Nassau County Property Grievance in Residential and Commercial Real
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Welcome to Nassau County Property Grievance in residential and commercial real property and what every Nassau County homeowner, Nassau County commercial property owner, and every perspective Nassau County real property owner, should know about grieving their Nassau County real property taxes:
Public Notice:
Grieving Nassau County real property taxes is a legal matter, and as in any
legal matter, such as purchasing real property or grieving real property taxes,
the Long Island Referral recommends that the public and every person or entity
viewing any page on the Long Island Referral should consult with an attorney
that is experienced / or an expert in that area of the law before taking any
action to any interest that may be perused that concerns a legal matter.
What can Nassau County residential and commercial real property owners, and perspective Nassau County real property owners
do about reducing the Nassau County assessed value to the true value of their real property today?
True story of a residential real property grievance in Franklin Square, Nassau County, Long Island, New York 11010, grieved by the homeowner that will give insight to the Nassau County Department of Real Property Assessment process as we know it today:
In March of 2006 a perspective buyer purchased a four bedroom, two bathroom, cape with a full unfinished basement in Franklin Square on a quiet mid block location in an arms length sale for $380,000. Apparently, the previous owners never grieved the real property taxes to this one family residential home and the Department of Nassau County Assessment had this home assessed at $542,000 in real property value sold on the open real estate market in 2006 and 2007.
On March 15, 2006, the new owners moved into this one family house in Franklin Square. Very shortly thereafter the new owners started receiving mail, a bombardment of advertisements from attorneys and agencies that represent Nassau County homeowners in grieving and reducing their Nassau County real property taxes from the Nassau County Department of Real Property Assessment. The owner answered some of the advertisements from the agencies that represent Nassau County homeowners in grieving their taxes. The homeowner asked each of the agencies some relevant questions to the representation each of these agencies will provide in the Nassau County real property grievance process.
Here are some of the questions and answers asked by the homeowner and answered by perspective attorneys/agencies interested in representing this homeowner in grieving their Nassau County residential taxes to the above house (subject property):
Question: How much does the attorney/agency charge for representing the homeowner in the residential Nassau County grievance process to the subject property?
Answer: Answers ranged from 25% to 50% fee of the taxes reduced for the first year. Answers also included that there is an additional charge if the attorney/agency has to represent the homeowner in an appeal to a denial in a reduction of taxes by the Nassau County Department of Assessment (ARC - assessment review commission). A specific fee for an appeal was not disclosed by any attorney/agency in any of the telephone inquiries by the homeowner if the subject property had to be appealed (SCAR - Small Claims Assessment Review) in Nassau County Supreme Court.
Question: How do you (the attorney/agency) determine the assessed fair market value to the subject property?
Answer: All the attorneys/agencies stated that they do a market analysis of the subject property by researching the sale prices at which similar properties sold for in the subject property's area to get an average as an estimate to the subject property's assessed value.
Question: Do you (the attorney/agency) go to the subject property and do a physical inspection to evaluate the condition/upgrades of the subject property?
Answer: All of the attorneys/agencies stated they do not go to the subject property because they have a list of the current comparable properties on hand to do the estimation.
Question: Over the phone the homeowner asked the attorneys/agencies what there estimated assessed value was to the homeowner's subject property?
Answer: The homeowner received four answers over the phone from four different attorneys/agencies with their estimated assessed values to the homeowner's subject property between $490,000 to $475,000 in 2007.
The homeowner was not satisfied with the assessed values by the attorneys/agencies and decided to grieve the Nassau County property taxes to his home (the subject house) by himself as follows:
After studying the Nassau County Tax Assessment website http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/mynassauproperty/main.jsp, in 2007, the first opportunity to grieve the subject property taxes after purchasing the house, the homeowner went to the the Nassau County Department of Property Taxes in Mineola at 240 Old Country Road, Mineola, NY 11501 to ask questions and pick up the grievance package kit with the instructions. The one answer from the staff at the tax assessment office that stands out to this day from the homeowner's questions is: most people have a tax grievance expert grieve their taxes for them, why don't you contact an expert to do it for you. The homeowner thanked the staff person for the advice, took the tax grievance package, and left.
The first information the homeowner observed on the Nassau County Tax Assessment website in 2006 was that Nassau County Tax Assessment made it clear on their website that they will not guarantee or be liable for any information on their website; this no liable claim by Nassau County made no difference to this homeowner in 2006 as does the new information released in Newsday on February 11th and 14th of this year, 2010. The Nassau County Tax Assessment Website made no difference in 2006 or 2007, nor does it make any difference today in a Nassau County real property owner grieving their real property taxes last year as this homeowner did or grieving Nassau County real property taxes every single year for years to come.
In grieving the Nassau County real property taxes in 2007, this homeowner focused on one single issue. What is the true value of the subject property sold on the open real estate market at arms length sale in 2007? And this is how he did it, reducing the Nassau County assessed value to the subject property by 25%, the most a residential property can be reduced in one year under the law by Nassau County legislation:
Location, size, and condition, condition, condition, of the subject property! In the six previous months and even longer before purchasing the subject property in Franklin Square, this homeowner had the opportunity to personally view and inspect the inside and outside of every home for sale in Franklin Square, in school district 13, where the subject property is located. The one factor this homeowner understood from inspecting all the homes that sold in Franklin square is that condition was a direct correlation to what a house sold for. For example, there can be two homes exactly the same size in every way right next door to each other and one home was a handyman special and the other home was updated to a palace, like putting a Cadillac interior into a Volkswagen. The difference for what these two homes sold for was dramatic, in the hundreds of thousand dollars; and then there were all the rest of the homes that sold in between the sale price these two homes, depending on updates and there condition.
The first thing this homeowner did was find out exactly what the homes were selling for (comparables) in Franklin Square, school district 13. The home owner did this in two ways: the first way was to go to http://www.zillow.com or http://www.trulia.com and register, it was free and easy, and the website gives a pretty accurate description of homes sold anywhere in America. The second way was to go to a local real estate office that has access to software that will show the sale price and description of every house sold in Franklin Square (MLS and private sales) in the previous six months to filing the 2007 Nassau County property tax grievance. Finding a real estate broker in the Franklin Square area that was an expert in true real estate value sold on the open real estate market that day was our was our biggest task. This homeowner noticed a difference in the comparables Nassau County was using to assess the subject property and all the comparables found by the above stated methods, especially the comparables by the real estate expert we chose to represent us. The Nassau County Tax Assessment comparables were not in favor of the subject property to true value sold on the open real estate market at that time, and neither are they today.
The second thing the homeowner was to got to the real estate broker's local office and observed the real estate broker find comparables to our subject property to find the true value of the subject property by making adjustments to the subject property's true value by the cost it would take to bring the subject property to the real estate value of the comparable homes sold in in the previous three to six months of filing the grievance. The broker explained, the main reason for the significant difference in the price range comparable properties sell for on the open real estate market is, condition, condition, condition. In addition, the Nassau County real property tax website states: the assessed value of real property is based on the highest value of the real property will sell for at arms length sale (arms length sale means a property that is not sold under distress, REO or foreclosed real properties / sold at a reduced value to a family member) on the open real estate market at the time of the grievance.
The third thing the homeowner did was to take pictures of the interior and exterior of the subject property to it's updates and condition to use as exhibits in filing the initial Nassau County property grievance in 2007; the home owner took the pictures under the guidance of the real estate broker to ensure that the pictures taken were relevant to the object of the Nassau county property grievance.
The homeowner then filled out the Nassau County property grievance form, attached the exhibits, the comparables by the broker, the pictures of the subject property to it's condition, a detailed statement to the cost to bring the subject property to the condition of the comparables selling in the highest price range, and of course, the sale papers (HUD) to the purchase price of the subject property in 2006. The homeowner filed the grievance in person at the Nassau County Property Assessment Office and got a receipt; a necessary practice rather than filing online or by mail as will be referred to in the Nassau County appeal SCAR proceeding.
After several months the homeowner received an offer by mail from the Nassau County Assessment Review Committee offering (ARC) to reduce the real property taxes to the subject property from $542,000 to $475,000. Well, the homeowner was not satisfied with the County's offer and went directly to Nassau County ARC assessment review committee office located at 1 West Street, Mineola, New York 11501 / Phone: 516-571-239 with documentation to the true value of this homeowner's house and and was told by the ARC staff that the reduction to $475,000 decision was final and the only recourse was to appeal the ARC decision in small claims assessment review SCAR in Nassau County Supreme Court, located at 100 Supreme court Drive, Mineola, New York 11501, on the first floor. The SCAR forms are available at the Nassau County Clerk's Office, 240 Old Country Road, Mineola New York 11501. The staff at ARC did not mention to this homeowner the right to filing an Article 7 lawsuit for further damages in Nassau County Supreme Court. Filing SCAR is limited to a 25% reduction in property taxes by the Nassau County assessed value of the home; the assessed value of the residential property cannot be raised at the hearing by the impartial arbitrator. There is a $30.00 filing fee due at the time of filing the SCAR at the time of filing. According to the ARC website the homeowner must be living in the residential property at the time of the SCAR filing; consult with an attorney specializing in these legal matters if the homeowner does not reside in the subject home at the time of the SCAR filing. Before this homeowner left the Nassau County ARC office, this homeowner left with physical documentation to ARC's final decision to be used as evidence in the SCAR proceeding.
Note: every real property owner grieving their property must have proof of filing in every step of the Nassau County property grieving process or your case will be dismissed at the SCAR hearing and most likely on an Article 7 filing.
The SCAR filing date is up to the last day in April or 30 days from the ARC decision; don't wait for the ARC decision if you do not receive it by March, go directly to the ARC office and leave with stamped verification from ARC to the stage of the ARC decision. If April passes and you cannot prove you did not get a decision your case will be dismissed.
Please check back to this page for a continuation and the complete information on what every Nassau County real property owner should know about the grieving and appeal process with the Nassau County residential and commercial real property taxes with the Nassau County Department of Property Assessment (ARC - assessment review commission) and (SCAR - .Small Claims Assessment Review) or filing a lawsuit against Nassau County by jury trial in Nassau County Supreme Court for possible further damages (consult with an attorney).
Property Grievance Nassau County - How to reduce Nassau County property taxes and nassau county homeowner rights
Nassau County Property Grievance
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