01._Property_Tax_Appeal_Petition_Form_Valuation_Poverty_Classification.2977b167-fcb3-4504-8d66-5770e29dc7eb.pdf
Elizabeth G Genter Petitioner V Township Of Whitehall Respondent · 26-000580-TT
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STATE OF MICHIGAN GRETCHEN WHITMER GOVERNOR DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS LANSING ORLENE HAWKS DIRECTOR PROPERTY TAX APPEAL PETITION FORM VALUATION / EXEMPTION / CLASSIFICATION APPEAL MOAHR DOCKET NO. Do not use this form to appeal Principal Residence Exemption, Qualified Agricultural Exemption, Special Assessment, or Non-Property tax disputes. Pursuant to Michigan Tax Tribunal Rule (TTR) 277(3), you MUST submit a copy of the notice giving rise to the appeal (e.g. Board of Review Decision or Notice of Uncapping) with this Small Claims Petition, if applicable. If you do not submit this document, you may be held in default. Section 1: Petitioner’s Contact Information Filer Type: Individual First Name Elizabeth M.I. G Last Name/Company Name Genter Mailing Address (No., Street, P.O. Box or Rural Route) 7514 Whitehall Road City or Town Whitehall State Michigan ZIP Code 49461 Telephone Number 616-550-9165 Fax Number E-mail Address plucker15@gmail.com Section 2: Petitioner’s Attorney/Authorized Representative’s Contact Information First Name M.I. Last Name Firm Name (if any) Address (No., Street, P.O. Box or Rural Route) City or Town State Michigan ZIP Code Telephone Number Fax Number E-mail Address Section 3: Subject Property Information How many parcels are you appealing? 1 If you are appealing more than one parcel, are they contiguous or adjoining? *If no, you must file separate appeals for each non-contiguous or non-adjoining parcel. Property Address (No., Street, City, ST, ZIP) [If multiple, list first property’s address] 7514 Whitehall Rd
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STATE OF MICHIGAN GRETCHEN WHITMER GOVERNOR DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS LANSING ORLENE HAWKS DIRECTOR Whitehall Michigan 49461-9597 Taxing Authority (City or Township) Township Of Whitehall (MUSKEGON) County Muskegon Section 4: Issues Being Appealed (check all that apply) Taxable Value Only (calculation) Section 5: Explain the Reason for this Appeal According to our property tax bills, the current taxable value of our property is $182,900. When using the estimated Dec '25 market value I obtained from public records equal to $294,000, it should have been closer to the realm of $147,000. A taxable value and SEV of $182,900 places the market value of our property at $365,800, which is $25,300 higher than it has historically ever been estimated and is extremely inaccurate based on market data trends. We purchased the property for $275,000 in October 2024. The taxable value had been assessed too high by a significant amount following our purchase of the property in late 2024. As first time home owners, my husband and I were mostly uneducated about taxable value and SEV at that time. But when discussing our finances with an advisor in the final week of March this year, I was informed that the property taxes we were paying looked higher than he would have expected. This prompted me to begin researching how those values are calculated and I discovered a significant difference between our home's current taxable value and what the taxable value should be. While exploring the appeal process, I was informed by our local assessor that our home's uncapped taxable value was determined in a mass assessment process, not individually, and that I would have to wait until next year to appeal that value because the local appeal window had ended just several weeks prior at the time of our conversation. I also read about the July and December boards, but that locally appealing assessed taxable value can only be done in March. According to my research, the average acceptable margin of error for mass assessments is 15% for properties similar to ours in Michigan. However, I calculated the margin of error for our property's assessed value at roughly 33%. That being said, I would like to have our property's taxable value adjusted down to an appropriate value. I am also requesting reimbursement equal to the difference between the property taxes we paid in 2025 and what the property taxes should have been based on a more accurate taxable value, as well as reimbursement of the same nature on property taxes we pay in 2026 if this appeal is not resolved in time for the adjusted taxable value to apply to the 2026 property tax season. I believe it was negligent for our local Assessor Office to include our property, which had its taxable value uncapped after over 20 years, in a mass assessment instead of individually assessing the new taxable value and SEV. This is a large factor contributing to my decision to initiate this appeal process with the State rather than wait until March '27 to begin the appeal process locally. Section 6: Jurisdictional Issues Year(s) you are appealing: 2025, 2026 Did you protest the assessment at a Board of Review (BOR)? No If Yes, check which BOR you attended AND upload the BOR decision: If No, check the applicable reason(s): Appealing a purported Clerical Error or Mutual Mistake of Fact (if yes, include explanation in Section 5) Did you request a Poverty Exemption at the BOR? If Yes, check which BOR considered your application AND upload the BOR decision: March July December If No, explain why: Section 7: Valuation Information *Use the multiple parcel form for additional, contiguous parcels. Parcel Identification Number: 61-03-693-000-0043-20
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STATE OF MICHIGAN GRETCHEN WHITMER GOVERNOR DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS LANSING ORLENE HAWKS DIRECTOR Classification of Property: Real Residential Current Assessed Value (also known as State Equalized Value) as established by the BOR: 182900 Current Taxable Value as established by the BOR: 182900 What do you believe is the fair market value (also known as True Cash Value)? 285000 Multiply the True Cash Value by .5 and enter here. This is your contention of Assessed Value (also known as State Equalized Value). 142500 If you believe the Taxable Value differs from your contention of Assessed Value, enter your contention of Taxable Value. Section 8: Classification Information *Only the MI Dep’t of Treasury may appeal this issue to the Tribunal* Parcel Identification Number: Current Classification of Property as established by Board of Review: What do you believe is the property’s classification? If improved property, how is the property currently being used? If improved property, for what use was the property designed? Fee Information Does the subject property have a Principal Residence Exemption of at least 50% as of the date of the filing of this petition? Yes Are you appealing ONLY the denial of a Poverty Exemption? No If you answered yes to either or both of these questions, you are not required to pay any filing fees. The filing fee is based on the greater of the State Equalized Value or Taxable Value in contention. If you are appealing more than one parcel, the parcel with the highest State Equalized Value or Taxable Value in contention will be used to determine your filing fee, plus $25.00 will be added for each additional parcel being appealed, not to exceed a total filing fee of $1,000. If your property is residential property (see MCL 205.762) and the State Equalized Value or Taxable Value in contention is: Filing Fee is: $100,000.00 and under $125.00 $100,000.01 to $500,000.00 $200.00 $Over $500,000.00 $300.00 If your property is NOT residential property (see MCL 205.762) and the State Equalized Value or Taxable Value in contention is: Filing Fee is: $100,000.00 and under $250.00
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STATE OF MICHIGAN GRETCHEN WHITMER GOVERNOR DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS LANSING ORLENE HAWKS DIRECTOR Electronic Signature *Typing your name below will serve as your signature Petitioner or Attorney/Authorized Representative’s Signature: /s/ Elizabeth G Genter