The February 26 edition of the Wall Street Journal contained an editorial by Karen Blumenthal entitled “Getting a Mortgage Before the Door Shuts”.  We found the article very interesting and thought we would pass on its message. In the article, Ms. Blumenthal starts out by saying ”If you have been sitting on the fence trying to decide whether to buy a new house, or refinance a mortgage, you should act soon. New loans are starting to get costlier.” Click HERE to read more.

Property owners, you should have just received your Fairbanks North Star Borough assessment notices for 2011.  Your preapproved property tax exemptions should be listed in the lower left hand corner of the notice.  If you are applying for the residential exemption for the first time, be sure to sign the form and send it to the assessor’s office.  If you are applying any other exemption, such as the Senior Citizens or Disabled Veterans, you will need to complete the Real Property Tax Exemption Application which can be found on the FNSB website at:  http://www.co.fairbanks.ak.us/assessing/Docs/exemptionrealproperty.pdf. 

The FNSB Residential Property Tax Exemption is 20% OR $20,000.00 ($10,000 for Service Area Tax), whichever is less, and may be deducted from your residential valuation for computing your property taxes. The exemption applies only to the residential portion of the property. You are entitled to this partial exemption on your property if:

You own and occupy all or part of the property as your residence

There are no past taxes, penalty, or interest due

You sign and return the assessment notice to the office by March 31st

Also, if you feel your assessment is inaccurate or does not reflect the true value of your property, call us and we will be happy to supply you with comparable sales in your area that will help you justify your value. Changes or adjustments can be made, for a limited time only, if you have documentation to prove that a correction should be made in the value of your property.

If you have any questions on either of these, contact the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assessing department at 907-459-1429, or give us a call at 907-452-3000.  We’ll be glad to help!

The Madden Team

907-452-3000