I know who not to recommend. Matthew Mason, formerly of Urban Energy, is a Jersey City resident on Beacon Avenue that practically destroyed my house while attempting to insulate it and install an HVAC system (for the first time I've now learned). Stay away at all costs. I've had to spend close to 300k so far remediating damage he caused. Reckless does not even do it justice. He had some rookie employees, one of whom was hired days before, essentially rip apart the entire house. In the process he destroyed a number of joists, excavated a portion of my foundation, and caused me to have to reinstall an entirely new heating and cooling system.

Quote:

I recall from that free tax appeal lecture last year that what your neighbors are paying has absolutely nothing to do with an appeal. It has to be actual recent sales comps, and they must be arms length deals, no shorts or foreclosures. Are you sure you remember correctly?

Spend some time on the computer and do some homework... find 2 more houses like your neighbors and then go file your tax appeal. Having 3 comparable homes in your area should bring down your tax bill... or hire a local business that knows what to look for.. Good Luck!
I brought my property down from $15,600 to $9400

Quote:

We used NMZ Construction for a pretty large renovation project in 2011. It's a general contractor that covers all the specialties you'll need in a gut renovation. They were well organized and professional and we were happy with how the work turned out. The owner is Michael Zampetti. www.nmzconstruction.com

PathH8er, sent you a PM off-topic.


We recommend Basil McGregor, +1 (201) 936-4123. You can find his site online if you search for his name.

Quote:

This team definatley can, did my whole place in McGinley and a friends place in Greenpoint. The guy used to be part of Williamsburg Construction but has started out on his own I believe. His name is Nedo and his number is 646-338-8008.

Therein lies the issue of tax inequality in JC. Those who have lived here longer are unfairly benefited to the detriment of the more recent arrivals. Property taxes are supposed to be a "fairer", less biased, way to impose tax on the population. After all, it is supposed to be a fixed rate applied to all within a community, so if you want the luxury of a larger home, you pay more, and if you can do with less, you pay less. Of course, some old timers would have you believe that their tax share shouldn't change at all and rail against the reveal, which was illegally suspended.

For the record - I am not a homeowner, so I don't have a lot of skin in this game. I have considered purchasing a property but just can't accept the absurd taxes levied here.

Slightly off topic but my neighbor did a total house gut. Beautiful interior, new kitchen, bathrooms, plumbing etc., even created a basement suite for rent. Their taxes are still $8,000/year for a four floor large brownstone and yet mine are $16K/year for a similar situation except I bought mine after the renovation (so I guess you couldn't hide it) and mine is 1/4 the size, same neighborhood. They had all the permits on their windows which would lead me to believe the city obviously knew. I know he has connections with the city because he's said as much and has avoided a lot of headaches thanks to some envelopes passing hands....yet, how did the city not recognize a full gutted renovation and basement suite should have higher annual property taxes?

http://gervasiinc.com/index.html

these guys did great work for me abut 10 years ago - not sure they are still doing "small" projects. Give them a call. NOT CHEAP, but terrific.

Can anyone recommend a licensed contracting business who can handle a total house gut (new electric, some plumbing issues, new heating/Central AC install)?