Reviving this thread as I'd like to challenge my taxes. The links, below, are now either unavailable or the .com biz is now defunct. Any other helpful suggestions are appreciated, thanks.

Also, the county tax board sent a letter with your new assessment. Bring that letter down to the tax assessor's office asap, you may still be able to get your 4th quarter bill adjusted to reflect the lower assessment.

I had the same issue a year ago. I think there is a disconnect between their billing and their adjustment systems. You may need to go down to City Hall and get a letter of adjustment for your bank, if you pay through an escrow account.

If you are due a refund, the CIty will send you a check in Jan.

Hey, successfully appealed my tax assessment in Spring, Tax Office told me I would see the change in my 4th quarter bill. Guess what, got my 4th quarter bill- property value and tax has not changed. What's going on?

http://www.hhrealtycorp.com/

Ask for Joe D'Amato.

Quote:

Honestly, just represent yourself. It's not a court hearing.

If you need advice, go to Grove street City Hall and ask to speak to the JC assessor. The folks there are very approachable and will answer any questions that you have.

As far as the County hearing goes. Seriously - you probably dont need representation. They are incredibly fair and will work with you to make you a fair offer, even if your paperwork is wrong.

I'd also check easytaxfix.com to make sure your appeal has merit. I only say that because I got a $7k rebate last year (2010), and the site got everything right for under $80. For me it was worth the cost.

Can someone give me an advice, about what step to do next in appealing a property tax. I already filled out the form, and submitted it. Do I really need to get someone represent me if they called me to the court hearing? Who can i hire anybody knows someone?

Here is Ed Toloza speaking before a neighborhood group on appealing property taxes. The lighting is poor but the sound is great.

http://vimeo.com/20935346

We used

Rich Izenberg
RDI APPRAISAL ASSOCIATES, LLC.
973-998-9000
rdiappraisal@aol.com
http://www.rdiappraisal.com/

He was thorough and responsive.

easytaxfix.com identifies comparable sales, and makes sure those sales are valid for inclusion based on date and type of sale, so yes, it doesn't let you select "banned" sales. It's why I think it's worth the $80 or so for the service. You can do the same thing yourself with the basic county form from hudsoncountytax.com and using zillow.com, but you would need to do a little extra work on your own.

The folks at Hudson Couty and at the JC appraisers will happily provide the same info over the phone. I've even seen them point out invalid comparables during the appeals hearings. They've gone out of their way to help people correct their appeal and resolve it on the spot.

To me their actions and attitude represent public service at it's best. Based on what I saw last year, I cannot sing their praise highly enough - they really did everything they could to assist everyone that appealed their tax bill.

That is great they are helping, does city hall or that site help you identify comparable sales for your property? And do they point out which sales are outright banned from being used for comparison purposes (e.g. non-arms length)? Your description sounds like a cake walk compared to the hearings in other NJ locals I know of.

The tax appeal appraisal doesn't involve anything more than a simple average price/square foot comparison between your own property and comparable sales in 2010 up to the cut-off on end Sep 2010. You don't need a professional appraisal, nor even professional advice.

If you wanted to DIY for free, get the forms from hudsoncountytax.com. Then go to JC City Hall to the JC Tax assessors - they are really really helpful, and will help you fill in your appeal form. It's not an adverserial process - they genuinely will help you out.

To do it online, use EASYTAXFIX.COM for $80 or so. You'll still need to print, mail it, and showup for a hearing, but tbh, iit's worth it. I saved over 7k/year last year using this. And the hearing isn't like a court case - you have a chat with the assessors, and they try their best to reach a reasonable agreement. (And in the 2010 process - I saw the assessors helping out a lot of folks that had mistakes in their appeal - they really are trying to help out Joe Public, and not just the City.)

Hi can anyone recommend me an appraiser to help with my appeal?
Thanks in advance!