Appealing Site - online service for real estate assessment - Brief Article

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, June, 2000 by Joan Goldwasser

PROPERTY TAXES | Putting the Web to work to FIGHT ASSESSMENTS that are overblown.

THE BOOMING housing market affects more than just buyers anxious to outbid one another for the right to own the house of their dreams. It can also drive up your home's assessment, leading to a dramatic increase in your property-tax bill. That raises the stakes for making sure your assessment is fair.

A new Web site makes it easier to do just that. Domania (www.domania.com) offers an instant look not only at recent sale prices for homes in your neighborhood but also at the homes' tax assessments. The site claims to have information on 75% of all houses sold since 1987.

The next time you get a property tax assessment, log on to the site, which is free, to check recent sale prices and other assessments in your neighborhood. Domania covers 29 states so far, though some counties may be missing. If your search draws a blank, ask local officials if assessment information is available elsewhere on the Web. (If not, you can always look up records the old-fashioned way.)

And if your home's assessment seems out of whack, consider an appeal. Domania offers basic advice on appeals and will soon have a resource center with filing dates, forms, addresses, phone numbers and Web sites to contact your local tax authority.

Don't wait until your tax bill arrives; by that time, the appeals deadline may have passed. Act as soon as you get the assessment. The first step in an effort to drive down your bill is to visit the assessor's office to review the land survey for your property. Make sure the dimensions it shows are accurate. Similarly, confirm that there are no errors in the tax records about your house's size, age, number of bathrooms, and so on.

Also, ask how your community assesses property for tax purposes. Some jurisdictions use 100% of current value; others assess a percentage of that value.

Credit Cards Drag-and-drop can replace typing for online buying

The people at Discover card are making it easier to buy online. Just drag a little Discover-card icon onto your favorite shopping site and it automatically fills in the billing and shipping information. The credit card firm hopes that removing the tedium of typing will attract more charges.

If you have a Discover card, you can download the DeskShop icon from www.discovercard.com. To make sure only you use it-and not just anyone who happens to turn on your computer-you'll need to enter a personal identification number each time you shop.

The virtual card looks like its plastic papa, except that the number is not displayed. About 400 online merchants have signed up to accept DeskShop. Right now it works only with Windows, but a Macintosh version is on the horizon. --JOAN GOLDWASSER

Low-interest premium cards

Best if you carry a balance

                                 RECENT      CASH-ADVANCE    ANNUAL
ISSUER                           RATE(*)     RATE/FEE(c)      FEE

Pulaski Bank & Trust (G)          7.99%      7.99%/none       $50
USAA Savings (G,P)                  10         10/none         45
Simmons (G)                       9.95       9.95/none         35

                                LATE/       TELEPHONE
ISSUER                       OVER LIMIT      NUMBER

Pulaski Bank & Trust (G)       $20/$20     800-980-2265
USAA Savings (G,P)             20/none     800-922-9092
Simmons (G)                      20/20     800-636-5151

No-fee premium cards

Best if you usually pay the balance each month

                               RECENT      CASH-ADVANCE      GRACE
ISSUER                         RATE(*)      RATE/FEE(c)     PERIOD

Capital One (P)                 9.9%        19.8%/2.5%      25 days
AFBA Industrial (P)            11              15.9/2       25 days
USAA (G,P)                     12.9         12.9/none       25 days

                                LATE/        TELEPHONE
ISSUER                       OVER LIMIT       NUMBER

Capital One (P)                $29/$29     800-822-3397
AFBA Industrial (P)            15/none     800-776-2265
USAA (G,P)                       20/20     800-922-9092

Rebate cards

Best of the air-miles cards

                                RECENT     CASH-ADVANCE   ANNUAL
ISSUER                          RATE(*)     RATE/FEE(c)   FEE

Visa MilesOne (P)([dagger])        9.9%     19.8%/2.5%    19
Chase (P)f                        17.49         20.3/3    25([double
                                                           dagger])
Travel Choices Visa               17.99        17.99/3    25

                               MILES NEEDED     TELEPHONE
ISSUER                          FOR TICKET        NUMBER

Visa MilesOne (P)([dagger])      25,000        800-553-2194
Chase (P)f                       25,000        800-441-7681
Travel Choices Visa              25,000        800-349-2632

(*) As of April 7; rates are adjustable, often tied to the prime rate.

(c) Cash advances often have no grace period; additional fees may be charged. (G) gold card (P) platinum card

([dagger]) Pays air miles on balance transfers up to limit.