Property Taxes, East Side Providence RI and Zillow – Oh my!
ADDED April 2, 2011
3 COMMENTS
I’m a big fan of Zillow.com. When it comes to tax calculations however in Providence RI and where assessed values are high, like here on the East Side of Providence, Zillow.com can be very misleading.
Take the case in point from two of our listings on the East Side. I nearly choked on my morning coffee when I pulled up this page. Since these are our listings, and OUR sellers I know that the taxes are HALF the amount than Zillow.com has recorded. I would think twice about moving to Providence if I saw this. OH MY!
In Providence, we have what is called a HOMESTEAD exemption that reduces the tax rate in HALF if the owner lives in the property. Since both of our sellers live in their properties as owner-occupants, I know that the taxes are incorrect. They should be half the amount that Zillow.com has shown. BIG DIFFERENCE!
The trouble is that Zillow.com and Trulia.com for that matter treat the tax field as a “calculated” field not one that is a “feed” through the Multiple Listing Service. So Zillow.com simply plugs in the Providence Tax rate which is $30.38 per thousand of assessed property value and takes if from there, with no accounting for the Homestead exemption which most single family homes on the East Side have.
So tread carefully with Zillow.com when it comes to taxes in Providence……………..
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April 02, 2011 at 9:39 pm, Sofia said:
hello there, fantastic post, and a fairly good understand! one for my book marks.
April 04, 2011 at 9:58 pm, josh said:
does this apply for single family and multifamily homes across the board?
April 04, 2011 at 11:49 pm, ccwall said:
Yes, this does apply. It is less obvious to see with multi-families since I would imagine that the majority of them are not owner-occupied. So to really examine it, I would have to know for sure that a property is owner occupied, then look at how Zillow.com reflects the taxes. A quick glance on Zillow.com just now indicates that yes, it is across the board.