Some home owners are finding themselves in the awkward position of wondering whether they should appeal a tax assessment because it came in too low.

Many communities are reassessing in light of declining values and the amount of the reduction can be a shock to home owners who fear that it reflects an equal decline in market value. In many cases, though, that's not true, say real estate practitioners.

They explain that tax assessments are done on thousands – even millions – of properties and each assessment can reflect a variety of factors unrelated to market value, include owners’ age, military service and health. As long as it doesn’t have factual errors in room counts, square footage, etc., they advise not worrying about it.

Or better yet, if it is a really dramatic drop, consider asking the lender for a loan modification or restructuring.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, June Fletcher (06/30/2010)