For many people, their homestead exemption makes it possible to afford the taxes on their house or condo, but one woman lost hers and her tax bill went up. Can she get that money back? Let’s find out in this Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser. Lenore has led a busy life, raising two children, w hile a full-time nurse and a community activist, then she said, ‘Enough.’ Lenore White: “I’m up in the age now that I need to go ahead and do other outside curricular activities instead of just work, work, work.” She could afford to retire because she had just paid off her house. Lenore White: “Yes, it was exciting for me.” But the excitement quickly wore off when it exposed a problem. Lenore White: “And I said thank God for retirement, because I would not even know.” Lenore’s property taxes were always paid through her mortgage escrow account. When she didn’t get a tax bill this year, she called the county to see how much she owed. Lenore White: “I said, ‘What? ‘I said, ‘That’s impossible,’ and I said, ‘I had homestead exemption.’ She said, ‘No, you don’t.'” That’s right. In 2017, Lenore lost her homestead exemption, and her taxes went from $2,100 to $4,800. Patrick Fraser: “Did anything change in 2017?” Lenore White: “No, not I know but the weather, no.” This year, her taxes should have been around $2,900; instead, they had gone up to $7,200. Lenore White: “I thought they was joking.” Lenore then found out why her homestead exemption was taken away from her. Lenore White: “They were sending the renewal notice to my house, and apparently it was sent back to the post office.” It was returned to sender because when Lenore bought her house in 1999, the title company wrote down the wrong zip code, 33027 instead of the correct 33056, and that’s why her tax info didn’t get delivered. Lenore White: “It was a clerical error, and nobody took the time to go ahead and fix it.” Lenore blames the title company and the county, but admits she didn’t notice the increase each year, as well. Patrick Fraser: “But they’re gonna say you didn’t catch it.” Lenore White: “No, I strongly told ’em I didn’t catch it.” No one caught it, and Lenore is out thousands and thousands of dollars she has paid in property taxes since 2017. Lenore White: “Yeah, it’s a big deal. I want my money back so I said, ‘Let me call Help Me Howard.’ Well, Howard, can Lenore get back her homestead exemption and the money she overpaid? Howard Finkelstein: “Yes, and some of it. If you lost your homestead exemption due to your mistake, you are out of luck, but if it’s someone else’s error, like in this case, the title company, you have a right to get it back, and you can get some of the extra tax money you paid, but only for the past four years. And a warning, it may take a while to get the appraiser’s office to get your refund and exemption back.” I contacted the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser, Tomas Regalado, who quickly went to work. He told me they were required to send the two letters to the address the title company recorded in the county records. No one knew it was the wrong address. Regalado said when Lenore didn’t respond, legally they had to remove the homestead exemption, but after Lenore proved she lived there the entire time, Regalado was able to go back four years to help her. Lenore then got an $11,775 refund. Her taxes this year were lowered $5,089, putting $16,864 in Lenore’s pocket, plus she got her homestead exemption restored. Meaning her $7,200 tax bill this year went down to $2,937. Lenore White: “If I could do a cartwheel, I am very, very glad. Well, I am very surprised, and I am very happy.” Lenore obviously has a nice check, and while she won’t do a cartwheel, she did give me a hug. Lenore: “Thank you, God bless you.” Lenore White: “So you guys, if y’all need some kind of help, you all might think twice. Call Patrick, he got you.” Nice of you to say that, Lenore. Now, keep an eye on your property taxes; if they suddenly go up more than three percent a year, or your mortgage suddenly rises, find out why. An easy way to do that? Check out the Dade, Broward, and Monroe property appraisers’ websites under this Help Me Howard story to make sure you have your homestead exemption and senior, veteran, and other deductions there. Someone taxing your patience? Thought you were exempt to their shenanigans? Here is a way to deduct them from your life. Let us assess the mess, so you don’t have to mortgage your future. With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News. CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:Email: [email protected]: Patrick Fraser at [email protected]: 305-953-WSVNBroward: 954-761-WSVN Property appraiser websites:Broward Miami-DadeMonroe ...read more read less