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Stick to the facts (but first, know them!)
In Gravers v. Scotch Plains Township, a residential tax appeal, we are reminded of the importance of hiring appraisers with experience in tax appeals and to ensure that they are familiar with the facts relevant to the subject property and the comparable property sales. Here – on appeal from a judgment of the County Board... Read More
Drive-By Appraisals "Approved" in New York!
Property owners have won a battle in a long simmering dispute in New York over pending real estate tax appeals. The case was reported in the BuffaloNews.com. In short, eight property owners with pending tax appeals against the City refused to let the City’s appraiser in their homes in connection with the preparation of the... Read More
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back for West Orange Taxpayer
Last week, the Tax Court of New Jersey dismissed a multi-year tax appeal filed by a commercial property owner in the Township of West Orange that challenged the assessment on a retail property in that municipality, which assessment had been set by a town-wide revaluation in 2011. The plaintiff WKJ Realty Co., Inc. relied upon... Read More
North Carolina Court Finds "Map Act" Filing Equates to a "Taking"
Under North Carolina statute, once the department of transportation files a map depicting a future taking, “no building permit shall be issued for any building or structure or part thereof located within the transportation corridor, nor shall approval of a subdivision . . . be granted with respect to property within the transportation corridor.” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 136-44.51(a).... Read More
Contaminated property is worthless (almost)
In an opinion that has been approved for publication, the New Jersey Tax Court has ruled that for purposes of real property taxation, a heavily contaminated property warranted only a nominal assessment. In Methode Electronics, Inc. v. Township of Willingboro, the subject property is a small parcel improved with a 6,800 square foot concrete slab... Read More
Griepenburg v Township of Ocean: Inverse Claim Denied For Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies
Last week, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided a case brought by property owners to challenge a municipal ordinance that “down-zoned” their property. (A full copy of the decision is here). The property owners lost before the trial court, won before the Appellate Division, but lost in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held: “We... Read More
Presumptions Foil Municipality
In another case where a municipality took an appeal to trial and rested on the assessment, the strategy backfired as the tax court ruled in favor of the taxpayer. We have written before (Township Punts, Loses at Trial and on Appeal) about municipalities forcing an appeal to trial only to rest on the presumption of correctness. ... Read More
Ramsey v. Commissioner of Highways: Is there a Santa Claus in Virginia?
Coming to you from Virginia – care of our Owner’s Counsel colleague Robert Thomas – is the case of Ramsey v. Commissioner of Highways, which involves Virginia DOT’s attempt to change its valuation position at trial. Thomas’ Blog entry here. In a nutshell, DOT offered the owner $246,292 before trial (based on an appraisal prepared by... Read More
Tax Court stops Grinch who tried to steal tax exemption from local charity
In these consolidated tax appeals, the Tax Court recently dismissed the City of Hackensack’s challenge to the decision by the Bergen County Board of Taxation awarding an exemption from local property taxes for three properties owned by affiliates of Community Housing in Partnership, commonly referred to as CHIP. CHIP and its affiliates provide housing and... Read More
Municipality Swings and Misses on Chapter 91 Motion
Like a baseball player trying to knock one out of the part, local tax assessors try to knock tax appeals out of court with their mighty “Chapter 91” bats. You remember Chapter 91 it is the statute (N.J.S.A. 54:4-34) that allows tax assessors to request income and expense information from owners of commercial properties. Failure... Read More
