Many of us have tried to challenge our taxes attempting to lower them, due to the excesses of our tax system.
However, I am always surprised especially by those homeowners who have never made any attempt to grieve their taxes and when I ask them why not, they either say, “I never got around to doing it,” I don’t think they would get reduced,” “why bother, they’re just going to go up next year anyway,” “I don’t know what to do.”
Even those who are planning to sell in the future, maybe 1-3 years, should consider grieving their real estate taxes asap!; if not only just to only reduce them, but also, once you set up your grievance, it gets passed down to the next purchaser and they will receive the reduction, if any.
Once settled with Nassau County or your local village the assessed value will be adjusted. Keep in mind, this is a plus and an added value, since, when putting your grievance in motion and doing what you need to do in lowering your taxes can only be beneficial to the next buyer, when putting your home on the market to sell.
The process of grieving your taxes is not difficult and I believe homeowners think it’s an arduous task; but it is a piece of cake, really! There was a very detailed article in Newsday on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, all about how to go about the entire process and it’s much, much easier than one might believe.
You can go online and Google the article and begin the process.
However, Nassau County Legislator, James Kennedy and the majority Republican Caucus had filed a resolution in January with the Assessment Review Board to extend the time to grieve to April 30 due to all the late notices filed and mailed, mistakes and confusion about the new tax assessment but they settled on April 2.
The Nassau County website had the following information that I feel is important to Nassau homeowners (including housing associations, condos and co-ops) and I quote: The information was based on 4 classes of property in Nassau County:
CLASS 1: Residential and Residential Capped
• CLASS 2: Condos, Co-ops and Multiple Dwellings
• CLASS 3: Utility
• CLASS 4: Commercial
The updated valuations included in the notices are a result of the Department of Assessment’s 60-day review period, where property owners had the opportunity to review their preliminary new market value, update their property inventory and work with the County’s assessment personnel to identify and account for variables that affect property value.
During the 60-day review period, the County’s assessment personnel:
• met with over 13,500 property owners one-on-one at four satellite locations and at the Department of Assessment in Mineola, to explain the reassessment process, address specific concerns and questions, obtain feedback, address questions about exemptions and adjust property inventory;
• counseled 1,167 property owners by email;
• continued to fine tune the data modeling to account for unique factors that influence property value.
As a result of this 60-day review period:
• More than 85,000 values for the 2020-2021 tentative assessment roll were decreased from the preliminary new market values listed in the Assessment Disclosure Notices that were mailed to property owners beginning on Nov. 1.
• Of these decreases, 20,000 were for vacant land and 65,000 were a result of various adjustment factors including neighborhood, section, block, topography, inventory adjustments and other taxpayer inputs. For an example, ,system wide changes were made for properties with brick facades and fireplaces.
• The number of Enhanced Star applications for senior citizens doubled and new senior citizen applications increased by 45%
In addition, the County Executive announced on Jan. 1s, that another 85,000 property values have been reduced based on taxpayer feedback. This adds more confusion to residents who now have to wonder if their assessments will increase based on the 85,000 reductions.
“Nassau County homeowners have been abused by the assessment process. This whole process has created anger and confusion. Residents who have incorrect assessments will need to grieve and extending the deadline is the only fair thing to do” stated Legislator Kennedy.
Recent reports estimate that MORE THAN half of Nassau homeowners will see a tax increase as a result of this Reassessment, and 115,000 of them will see an increase of 15 percent – 25 percent or more.
An additional 60 days will allow residents to review all notices available, meet with Assessment, seek advice or appraisals as needed, and file a challenge if deemed appropriate.
The Majority Legislators also reiterated their demand that the county executive follow through with her promise to hold public meetings throughout the county to discuss this reassessment.
Residents can file a grievance on their own. If you have any questions about the grievance process please visit the Assessment Review Commission website at https://www.nassaucountyny.gov/1510/Assessment-Review-Commission.
On Feb. 8, the time to allow to grieve Nassau property taxes was agreed upon in the Nassau County Legislature and was extended to April 2.
Homeowners who believe that their assessed value for the 2018-19 school and general property tax year is too high, or property’s classification or exemption status is incorrect, are encouraged to file an “Application for Correction of Assessment” with ARC before the close of the grievance filing period on April 2, 2018.
ARC applications can be obtained online at www.nassaucountyny.gov/arc. For individuals who do not have internet access, the application can be obtained in person at ARC located at 240 Old Country Road in Mineola, or by contacting ARC at (516) 571-3214. ARC hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Individual notices of tentative assessed value, which were mailed by DOA, are available for viewing to homeowners at www.mynassauproperty.com. While the notices show the assigned tentative assessed value for each property for the 2019-2020 school and general tax years, it does not reflect the amount of property taxes that will be imposed by a school district or local taxing authority. There is no fee to file an “Application for Correction of Assessment” with Nassau County.
“Homeowners need to be educated about the property assessment system. Make sure you look at your tentative assessed value and then use the county’s resources to self-file a grievance,” said Curran.
If owners have not received their assessment disclosure letter that had been mailed in January, they may simply call the DOA at (516) 571-1500 or visit the department website at www.mynassauproperty.com.
Philp A. Raices is the owner/Broker of Turn Key Real Estate at 3 Grace Ave Suite 180 Great Neck NY 11021-2415. He has earned designations as a Graduate of the Realtor Institute and a Certified International Property Specialist. Receive regular “FREE” updates of sold homes in your area and what your home would sell for in today’s market or search on: WWW.Li-RealEstate.Com He can be reached by email, at: Phil@TurnKeyRealEstate.Com, or by cell: (516) 647-4289.
