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Appeal Your Property Tax Bill

Appeal Your Property Tax Bill

Appeal Your Property Tax Bill

Anyone who wishes to appeal their property bill needs to first of all carefully read their real estate assessment. You can actually reduce your property tax bill and the best way to do that is to appeal the value that your home was assigned by the taxman. It’s this value that’s used for calculating the amount of tax you owe.

If you want to reduce your property tax, then you first of all need to show that your home’s value is lower than the value assessed by the taxman. To do the initial research, you can call your real estate agent or do some quick online research. If you do indeed find out that your property’s value was assessed to be higher than it actually is, then the appeal process can take months.

Read the Assessment Letter

The real estate tax is regularly assessed by the local government. When you receive the letter about it in the mail, it will contain info about your property, such as its assessed value (including that of your land), legal description, but also lot size.

To calculate your property tax bill, you need to multiply your local tax rate with your property’s assessed value.

If you discover that the value of your home is higher than it should be, be sure to challenge it right away. The process should take thirty days or less.

To challenge your assessment, be sure to consider the following steps:

1.Think about Whether an Appeal Is Something You Want To Go Forward With

The stakes are what determine the amount of effort you want to put into a challenge.

If you can lower your property’s assessed value by fifteen percent then your tax bill should go down approximately 15% as well.

In Suffolk County NY, the tax rates are about four percent of a property’s assessed value, in Nassau County rates are about eleven percent meaning that the savings potential is higher. The same goes for communities where property prices are above the median.

2. Verify the Data

Check the data for your home and make sure it’s correct. This includes the size of the lot, number of fireplaces, bathrooms, etc. If you find anything wrong, challenge it right away.

3. Get the Comps

Speak to a realtor to learn more about 3 to 5 properties that were recently sold. You may also want to head over to realtor.com to check the value of similar properties to yours in terms of location, condition, style, and size. If you want, you can spend anywhere between three hundred and fifty to six hundred dollars to hire an appraiser and receive a professional opinion about your property’s value.

Once you find comps, verify their assessments. If your local government has no data on them, hire a real estate agent to help you learn more about this. If you discover that the assessments on your comp are lower, you can then argue that yours is higher than it should be.

You can have a case for relief based on equity if you can prove that the comparable properties are better than yours. For instance, it could be that while you were trying to clean up water damage, your neighbor added an addition to their home. In this case, the properties aren’t comparable anymore.

4. Present your Case

Ring your local assessor’s office and see what they have to say about your case. If you’re not happy with their answer, you may request a formal review. Fill out any necessary forms and pay attention to procedures and deadlines. A review may take between 30 and 90 days and usually does not require you to appear in person. Once a decision is taken, you’ll receive it in writing.

5.If You Don’t Like the Review, Be Sure To Appeal It

The decision can be appealed to NYS Supreme Court, Small Claims Assessment Review Division, SCAR for short, and you don’t have to actually hire a tax grievance company to do so. A filing fee may have to be paid (Thirty dollars). Keep in mind that this process may take up to one and a half years. Luckily, homeowners win (more than 50% of the tax appeals in Nassau and Suffolk Counties).

While weighing the appeal, consider the following:

  1. Only your real estate assessment can be reduced and not the rate you’re taxed at.
  2. Under NYS law your assessment can not be raised.
  3. The sale price (if you plan on selling your home) may be negatively impacted if your assessment is reduced before putting your home up for sale.

If you want to save money, then you should learn more about whether you qualify for property tax exemptions based on factors such as military service, disability, age, etc.  Your local assessor can handle these type of requests as well.

Top 5 Ways You Can Use To Pay Fewer Commercial Property Taxes

Top 5 Ways You Can Use To Pay Fewer Commercial Property Taxes

When it comes to commercial property taxes (CPTs), they are not only about due dates. In fact, there are many businesses that view these taxes as a fixed cost. On a yearly basis you get a bill, you pay it and then you move on. If you wish, this is very much like a truly fixed cost, such as your building’s mortgage or your employee’s salary.

The truth though is that things can be different!

In fact, your CPTs are a variable cost of business. If you want, then you can view them like your water bill: it’s never the same.

The good news is that you can actually challenge and eventually negotiate your CPTs. To make things even better for you, you should know that the law is also on your side with this.

Bear in mind that CPTs are some of the largest costs of occupying commercial real estate, so anyone (if they could) would want to lower them if possible. By lowering these taxes, you’ll get to save quite a bit of money at the end of the year.

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While the process of doing so is time-consuming and may require a bit of work, in the end, you’ll be rewarded for your effort. Once you get the money you saved in your bank account, you’re free to use it to pay for operating costs or invest it into your business.

Paying CPTs needs to be regarded as a business decision and not an item that just has to be added to the accounts payable list.

Below we’ll take a closer look at the top 5 tips you can use to reduce your CPTs for both personal property and real estate.

1.Learn more about how much you pay in property taxes per annum:

If you have a corporate portfolio that you’re responsible for (with many properties), then it’s understandable that you may not know exactly how much they’re paying in CPTs per annum. No matter how much they may be paying, it’s important that you pay close attention to the cost and find ways to reduce it by using property tax appeals.

For example, if you have to pay 100 thousand dollars per annum in property taxes, then maybe you can save money through information negotiation instead of considering an appeals process. On the other hand, if you’re paying 1 million dollars a year, then this can be a whole different story.

2. Avoid extra fees by paying on time:

Property taxes can also be paid in installments in both Nassau & Suffolk Counties as well as most of New York State. While this is great, there is also an extra cost applied to staggering property tax payments in the instances when you pay your tax bills late, penalties can accrue quickly.

3. Make the most of the appeals process:

When it comes to NYS CPT appeals, each taxing jurisdiction has its own requirements for it. Generally speaking commercial property tax appeals, or Certiortari, do take 2-3 years.  Good news is that in most cases your municipality will be responsible for refunding your overpayments back to the first year of filing.

4.Speak to your local assessor:

Get to know your local property tax assessor and be sure to attend any meetings prepared. Learn as much as you can about the property, the way other properties in the same jurisdiction are assessed, the value of your properties, their square footage, value, type, but also the date of acquisition and purchase price.

5. Do your homework:

Be prepared to back up your claim that your commercial building is overassessed.  This should include a recent commercial appraisal, income & expense reports and any external factors which reduce the value of your building.

To have a very productive talk with your assessor, you should also know more about:

  1. The right capitalization rate for your property type, occupancy, and location.
  2. The amount of money required to operate your building per annum in both variable and fixed costs.
  3. Average rental cost in the property’s jurisdiction.
  4. The amount of money similar properties was sold for in the same jurisdiction.

If you want, then you should hire an expert or consultant so they can properly evaluate your property’s status. Professional property tax consultants have the experience, but also the time to help you get the best tax returns on your investments.  Most tax grievance firms charge 25%-35% of your savings and no money at all unless they reduce your commercial properties tax bill.

 

Understanding The Property Tax Grievance Process

Understanding The Property Tax Grievance Process

A lot of people think that the process of filing their property tax grievance is very difficult, yet that’s not true. All you have to do is research a bit about it, fill out a form and after that, you just have to write a supporting letter. Once you take these steps, all you need to do is submit these papers by the deadline imposed by your municipality. Below we’ll tell you more about this process.

The Assessment

Understanding The Property Tax Grievance Process

Understanding The Property Tax Grievance Process

In some cases, people believe that it’s their assessor who sets their property taxes, yet that’s not true. In fact, the role of the assessor is to determine your property’s market value by doing a comparable sales analysis similar to that of an appraiser or real estate agent when you plan to sell or buy a house.

Once the market value is determined, the assessor will calculate your assessed value by multiplying the value by a preset UPV that is set by your state. The purpose of the UPV is useful for the purpose of providing people a standardized assessment calculation that guarantees each property eventually receives a proper and equitable assessment. For instance, if your UPV is forty percent and your property’s market value is 500 thousand dollars, then your assessed value is 200 thousand dollars. If you have a neighbor and he has a property with a market value of 400 thousand dollars, then his assessed value will be 160 thousand dollars.

The Assessment Roll

Once the assessed value of all properties in a municipality has been determined, a roll will be published by the Assessors Office. This is practically a list that contains information about all the properties in the municipality (such as market value, assessed value, etc). In most municipalities, the roll is published in May (in the first week), ahead of the date the grievance applications are due. If you want to get the roll, you can go online or visit your local municipality. For links to your local roll publication, you may want to check www.randrealty.com.

The roll is very useful because once the property owners see their property’s assessed value (as calculated by the assessors), they can start preparing their grievances. Keep in mind that the roll doesn’t contain info about your property taxes, but only the property’s assessed value and its market value. These numbers will be used to calculate your taxes.

Researching Grounds for a Grievance

After the assessor has calculated your property’s market value, if you need to, then you can file a complaint about it. A property owner is able to make 4 separate claims for a grievance and this includes scenarios where his property has not been classified properly (for instance the property is residential, not commercial) or exempt from taxation (for instance, it’s a school or a church).

In general, though, people will file grievances because their property is subject to an Unequal Assessment due to the fact that people in their area who own similar homes have received a lower assessment. As a result, their taxes will be lower.

An Unequal Assessment claim is basically a claim in which you argue that your property’s market value is higher than the value the assessor calculated. To prove your claim, you have to prove that your home’s market value is lower than that of what the assessor calculated. After reviewing your property’s market value you realize that your property’s value is lower than what the assessor calculated, then you have grounds to file a grievance petition.

Grievance Day

Your municipality establishes the deadlines by which you can file a grievance petition, so be sure to abide by them. In most of the Hudson Valley, this is called Grievance Day. On this day a BAR will meet to evaluate the grievance petitions. They’ll also hold an open hearing, meaning that you can present your case in front of them.

To grieve your property taxes, you just have to submit 2 documents when filing the petition. The first one is form RP-524 or the Complaint on Real Property Assessment.

The second file is a letter of support. There are no standards as to what the letter should contain, but you should address the BAR in it (for your particular municipality) and briefly explain why you believe your property has been overassessed. Along with the letter, you can also attach supporting documents, including public records, comparative market analysis from a real estate agent, an appraisal, etc.

In the petition, you need to mention the relief you want. In this case, you want your property’s market value to the reduced to a level you’re happy with. Try to ask for as much relief as you think you deserve to get.

You don’t necessarily need to attend the Grievance Day hearing. Even if you’re absent, a swift decision will be taken by the BAR after they carefully read your petition.

Appeals

If your grievance complaint isn’t successful, which is often the case, or it was, but you failed to get the relief you asked for, then this decision can be appealed in a Supreme Court trial or in what’s known as a SCAR(Small Claims Assessment Review).

Conclusion

As you can see, if you want to grieve your taxes, then the process is nowhere as difficult as you think. All you have to do is keep an eye on what’s happening in your local community, carefully review the assessment role and finally file your complaint and add any supporting documents along with it. All of this needs to be done by Grievance Day. If you don’t have the time to do this or maybe have other reasons for why you don’t want to personally consider it, then you may want to hire a property tax grievance company to do it on your behalf. Property tax firms that handle such cases usually charge anywhere between forty to fifty percent of the first year’s savings on your taxes. Also, bear in mind that they will only charge you the fee if they’re successful. If you’re not successful though, then you will still require a tax grievance firm to appeal the BAR decision.

4 New Year Resolutions for Real Estate Agent Success in 2017

Whether you believe in resolutions or not, making a list of action items can help you achieve your goals in 2017!

Here are some great items to add to your list as you set goals for the new year, and set yourself up for success!

1- Review your business plan.
Now is a great time to think about your real estate business plan. What do you want to achieve this year? Are you looking to increase revenue? What about expanding your team? Think about what you want to accomplish, create an action plan to meet your goals.

2- Start networking.
Expanding your network can go a long way in growing your real estate business. Networking can provide great resources for learning more about related industries.  There are countless networking groups on-line and off!  LinkedIn is a great place to  join groups and Meet Up can direct you to local live networking events.

3- Start blogging.
Blogging is a great way to connect with other agents, businesses and create new leads. It’s a great way to interact with new audiences, and connect you to other professionals who could help generate new business.

4- Personalize your services.  

You already know how important it is to set your business apart from the rest. Personalizing your services will help differentiate your services from other agents. Offering suggestions for services such a property tax grievance can help home sales and save buyers money.  Personalized closing gifts are another simple way to identify yourself. Pay attention to your client’s likes and dislikes, so you can give them a positive experience.

How to Be Indispensable

With rapidly changing technologies and virtually unlimited access to information, agents have to adapt and find unique ways to accommodate their clients’ needs.  Here are a few thoughts about being an indispensable agent.

1. Your marketing strategy.

In order to stay relevant, and in business, agents need effective marketing strategies.  Effective advertisements feel authentic and organic and focus on lifestyle.  Are you taking advantage of social media outlets?  Facebook live will help you show up in more news feeds so your content gets seen by more people.

2. Customize your services.

Your customers want everything to be about them. Anything you send them should be tailored specifically to their interests and needs. Personalize their experience from beginning to end and include recommended additional services like home stagers and property tax grievance!  Don’t limit your services to just the transaction; provide them with concierge-style services.

3. Create your brand.

Creating a brand is an absolute must when it comes to real estate.  Your brand is what separates you and makes you stand out from the rest! Your brand should speak volumes about your services, knowledge and your ability to help them have a positive experience. What’s your tag line?!

4. Become an industry leader.

Although it takes is time, be consistent in your efforts.  Establishing yourself as an industry expert will be your best asset. When you’re quoted in a news article, when you have a strong online presence, you become a greater asset to your client.

5. Be a wealth of knowledge.

Offer your audience knowledge on not only the current real estate market, but also on the lifestyle available in the local area. Your audience is looking at you as their guide not only for their home but also for the places they’ll shop and where their children will go to school. They rely on you to give them insight into everything there is to know about the area where they are focusing their search.

What is a Tax Grievance?

What is a Tax Grievance?

Before we answer that, we need to, first of all, define assessment. The assessment is practically the basis of the real estate tax bill. In general, this bill is your assessment times the tax rate. Your home’s assessment is a certain percentage (that may change on a yearly basis) of your property’s fair market value (FMV). So basically, homes that cost more have greater real estate taxes compared to homes that are priced lower.

On the other hand, issues may arise due to the fact that your tax’s basis is FMV, yet determining it can be quite difficult. Also, even when estimates are made, they can be eventually disputed with ease. Issues may also arise because sometimes, assessors lag behind the moves happening in the real estate market and therefore, assessments can get stale. The lawmakers in NY have actually admitted that making fair assessments is very difficult and that is why they worked hard in order to ensure that homeowners can use a special system that allows them to get access to a fair assessment.

The system is composed of 2 parts:

The 1st level: The homeowner files a complaint at the local assessment department where he requests that the assessment is reviewed. The homeowner’s complaint raises the issue that the assessment is a greater percentage of the FMV that the law allows. Next, the evidence is carefully reviewed by the assessor who may eventually decide to schedule an in-person negotiation with the homeowner prior to taking a decision.

The 2nd level: In the event, the homeowner doesn’t agree with the assessor’s decision, he can file a petition with the court for a Small Claims Assessment Review. This is practically a lawsuit and the fee for filing it is thirty dollars. After the lawsuit is filed, both sides need to provide relevant case data in order to defend their position. After analyzing the data, the court will make a final decision.