17 August 2010:
I have a 3 bed apartment, 248 sq m built, including large terraces and all on one level, that was purchased new 3 years ago. My catastral value for 2009 was 162,400 euros, not sure how much it has increased this year yet. A similar apartment next door carries a similar valuation.
On a different phase of the same development that was completed at the same time, there are duplex 3 bed apartments, approximately 235 sq m built, that have catastral values around 85,000 euros. I have been seriously concerned about this because the high catastral value affects not only my taxes, but potentially the value of the property.
My conveyancing lawyer – who agreed that my valuation was extraordinarily high - made initial enquiries at the town hall and got nowhere and after first being positive, eventually told me that it would cost about 5,000 euros to employ a technician and raise an appeal and that it was not worth it.
A Spanish lawyer living in one of the more reasonably assessed duplex apartments has told me it would be too expensive to appeal.
My requests to owners of these duplex apartments to have sight of their valuation letters have met with negative responses. They all seem to have misplaced them. Perhaps they may be concerned that if I appeal using their valuations as evidence, they may end up with increased catastral values.
Is there anything I can do about this at reasonable cost? If so, what and to whom do I go for help?
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