliations are held in Room 811 on the 8th floor of the City-County Building in Pittsburgh.

At KM&A, our goal is to make this difficult process as easy as possible for our clients. In most cases, the property owners don’t need to attend the conciliation if they retain our firm to represent them. We do the research, gather the evidence, argue at the hearing, and then let our clients know when we have been successful.

We are not able to guarantee a positive result, but in our experience, a good assessment attorney is almost always successful at the Board of Viewers level.

If you need to appeal the disposition from the Board of Property Assessment Appeals

If you receive a Disposition of Appeal from Real Estate Assessment and are not satisfied with the result, you can file an appeal to the Board of Viewers. At KM&A, we promise at the outset of our representation to go through the second level of the appeal if necessary to make sure we get a good result for you. If you didn’t use a real estate attorney in your formal appeal, you should strongly consider retaining one to take your case to the Board of Viewers.

If you are wondering whether you need an attorney at the Board of Viewers

The number one question you probably have about retaining an attorney for this process is whether it will be worth it. Before we sign up any new clients, our goal is to perform a complimentary analysis on the property to see if pursuing the appeal is cost-effective. We want to help our clients make an informed choice about obtaining legal counsel before they make any commitment.

Call or email today for a complimentary evaluation of your property: (412) 626-5626 or lawyer@lawkm.com

Assessment Appeals

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412-626-5626 | 215-618-9185 Lawyer@RMN-Law.com

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