Things to know when Grieving Your Property Taxes

Most of us are grieving our taxes in the sense of sorrow and disbelief…but do you  have a case to literally grieve your taxes? A friend of mine received a flyer in the mail from a company that offered to represent him in grieving his taxes. Saving money sounded good to him-as it does to most of us-so he signed some papers and the company did the rest. He saved a few hundred dollars on his property taxes. We talked after the fact and my friend found out that he had a stronger case than was negotiated….he could have saved more. The company did not notify him of anything, they just settled.

I don’t know the intention of the company that assisted my friend. I am not saying that everyone sending out fliers is unethical. There are many ethical and professional people who help homeowners negotiate the process. I do think that people should get recommendations before they choose professionals to assist them! And by professionals I mean appraisers, and/or tax representatives (should you choose that route). I also think that whomever you use should be local and know the market.

I would have liked to educate my friend about the tax grievance process as it was designed to be user friendly. That being said it is fairly confusing to many. I am going to give you the advice that I would have liked to have given my friend. Here is a list of things that I think people should know before and while they grieve their property taxes.

1.  Can my assessment go up as a result of a tax grievance?

Your property assessment can never go up as a result of grieving your taxes. It is against the law.

2.  How do I know if I am over assessed?

• If your municipality assesses property at 100% then what you see on your tax bill for full/fair market value is what the assessor estimates your house should sell for (if none of the parties are under stress). If that number is what you believe that you could sell your property for, then you are probably not over assessed. Bronxville, the Town of Rye, and Pelham in Westchester County assess property at 100%.
• The other municipalities in Westchester assess property at a percentage of market value, which can be confusing. So, first you need to know the assessed full/fair market value. Do not use the full/fair market value found on your tax bill. Please read our post from February 26, 2010, “Over Assessed? Confused? Should You Grieve Your Taxes?” to help you determine if you are over assessed.

3. Do I really have a case?

Determining if you have a strong tax grievance case is important. You don’t want to spend more money to grieve your taxes than what you would save from the process. When grieving your property taxes you argue that the assessor’s estimate of your property’s value is greater than the property’s actual market value. There is a presumption that the assessment made by the assessor is correct. The burden of proof is on you. Also, the assessor does not have to be right on the dollar.  The courts have supported the concept of “rough equity” which by common practice in this area is about 5%. So, if the “actual” market value of your property is within about 5% of the assessed market value, it is probably not considered over assessed.

Since property valuation is somewhat subjective you want to have a strong case. In order to have a strong case the difference between the assessed market value and the “actual” value of your property should be at least 10%.  If the “actual” market value of your property is 90% or less of the assessed market value, then your property is probably over assessed. 

4. How do I establish “proof” of the value of my property?

In grieving your assessment-formally or informally-you are asking that your assessment be modified. The burden of proving that you are over assessed is on you. So, you need solid “proof” of the market value of your property. To establish the value of your property, the following information may be useful:

• A credible appraisal of your property
• Purchase price of the property, if recent
• Offering price of your property, if recently offered for sale
• Cost of construction, if recently built
• Comparable sales

If you have any of the above to establish valuation of your property, contact your assessor’s office to ensure that your proof is acceptable in terms of type and age of the document.

5. What options do I have when grieving my taxes?

A.  Many municipalities allow homeowners to informally appeal their assessments at any time, except for the formal grievance period.  Contact your assessor’s office to see what the policies are for your municipality.

Appealing informally typically involves having a conversation with the assessor about your property. Make sure that the assessor has an accurate description of your property-in terms of square footage, room count, etc.

Even though this is an informal appeal it is your responsibility to “prove” that you are over assessed. See item 4 for ways to establish the value of your property. If the assessor agrees that the property is over assessed, the change will be made to the next tentative roll.  If, after meeting with your assessor, you are still dissatisfied, you have the right to file a formal complaint during the formal grievance period.

B.  To formally grieve your property taxes fill out form RP-524 from the New York State Office of Real Property Tax Services (the form and the instructions are available on their Website http://www.orps.state.ny.us/). Submit it with “proof” of the market value of your property to the assessor’s office or the BAR during the formal grievance period for your municipality. Again, see item 4 for ways to establish the value of your property. You can only grieve your property taxes formally during the formal tax grievance period. Contact the assessor’s office for the dates for your municipality.

6. What are some important dates and vocabulary that I should know?

•  Tentative Roll–The “roll” contains the proposed assessed values for each property. The “tentative roll” comes out the first day of the “grievance period.”
• Grievance Period–This is the period within which you can file a formal complaint. If you miss this period you cannot formally grieve your taxes that year.
• Grievance Day–This is the last day that you may file a formal complaint for the year. This is the last day of the “grievance period.” Grievance day is the date of the public session of the Board of Assessment Review (BAR).

Call your assessor’s office or check the New York State Office of Real Property Services Website to find out where these important dates fall on the calendar for your municipality. http://www.orps.state.ny.us/

7. Who makes the decision about my grievance?

The Board of Assessment Review (BAR) is a three-five member board comprised of local citizens who have “at least a general knowledge of property values” in the community.

8. What recourse do I have if I disagree?

If you are dissatisfied with the decision of the BAR, you may seek judicial review by commencing a tax certiorari proceeding in New York State Supreme Court, pursuant to Article 7 of the Real Property Tax Law, or by commencing a proceeding for Small Claims Assessment Review (SCAR). Both must be filed within 30 days of the final assessment roll.

Much of this information was gleaned from my experience as well as research into the tax grievance process. I used several publications from the New York State Office of Real Property Services. Because two heads are better than one I had several conversations with Carol Vergara of Carol Vergara & Associates about this post.