Three separate entities jointly purchased bank-owned property in Prince George’s County consisting of several different parcels with different zoning and uses. The total amount of the transaction was $5,000,000. The first several parcels were recorded easily, however the last parcel was zoned commercial at settlement as it was raw land that had not been entitled. It also had a significantly over-inflated tax assessment. Due to the high assessed value, the county requested transfer and recordation tax based on the assessed value as opposed to the actual consideration.
The county and the purchaser reached an impasse, with the county stating, “Pay the tax and you can appeal the assessment, and we will refund the difference if the assessment is lowered.” The purchaser did not trust that process. The Eagle Title Team saw that the property in question was up for reassessment that year. We put together supporting documentation that the property was significantly over-assessed and when the new assessment was published, the assessed value was less than one tenth of what it had previously been. Some additional recording tax was needed – but it was tens of thousands less than the county had requested. Plus, the new owner’s property taxes were also reduced by tens of thousands of dollars a year, substantially reducing the carrying costs on the property.