We're seeing so many families facing foreclosure or rising property taxes while their home values fall and that doesn’t sit right with most people’s senses.  Most people don’t have the time or knowhow to challenge their property taxes.  That is where this work from home business shines. The role of a property tax consultant is to help people with their taxes.

Property tax consultants work on a contingency basis.  What that means is that they do not charge their customers other than a onetime investigation fee for their services unless they win a property tax reduction for their client

When a case is won for a client the client rewards the property tax consultant by sharing the winnings.  After all, it does not cost the customer anything unless the property taxes are reduced.   It’s a win, win situation for you and the homeowner.

Where the reward money lies is in the contingency fee.   When you win your case for the client you receive 100% of the tax savings.  For example, your client's property tax is $10,000 and you saved them a typical 20% on their assessment, your fee would be $2,000. The payment is spread out over 2 or 3 years so the client is rewarded by seeing an overall tax saving.

In this climate of falling home prices, finding comparable sold homes that sold for less value than the assessment price placed on your home are easy to find.  Upon finding good comparable sold home and with using a good property tax appeal manual, you should be able to get a reduced assessment and pay less property tax on your client’s home.

A onetime non-refundable fee is charge the client.  This one-time equalization fee helps defray your costs for gasoline and overhead. This is especially helpful when you are starting out.  If the case doesn't pan out you have the one-time fee.  You’ll learn how to determine if you have a case or not fast and inexpensively.

Just about everyone wants to save money on their property taxes.  It is a very easy service to market. With shrinking real estate values giving government less tax receipts, local government if forced to raise the tax rate to fill their coffers and meet expenses.  Customers who want to appeal their property taxes will never be hard to find.

You're at a social event, a bar scene, a business conference and you are engaged in a dull conversation and want to move on and mingle with others who may show more promise. What do you do to get out of the present company without being offensive?

One good way to extricate yourself is to shake hands and say, "It's been so good to talk with you" and look the person in the eyes and say it with sincerity as you say goodbye. You are under no obligation to hang out with that person or to give a reason you are leaving.

Another method for moving on is a non-verbal cue. A distracting hand on the shoulder in a friendly manner becomes disarming allowing your to again say , "It's been so good to talk with you" as you look the person in the eyes and say with sincerity your goodbye.

Still another is if you see someone else you know in the room. "Oh, I see my friend Donna over there. I want you to meet her." It's always a good move to connect two people together who have something in common says Colleen Rickenbacher, author of "Be on Your Best Business Behavior." After you make this "human sacrifice" you can escape.

The art of mingling is to keep moving. You can pose an observation to a small group like, "Is it hot in here or is it just my imagination?" You also have to give back to the group as the conversation develops. Try to remember names as you circulate.

Be concise. A few minutes is more than enough time to see if there is interest or chemistry developing before moving on. If you see possibilities, show genuine interest in the conversation. You can say "And then what happened?" to get follow up. Also don" be afraid to poke fun at yourself and let the other person feel like they are important and special.

Body Language

Stand straight and have your weight balanced equally on your two feet. Don't slouch. Smile and maintain eye contact when you shake hands. If it is a larger group of people, introduce yourself.

Take a deep breath and walk around the room and introduce yourself. At least say "Hello." Don't be afraid to shake hands, give a smile and look them in the eyes.

Most important to stress is the art of listening. If you are too over eager to share information, it lessons your prizeability and effectiveness. Besides you may talk too much.

Pause often when speaking to let others inject comments or questions. When they talk show interest in what they have to say. Don't be too hasty to pull the conversation back into your control when the opportunity presents itself.

If you are happy with your job, then you probably don't need to read the rest of this. However, if you are looking to improve your financial results, that will take discipline, and proper education!

My Property Tax Home Study Course has helped literally many improve their skills to a point where they could consistently make money in the property tax appeal arena. The demand is huge. Those answering the demand, few.

"Knowledge is Power - When you're learning about property tax appeals, the more you know, the better. You can read many books by different authors and then try to reconcile those views that comes from a broad range of "expert" authors on this subject. Or, you can get it all in this ONE course from this ONE expert, learning all topics as well as using  footnoted authoritative references

Property tax will always spiral upward until taxpayer-homeowners take action. This means taxpayers need to get organized. Grassroots organizations need to form when the pain gets too great. Who else will  tell elected officials what they want?

Taxpayers need to weed out ineffective politicians and see that the property tax bite gets negotiated downward.  The cost of government in many cases need to be capped and the only way to get recognized is by organizing. Look at all the taxes:

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fe e Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Tax
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago… and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

Two New Jersey men living in a senior development won their tax appeal and shared them with their community. They were able to get assessment dropped to $158,700 from $188,600 on one home and saw the assessment reduced to $176,900 from $221,800, saving $1,798 in taxes on the other home.

But it didn’t end there. They traveled around town educating other seniors on how to file tax appeals. Finally the tax assessor got involved and took action.

Some 3,000 homeowners in Westlake, Westlake II, Metedeconk, South Knolls and Cooks Bridge saw their assessments drop. Some 1,400 homeowners in Sixty Acre Reserve, Crystal Brook and Three Pence Brooke — three townhouse developments — saw their assessments increase.

The decreases gave homeowners approximately $500 to $1,600 a year in tax savings. Jackson Township suffered a net loss of $60 million in ratables, or $2.4 million in tax revenue, the tax assessor said.

However, the tax assessor said the town would have lost even more if it had been flooded with appeals.  The huge extra cost of the town lawyer’s time and other office costs (that is all written off to the collective taxpayers) would have rattled everyone’s cage.

If these two men didn’t step up to the plate, nothing would have happened. Is there opportunity in your area for a property tax consultant? How many homes remain over-assessed and ignored by the government tax assessment process.

For full article see: 2 Jackson men spur appeals of tax bills
Asbury Park Press - Asbury Park,NJ,USA

Raleigh Pinskey's orchestrated some of these, and writes about them – along with other strategies – in the book Kennedy recommends, 101 WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS.

You don’t have to be too brazen. Even a local ad to draw eyeballs and having them meet you on a street corner for a free checup consultation and perhaps giving them a  free brochure that will give them information about the property taxes and your contact information is a start.

Here is something off the wall and not on topic

It really works! 

 How smart is Your Right Foot?  Just try this.  It is from an orthopedic surgeon…………  This will boggle your mind and you will keep trying over and over again to see if you can outsmart your foot, but you can't.  It's preprogrammed in your brain! 
 
1. While sitting where you are at your desk in front of your computer, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles. 
 
2.  Now, while doing this, draw the number '6' in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction! 
 
I told you so!!!  And there's nothing you can do about it!  You and I both know that before the day is done you are going to try it again, if you've not already done so.  Send it to your buddies to frustrate them too.    

Kinda of like when you think you're being hosed and you're reaction is you'd like to do something about it?

From Miami to Washington State, California to New Jersey property taxes are out of control. When property values rise the assessments rise. When property values fall, assessments still get divided among the property owners to foot ever increasing government spending. In other words, when home values drop, homesteaders could be paying the same - or even slightly higher property taxes.  One in five people work for Big Brother and guess who pays the freight?

Property taxes and big government budget over-runs  will not disappear from the landscape any time soon.  As a property tax consultant you can find inequities and help those who neither have the time or resources to challenge their property  tax bill.  In this age of turbulent real estate price fluctuations, finding comparables that make your subject property’s case should be relatively easy. Property tax consultation for peace of mind in scrutinizing homesteaders tax bills is in high demand

So there you have it. Watch to see the total months of inventory number shrink. It now stands at about ten and a half months.

The perceived wealth that people have is closely related to housing prices. New construction has a significant effect on the economy and with new construction falling coupled with falling housing prices, a large part of the economy is under pressure.

Many will be looking to save money and reduce overhead. As a property tax consultant you would be like a knight in shining armor to the rescue. 

Consumer Reports has published that property tax records show an error rate of 40% exists in estimating property taxes. (Nov.1992 v57 nil p.723)

The National Taxpayers Union writes that as many as 60% of all homeowners are over-assessed and not in line with their home value. ("How To Fight Property Taxes" 2004 p.1)

The subprime mess will likely linger according to recent statements by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chief Ben Bernanke. It’s effect on consumer spending may possibly lead to a legitimate recession.

The perceived wealth of the average person who has most of their wealth tied up in their homes, when they see their homes resale value go down, will effect their spending habits dragging overall spending down.

This is an excellent reason for knowledgeable people to look into lowering their property taxes. The housing market comparable sold homes are in a downward spiral. It takes over 10 months to sell the average home in the United States compared to 2-3 months in good times. There are an abundance of lower priced comparables available.

If you desire to offer your services in a highly compensated business as a property tax consultant investigate: http://www.propertytaxconsult.com

By helping homeowners appeal their property taxes that were based on prior "expensive" high assessments, you will be rewarded for your effort. You’ll be a hero to the homeowner and will have helped by seeing that they only pay their fair share of property taxes, NOT beyond.

The drop in U.S. real estate markets is likely just the first stage of a global liquidity problem. Foreclosures and lower home values are not going away soon.

Foreclosures almost doubled during July, rising to 179,599 from 92,845 in the same period a year ago. RealtyTrac is expecting 2 million foreclosures to be filed for the full year in 2007.