Property Tax Assessment must be in error - recourse?

[Newspouse]

What is the name of your state? NJ

I am in a bit of a bind. I just bought a new house (closed last week) and am actively trying to sell my old house (which means I now have 2 mortgages and a bridge loan until I sell). One buyer was very interested until he found out my taxes were $8,800/yr for an 1800 sq ft house in Roselle Park, which I had just assumed was normal for that area. When I checked the GSMLS for comparable houses in my area, I found out that all of them had assessed values of 60 -70K (common level) while mine was 97K, resulting in my paying about $2500/yr more taxes than any of them! And these are houses with 4, 5 and 6 bedrooms, whereas I have only 3. My assessment has been 97K since I bought the house in 1989, so i've been paying much higher taxes than the others for 17 years! I did a little research and found out that property tax appeals are only reviewed once per year, after April 1, which means I'm out of luck as far as getting anything changed before then (I'll be broke by then). So, I have 2 questions:

Is there any other recourse to get the taxes reviewed before April?

If I find that I've been overcharged all these years, can I get a refund for the overcharges if my appeal is eventually upheld?

My house is in top shape since my wife and I have spent the last 2 months prepping it for sale, and the buyers all love it, but I'm afraid the tax problem is scaring them all off. If anyone has any info that can help, I'll be eternally grateful...

 

[seniorjudge]

You need to be asking the folks who are taxing you all these questions.

 

[Newspouse]

I have a call in to the town tax assessor, and I left him a detailed message about the problem - hopefully he will call back. Is he allowed to make adjustments if he agrees with me, or does it still need to go through the County Appeals process?

 

[LdiJ]

I have a call in to the town tax assessor, and I left him a detailed message about the problem - hopefully he will call back. Is he allowed to make adjustments if he agrees with me, or does it still need to go through the County Appeals process?

The problem is that your question is very state, and probably even county, specific. Therefore if you cannot get quick answers from the town tax assessor, a local professional would be of more help to you than we can be.

 

[abezon]

Take a note from our Chicago readers -- call your Alderman/councilmember/county representative. This is probably a situation that will respond most expiditiously to political pressure. It's amazing what a polite inquiry from the people who approve your department's budget can achieve.

 

[justalayman]

one thing that may come into play in your situation.

In many states, your assessment is based upon several things but ultimately when it is sold, that becomes the marjket value which the assessed value is based on. Mnay state have restrictions as to how fast the assessment can go up. If you are comparing your house to hmes that have not involved a recent sale, their assessment may be artificially low.

if you paid 97k for your home, you are being taxed appropriately regardless of what the other homes are being taxed at.

don't know if it is applicable but it would explain the large differences.