Taxchoppers

Help is on the way for New York State property owners.

Are your property taxes too high? Is the assessment on your property too high?

If so, you must act quickly - the deadline for filing an appeal, or grievance, is May 2012! 

The NY State Office of Real Property Services provides guidance to the property owner who wishes to file an appeal. We have set up links to the appropriate instructions and forms.

This information is extremely helpful, but is missing the most important information - comparable sales data.  That's where TAXCHOPPERS comes in - we collect sales data on all recent property sales in New York State (except New York City) .

For a free demo, check out  NYDEEDS.COM --- Click on your County, then your Town or City.  The free demo lists recent sales, starting with the latest, back to Jan. 2009.  However, the SALES PRICE is not shown.  If you are serious about filing an appeal, you can subscribe to the enhanced database, which will show all the SALE PRICES  (the cost is $30 for 3 months).

If you do wish to file a successful grievance, or appeal, you must prove that the assessor has assessed your property for more than its Market Value.  If you look at your most recent property tax bill, you will see the Market Value that the assessor has placed on your property.  Your task is to prove that the property is worth less than that value.  The most straightforward way to do this is to use our sales data,  and find at least three recent sales of properties that are very similar to yours, but which sold for less money than your supposed Market Value.

Can you get your assessment reduced?  Yes, if you are willing to spend a little time doing the research, AND if your property is really overassessed.  But let us be honest - if your assessment is actually truly fair, you are not going to find many sales that "prove" your case.  Then again, you can "prove" to yourself that your assessment is fair, after all.

LINKS to the NY State publications: