April 2011 – Just a Landlord

Could you sell your property for the current assessed value?

Could you sell your property today for cash at the current assessed value? If not then you should consider appealing your assessment.

“An exercise in futility!” you scream, knowing the Board of Review is generally a rubber stamp for the Assessor’s Office. In general that may be the case. However our attorney and a few other smart lawyers believe the current MIlwaukee assessment process may be flawed as the Assessor refuses to factor the impact on values of the massive number of foreclosure, defaults and short sales in many neighborhoods. This raises the potential for a class action suit to remediate an intentionally flawed process.

Milwaukee’s latest answer to foreclosure crisis

New rule to help Milwaukee monitor foreclosed properties – JSOnline

Some of the highlights from the Journal article:

Under the new rule, which the Common Council passed Tuesday, the bank or financial entity involved must notify the city as soon as the foreclosure action is started. That way the city can more closely monitor and inspect properties to prevent problems from growing, Dahlberg said.

Once a property becomes abandoned, the owners will be required to post the name of the responsible party outside the property so people know whom they can call, Murphy said.

My comments:

Foreclosed, boarded buildings are indeed a drain on the neighborhood.