Common Area - Property Tax - State Alabama

We budget the property taxes of our common areas into our annual budget and pay them. We also have community-owned properties that are not marketable and we have 'zero valued' those properties with the County and, while we hold title to them, we do not have to pay property tax on them or water until the day they are 'valued' again.
Be careful if you are contemplating this option. The Board who proceeded with this did it in lumps of properties and now we are finding with septic technology advances that some of those lots may be marketable. However a lump of properties that have been 'zero valued' must be taken out together and all the back taxes paid, in order to get to the properties you have determined are now marketable.

I should have been more specific. I am refering to Detention areas.

KennethC - Your question, "where to start", doesn't seem to be answered. So let me answer you. Start by meeting with your board members to discuss contacting your attorney and the Borough Tax Assessor. Endeavor to get the parcels of land assessed at 0 value. Otherwise it will be a yearly assessment. GeraldT1

KennethC - The argument for assessing detention areas at zero value is that they serve the borough you reside in their storm water management system AND your development that has increased and contributed to the collectible tax base for your municipality. If the developer didn't build, and scrape away the land, the basins wouldn't need to have been built. Unless of course the development was built around existing basins and the basins weren't improved for the increased construction. Speak with your attorney, this is tricky negotiation, don't take it on without an attorney. Your board may even go as far as to request the municipality maintain the basins. Once you request this in negotiation, the municipality is likely to quickly give you a zero value assessment on the parcels in negotiation and call it a day. You really want to get the zero assessment first and revisit the maintenance of the basins later. However, the municipality maintaining the basins would reduce your yearly budget and the collected maintenance can go to reserves or other line items. GeraldT1

My advice is to be aware of when the property is transferred from the developer to the HOA. You will want to make sure the tax bills are mailed to the appropriate address for payment. For years, some our tax bills were sent to the developer after he left and we had no idea that taxes were due on some properties until a lien was filed on our pool and tennis court property. The developer never forwarded and with changes in management companies and self-management, they were never received by the associaton for payment. Keep an eye on it and for all parcels as you will have a number of them, not just one.