Chester County Mobile Home Tax Appeal project nears Aug. 3, 2020 filing deadline
Update! The 2022 project is starting!
(Feb. 21, 2022) Visit our webpage dedicated to this project: lasp.org/chester-county-mobile-home-tax-reassessments. The page explains the 2022 project and sumarizes the impact for prior years.
Information on how to apply for help is at the end of this article!
PHOENIXVILLE (July 2020) - In the Phoenixville YMCA parking lot, the 2020 Chester County Mobile Home Tax Appeal Project resumed in-person outreach July 17 and 18 for the first time since the COVID-19 public health crisis began. Braving heat and humidity, staff from Legal Aid of Southeastern PA (LASP), United Way of Chester County (UWCC), and volunteer Randy Blough (center) set up tents and a mobile hotspot to help mobile home owners complete appeals of their tax assessments. Twelve clients received help with the paperwork from their car hoods, under a tent or while seated in their cars. Chester County's tax appeal filing deadline is Aug. 3.
Randy and his wife, Debbie Blough, along with fellow volunteer Kevin Zeeger, initiated the project in 2018, helping 22 mobile home owners file successful tax appeals. UWCC and LASP joined the project in 2019, with 177 of 177 successful tax appeals.
Launching in January, the 2020 project expanded to all of Chester County. Pre-COVID, 126 tax assessment appeals were filed. During the pivot to online workshops during COVID, 236 mobile home owners attended online workshops. As of July 21, 119 more tax appeals were ready to be filed, and additional appeals are waiting for signed documents to be mailed.
How Chester County mobile home owners can receive FREE help
Chester County’s Aug. 3 filing deadline approaches quickly. All paperwork must be in place BEFORE Aug. 3 to file a tax assessment appeal. To meet that deadline, Brian Doyle, LASP Staff Attorney, suggests applying no later than Thursday, July 23 if you will be signing paperwork by hand and mailing it, or Wednesday, July 29 if you can e-sign the documents.
Mobile home owners can visit United Way of Chester County's project page at: www.unitedformobilehomes.com, and fill out and submit the request form, to schedule a 30-minute appointment. For the appointment with a Legal Aid of Southeastern PA advocate, you will need:
The year, make, model and size of your mobile home.
A property tax bill (preferably the school tax bill).
Title or sales agreement to your mobile home.
Information about how much you paid for the home, including a bill of sale if you purchased within the past five years.
For more information, please contact Darshana Shyamsunder at 610-429-9400 x4112 or mobilehome@uwchestercounty.org. For Spanish, please call 610-344-5370 x110.
Pictured from left: Brian Doyle, Legal Aid of Southeastern PA Staff Attorney and Chester County pro bono coordinator; Sara Planthaber, LASP intern; Randy Blough, Volunteer; Patricia Beans, United Way of Chester County Donor Services Administrator; Darshana Shyamsunder, UWCC Director of Community Impact; and Kelly Young, LASP intern.
Checking mobile home book value (from left) are Brian Doyle, Kelly Young, Darshana Shyamsunder and Randy Blough.
Brian Doyle and Sara Planthaber confer with a client (not pictured) on tax appeal paperwork.