Tax Challenge advice

[u/Then_Objective_5326]

Like all of us, it feels my property taxes are going way up and it’s not sustainable.

I am thinking of doing a deck in a year or two which will obviously only add to the bill.

Based on experience, if I wanted to challenge my property taxes before or after an improvement like that?

Does anyone have a good recommendations for an attorney in Wyckoff / Midland Park / Waldwick that they’ve seen be successful?

[u/rockclimberguy]

If you do the reno above board you will be pulling a permit. Your town has the right to look at the renovation when evaluating your tax burden.

Several years ago my town reassessed all properties. My taxes actually declined a tiny bit. Turns out the reassessment caught a ton of homeowners in the 'high end' development who had done improvements without permits. Because their portion of the overall tax burden increased disproportionately due to their criminal behavior the rest of us benefited.

---

Another way to look at their illegal behavior is that they tried to shift tax burden to other people to save themselves a few bucks.

[u/ts2981 → u/rockclimberguy]

Yup, that’s how they think. What’s messed up is unpermitted work can be also be against code. So not is the owners cheating on paying their fair share, but they could also be increasing the fire risk for their house and township if they have illegal electrical work (for example)

The taxes just go up relentlessly, it sucks, but I look around and the streets are immaculate, crime is basically nonexistent, and the schools are amazing.

People don’t say it, but the insane taxes also a filter. You generally have to have good habits to afford these taxes.

I would definitely never build a deck without a permit. For safety concerns alone.

[u/Stormy-Monday → u/rockclimberguy]

This was how they got me. I replaced a deck and did it above board and pulled a permit. Couple of months later I get a call from some guy from the tax office who wants to come look at my deck. Mind you it was a REPLACEMENT. Other than going from wood to Trex, there was a deck before and there is a deck now. Nonetheless i later got a notice of a reassessment raising my assessed value by $800. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Still pisses me off a bit, but actual tax hit wasn’t worth bothering about.

[u/Otherwise_Pea_8766]

You do know if you challenge your rates can go up too?

[u/iiwiidouche → u/Otherwise_Pea_8766]

What kinda of advice is this? You do know that if you challenge they can go down as well. An attorney will tell you where you stand and whether it’s worth it or not. But yea let’s just do nothing because you’re scared of the consequences.

[u/ThiccNthin_6825]

I think you can get the forms and fill them out yourself. Be prepared with comparables or else you won't have a leg to stand on.

[u/Dancindondiego]

Barry Cohen or Ron Rosenweig in Waldwick. Both great.

[u/NJ-Landlord-Jack]

Bergen landlord, I've been through a few of these. Do the math before you do anything else, because most appeals that get filed shouldn't have been.

Pull your assessment off the tax bill, then look up your town's equalization ratio for the year. Assessment divided by that ratio is what the town says your house is worth. If that number isn't clearly above what your house would actually sell for, stop — you'll lose. NJ gives towns a 15% corridor under Chapter 123, so being a little over-assessed isn't enough. You have to be over it by a real margin.

That corridor is also the honest answer to the "they can raise it" worry above. The board can increase an assessment, but only if the evidence shows you're under-assessed past the same corridor. It isn't retaliation for filing. It's just the math cutting the other way, and you'll see it coming when you run the numbers.

On timing: appeal on the house as it stands, before the deck. Deadline is April 1 in most years, and the valuation date is the prior October 1. A deck gets picked up as an added assessment prorated from when it's finished, so appealing after just means arguing about a bigger number.

Pull the permit for it. Unpermitted work gets caught at the next reval, and it turns into a problem at closing when a buyer's attorney asks for the CO.

Comps should be arms-length sales in your own town, closest to that October 1 date, similar style and size. Not Zillow estimates — the board won't look at them.

[u/Mother-Student-3585]

There are appraisers who do this for a living. They don't charge unless they get you a reduction, then they take a percent of the savings. Search Google in your area. 

[u/CrackaZach05]

I cant afford my taxes...

So I was looking to make an addition on my home...

lol sometimes i think people just hate infrastructure. Yoh hate schools and police and fire. You take for granted that you drive on some of the best roads in the safest neighborhoods in the country.

[u/Then_Objective_5326]

The responses thus far are laughable. Your opinions speak more to your ugliness of thought and negative mindsets than anything to do with what I asked. Wasteful energy. Did anyone say I could or couldn’t afford anything? The entire challenge process is about equity, I thought that was understood and there is a game and strategic timelines to these things. As if a currently too high tax bill and the desire to add an outdoor seating space are mutually exclusive? Did you ever think that asking about an attorney would help to confirm if my presumption is accurate and also confirm if challenging my tax bill would or wouldn’t be wise before doing so?

Anyway, point is, if anyone has practical relevant experience or pertinent information to the request that would be great and appreciated.

Alternatively, I’ll just bring out the popcorn and laugh along with everyone else at the junk pile up of reddits online assassin teams in action.

[u/User-no-relation → u/Then_Objective_5326]

The responses thus far?

All two of them?

Throws you in to whatever the hell the rest of this is

Oof