news from the Guy G. DeFuria Inn of Court

March 2025

On March 13, 2025, the Delaware County, PA, G. Guy DeFuria Inn of Court hosted a CLE at their regularly scheduled meeting. The topic was “Real Estate Tax Assessment Appeals”, a topic with which many practitioners are not familiar but could contain issues that arise in the course of one’s practice. The issue could arise when a practitioner gets a call from a client who is confused or angry with a notice from the County that the assessment assigned to their real property is being increased which generally calls for an increase in property taxes. What to do?

The Speaker on this topic was Richard M. Heller, Esquire, a 50-year member of the Bar and well versed in Real Estate Issues. Mr. Heller has served on various Real Estate Practice committees for both the Pennsylvania and Delaware County Bar Associations. He is an expert on 1031 exchanges and presently sits as a member on the Delaware County Tax Assessment Appeals Board.

Mr. Heller explained the purpose of a Tax Assessment and the reason why an Assessment can change. The reasons include a County ordering a County Wide Assessment of all properties in the county, new construction on a property, significant improvements made to a property or an Appeal by a property owner to establish an Assessment or appeal an interim Assessment. Appeals by a property owner are heard by the Assessment Appeals Board and the Board will establish an Assessment based on an Appraisal presented by the property owner or even an Agreement of Sale. A hearing before the Board will take 3-4 minutes as the Board decides the issue based on the Appraisals submitted or the Agreement of Sale. Appraisals generally include comparables of valued of surrounding properties which may not necessary be accurate in supporting the Appraisals due to the condition of the comparables. In the case of income producing properties, an income approach may be taken into consideration in setting an Assessment. Also, Mr. Heller advised that a decrease in an Assessment does not always translate into a decrease in Property Taxes. It all depends in the millage set by the local municipality or taxing authorities and that is out of the hands of the Board of Assessment Appeals.

In the limited time Mr. Heller had he touched on the State Board of Equalization as well as reverse appeals by Municipalities and School Districts. It was a very informative hour, especially for Practitioners not versed in this area.