Post by novillero on Nov 30, 2008 7:09:19 GMT -5
and a link from the comments section at the app site.
www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/pdf/lpt/chap123/chap123mon.pdf
Towns prepare for tax appealsBy Jean Mikle • and PAUL D'AMBROSIO • STAFF WRITERS • November 30, 2008
FILING AN APPEAL
If you think your property assessment is too high, here are several factors to consider before filing an appeal:
Property taxes generally are based on what your house might sell for. If sales in your neighborhood are dropping, it's time to consider an appeal.
Keep in mind that assessments are based on what is inside your home, as well as the house itself and surrounding property.
If you have a $100,000 custom kitchen, your assessment likely will be higher than a similar home with a $10,000 kitchen.
Tax appeals must be filed on or before April 1 of the tax year, or 45 days from the date that an assessment mailing is completed, whichever is later.
Appeals cost from $5 to $150.
The burden is on you to prove your assessment is too high. Comparable sales and an expert appraisal of the property are examples of evidence that can be used in a hearing.
Source: State of New Jersey
Division of Taxation; interviews.
Home sale prices have dropped faster in Monmouth and Ocean counties than in most other parts of the state — which could cost you more in property taxes.
Towns are now bracing for an onslaught of property tax appeals as more homeowners seek lower assessments to keep pace with the declining house market. Toms River, for example, has budgeted $1 million to fight the coming wave of appeals. Lakewood, which completed a revaluation when the housing market was at its peak in 2006, has spent about $1.5 million in the past two years.
And the money comes from just one place — property taxpayers.
To check sales in your neighborhood, visit the Asbury Park Press's online database at www.DataUniverse.com. Look under "What's New" for home sales and property assessments.
Eatontown, Freehold, Barnegat and 10 other municipalities saw double-digit percentage drops in average sale prices during the first six months of 2008, compared with the same time in 2007, Gannett found.
While the overall average sales price in the state dropped 4.5 percent, Monmouth County saw a 6.5 percent decline. Ocean County had a 5.3 percent dip, according to the sales data for single family homes.
Eatontown ranked fifth in the state in terms of overall property value loss for municipalities with 50 or more sales in 2007. The average sale price during the first six months of 2007 was $394,403. For the same time this year, the average price was $293,153 — a drop of $101,250.
A major ripple effect of declining home prices has been an escalation in the number of property tax appeals.
Appeals in Monmouth County rose from 936 in 2006 to 1,862 so far this year, according to Matthew Clark, Monmouth County tax administrator.
To win a tax reduction, Clark said, a homeowner must prove — usually through comparable sales and a professional appraisal — that his or her property is overvalued.
"I believe that data are now present," Clark said. "I'm anticipating a serious spike in tax appeals."
Clark said there were 12,000 tax appeals in 1990, at the peak of the last major housing recession in the area.
In Ocean County, tax appeals soared to more than 4,200 this year, from 2,700 in 2007, according to Tax Administrator L. Ozzie Vitusck.
Towns that have instituted a revaluation of property within the past three years are particularly vulnerable to tax appeals, since most of the appraisals were done when the market was close to its peak, according to Monmouth County lawyer Michael Mirne, who specializes in tax appeals.
"They are putting a revaluation or a reassessment into effect in a deflationary market," said Mirne, of Ocean Township. "They are not doing themselves any favors."
Mirne said he handled 200 tax appeals in Lakewood this year. Lakewood's revaluation was completed in 2006, at the height of the market, but values in some parts of the town have declined substantially since then, Mirne said.
Overall, Lakewood's average sale price rose 2.9 percent, but the total number of actual sales was down 13 percent to 377 for the first part of this year, according to the state sales data.
"The state has to come up with a better way to equalize values," Lakewood Mayor Raymond Coles said, "instead of going through this process once every 15 years."
Tax assessors are prohibited by state law from lowering values on specific properties unless their owners appeal the assessments, even if the assessors know the properties are over-valued.
"You are not allowed to spot-assess someone," Clark said. "You can't individually make an adjustment, because the law requires that you do things in very broad strokes."
Toms River Tax Assessor Glenn Seelhorst anticipates howls of protest, particularly from the beachfront areas, when a long-delayed revaluation takes effect next year.
"I am battling the public perception that the market is down everywhere," Seelhorst said. "I have to look at the sales, and there are going to be substantial winners and losers as part of this process."
Seelhorst said his analysis of Toms River and surrounding municipalities indicates that while overall sales have declined substantially, prices have not gone down in all areas.
The barrier island sections of Toms River, closest to the ocean, have continued to see a slight appreciation in prices, he said.
"I agree 100 percent that the number of sales are down," Seelhorst said. "That's mainly because anybody that doesn't have to sell in this market is not selling."
Protecting the town against tax appeals costs money. Toms River Council President Gregory P. McGuckin said the town's proposed budget includes an extra $1 million this year for tax appeals.
Brick Tax Assessor Rich Kenny said the average home sales price in town has declined about 3.7 percent from 2007 through 2008. "We're not down that much," Kenny said.
But Kenny noted that the state data he has received include only sales through June 30, before the credit crunch that hit the economy after Lehman Brothers collapsed in September.
"We're not going to know the repercussions with that until January or February," he said.
Total sales in Brick have dropped 40 percent from 709 for the first half of 2007 to 422 for the first six months of this year.
Toms River lawyer Harvey L. York, who specializes in real estate law, said he believes the number of tax appeals filed in the area will soar in the coming year. He said the number of closings he has completed in the past year has fallen drastically as the commercial and residential real estate market slowed dramatically.
"I am guessing that for the next six months to year and a half, I will probably file more tax appeals than I have in the last six years," York said. "I would say, in terms of real estate, this is probably the most uniform hit real estate has taken in 30 to 40 years. Everything is stagnant."
www.app.com/article/20081130/NEWS/811300368/-1/nletter05?source=nletter-news
www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/pdf/lpt/chap123/chap123mon.pdf
Towns prepare for tax appealsBy Jean Mikle • and PAUL D'AMBROSIO • STAFF WRITERS • November 30, 2008
FILING AN APPEAL
If you think your property assessment is too high, here are several factors to consider before filing an appeal:
Property taxes generally are based on what your house might sell for. If sales in your neighborhood are dropping, it's time to consider an appeal.
Keep in mind that assessments are based on what is inside your home, as well as the house itself and surrounding property.
If you have a $100,000 custom kitchen, your assessment likely will be higher than a similar home with a $10,000 kitchen.
Tax appeals must be filed on or before April 1 of the tax year, or 45 days from the date that an assessment mailing is completed, whichever is later.
Appeals cost from $5 to $150.
The burden is on you to prove your assessment is too high. Comparable sales and an expert appraisal of the property are examples of evidence that can be used in a hearing.
Source: State of New Jersey
Division of Taxation; interviews.
Home sale prices have dropped faster in Monmouth and Ocean counties than in most other parts of the state — which could cost you more in property taxes.
Towns are now bracing for an onslaught of property tax appeals as more homeowners seek lower assessments to keep pace with the declining house market. Toms River, for example, has budgeted $1 million to fight the coming wave of appeals. Lakewood, which completed a revaluation when the housing market was at its peak in 2006, has spent about $1.5 million in the past two years.
And the money comes from just one place — property taxpayers.
To check sales in your neighborhood, visit the Asbury Park Press's online database at www.DataUniverse.com. Look under "What's New" for home sales and property assessments.
Eatontown, Freehold, Barnegat and 10 other municipalities saw double-digit percentage drops in average sale prices during the first six months of 2008, compared with the same time in 2007, Gannett found.
While the overall average sales price in the state dropped 4.5 percent, Monmouth County saw a 6.5 percent decline. Ocean County had a 5.3 percent dip, according to the sales data for single family homes.
Eatontown ranked fifth in the state in terms of overall property value loss for municipalities with 50 or more sales in 2007. The average sale price during the first six months of 2007 was $394,403. For the same time this year, the average price was $293,153 — a drop of $101,250.
A major ripple effect of declining home prices has been an escalation in the number of property tax appeals.
Appeals in Monmouth County rose from 936 in 2006 to 1,862 so far this year, according to Matthew Clark, Monmouth County tax administrator.
To win a tax reduction, Clark said, a homeowner must prove — usually through comparable sales and a professional appraisal — that his or her property is overvalued.
"I believe that data are now present," Clark said. "I'm anticipating a serious spike in tax appeals."
Clark said there were 12,000 tax appeals in 1990, at the peak of the last major housing recession in the area.
In Ocean County, tax appeals soared to more than 4,200 this year, from 2,700 in 2007, according to Tax Administrator L. Ozzie Vitusck.
Towns that have instituted a revaluation of property within the past three years are particularly vulnerable to tax appeals, since most of the appraisals were done when the market was close to its peak, according to Monmouth County lawyer Michael Mirne, who specializes in tax appeals.
"They are putting a revaluation or a reassessment into effect in a deflationary market," said Mirne, of Ocean Township. "They are not doing themselves any favors."
Mirne said he handled 200 tax appeals in Lakewood this year. Lakewood's revaluation was completed in 2006, at the height of the market, but values in some parts of the town have declined substantially since then, Mirne said.
Overall, Lakewood's average sale price rose 2.9 percent, but the total number of actual sales was down 13 percent to 377 for the first part of this year, according to the state sales data.
"The state has to come up with a better way to equalize values," Lakewood Mayor Raymond Coles said, "instead of going through this process once every 15 years."
Tax assessors are prohibited by state law from lowering values on specific properties unless their owners appeal the assessments, even if the assessors know the properties are over-valued.
"You are not allowed to spot-assess someone," Clark said. "You can't individually make an adjustment, because the law requires that you do things in very broad strokes."
Toms River Tax Assessor Glenn Seelhorst anticipates howls of protest, particularly from the beachfront areas, when a long-delayed revaluation takes effect next year.
"I am battling the public perception that the market is down everywhere," Seelhorst said. "I have to look at the sales, and there are going to be substantial winners and losers as part of this process."
Seelhorst said his analysis of Toms River and surrounding municipalities indicates that while overall sales have declined substantially, prices have not gone down in all areas.
The barrier island sections of Toms River, closest to the ocean, have continued to see a slight appreciation in prices, he said.
"I agree 100 percent that the number of sales are down," Seelhorst said. "That's mainly because anybody that doesn't have to sell in this market is not selling."
Protecting the town against tax appeals costs money. Toms River Council President Gregory P. McGuckin said the town's proposed budget includes an extra $1 million this year for tax appeals.
Brick Tax Assessor Rich Kenny said the average home sales price in town has declined about 3.7 percent from 2007 through 2008. "We're not down that much," Kenny said.
But Kenny noted that the state data he has received include only sales through June 30, before the credit crunch that hit the economy after Lehman Brothers collapsed in September.
"We're not going to know the repercussions with that until January or February," he said.
Total sales in Brick have dropped 40 percent from 709 for the first half of 2007 to 422 for the first six months of this year.
Toms River lawyer Harvey L. York, who specializes in real estate law, said he believes the number of tax appeals filed in the area will soar in the coming year. He said the number of closings he has completed in the past year has fallen drastically as the commercial and residential real estate market slowed dramatically.
"I am guessing that for the next six months to year and a half, I will probably file more tax appeals than I have in the last six years," York said. "I would say, in terms of real estate, this is probably the most uniform hit real estate has taken in 30 to 40 years. Everything is stagnant."
www.app.com/article/20081130/NEWS/811300368/-1/nletter05?source=nletter-news