BLOG: Property Tax Appeal
Landlocked Property Yields Property Tax Reduction
Recently, in Acocella v. Cedar Grove, the Tax Court of New Jersey was asked to examine the value of a vacant landlocked parcel. The subject property is approximately one-acre and has no frontage or roadway access. It lies to the rear of plaintiff’s residential parcel, and surrounded on all sides by adjacent properties. Given the lack of... Read More
Township Argues for Dismissal on Grounds Taxpayer Submitted False and Fraudulent Information
A motion to dismiss for failure to comply with N.J.S.A. 54:4-34 (“Ch. 91”) is common practice in the Tax Court. In Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc. v. Township of Berkeley Heights, plaintiff filed complaints challenging the assessment and also sought a farmland assessment exemption for tax years 2014 and 2015. For tax year 2014, the Township filed... Read More
Déjà vu all over again – Taxpayer fails to overcome presumption of correctness.
The New Jersey Tax Court recently issued another opinion finding that a taxpayer failed to overcome the presumption of correctness that attaches to a real property tax assessment. While we have, in the past, expressed frustration with the seemingly endless run of decisions that raise the bar for taxpayers, the Court had little choice here. ... Read More
Maximizing Savings Through NJ Property Tax Appeals
When was the last time you thought about how much you’re paying in property taxes on your New Jersey home or investment property? If there haven’t been major changes to your lot or building over the past few years, it may seem like there is no point in doing so. A number of factors, however,... Read More
Assessment on Condo Common Elements Nullified by Tax Court, Affirmed on Appeal
The Appellate Division recently considered the New Jersey Tax Court’s invalidation of assessment placed by South Orange on the common elements of a condominium property. Plaintiff, The Top Condominium, was established as a condominum association under New Jersey’s Condominium Act. The master deed establishing the condominium consists of 93 units located in the Township of... Read More
Sales Approach Rejected in Valuing Rental Property
In reviewing a recent decision by the Honorable Patrick DeAlmeida, the Presiding Judge of the New Jersey Tax Court, the first thing that jumps out is the large reductions — approximate $1.84 million in reduced assessments for each of the years under appeal. The appeal involved a free-standing Barnes & Noble store in Evesham Township brought by the retailer, a... Read More
Taxpayer Forced to Disclose Bank’s Mortgage Appraisal in Tax Appeal
In the context tax appeals, municipalities and taxpayers will often bump heads about the disclosure of an appraisal report prepared by a mortgage lender. Although these reports cannot be utilized at trial for determining the market value of the property in a tax appeal, municipalities may still demand the taxpayer to disclose the report. This... Read More
Intervention by Taxpayer Denied in New Jersey Tax Appeal
In another recent opinion, Farmland Dairies, Inc. v. Bor. of Wallington, the Tax Court of New Jersey addressed the actions of a non-party private taxpayer who filed a motion to intervene in a pending appeal of Farmland Dairies, Inc. Farmland Dairies, Inc. filed direct appeals to the tax court for tax years 2014, 2015, and 2016. A private... Read More
Partial Exemption Issue Addressed by Tax Court of NJ
In a recently published opinion, the Tax Court of New Jersey addressed the applicability of the partial exemption statute. In Savage Mills Enterprises, LLC v. Bor. of Little Silver, the plaintiff argued that it was entitled to a partial exemption on a portion of its property that was subject to a 99-year ground lease to a... Read More
Residential Taxpayers in Franklin Lakes Pick Up Win in Tax Court
The Tax Court recently issued an opinion following the trial in Givant v. Franklin Lakes, wherein owners of a single family home filed complaints challenging their assessments for the 2012 and 2013 tax years. The property subject of the appeal is a colonial-style single-family home, built around 1984 with a gross living area of 4,160 sq.... Read More
