BLOG: Property Tax Appeal
Refunds for Environmental Remediation?
Getting a refund from a successful property tax appeal may get a little harder for owners of certain contaminated industrial properties. State Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney introduced legislation yesterday that would require a property tax refund to be forwarded to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) and applied toward remediation costs, instead of being... Read More
Jury Awards Double NJ Transit's Offer for Property Taken by Eminent Domain
The families who owned the Mother’s Park and Ridelot in Wayne, New Jersey were awarded $2.6 million in just compensation by Passaic County jury last week for the taking of their property through eminent domain by NJ Transit. The property was originally acquired by DJ Properties to be converted to a restaurant, but the owner... Read More
California Redevelopment Law No Longer a Blight to Property Owners
In December 2011, the California Supreme Court upheld legislation dissolving the State’s redevelopment agencies which must now turn over their property tax revenues to the State. Dissolving the redevelopment agencies was part of cost-cutting measures taken by Governor Jerry Brown to address a massive budget shortfall. Approving the Court’s decision, critics of the redevelopment agencies... Read More
Another Taxpayer Bites the Dust, This Time For Being One Day Too Late
A Tax Court judge dismissed a complaint that arrived by regular mail one day past the statutory filing deadline. The property owner initially appealed his assessment to the Monmouth County Board of Taxation, who affirmed the judgment and mailed a copy to the parties on September 20, 2011. The property owner’s Tax Court complaint was... Read More
Ailing Seller’s Eagerness to Sell Fatal to Buyer’s Tax Appeal
A sale of the subject property was recently disqualified as an “arms’ length” sale, according to the Tax Court, because the seller was ill and accepted the first offer made by the buyer. The buyer filed a tax appeal to challenge the property’s assessment and offered only the sale of property to establish that the... Read More
City Council Cannot Cure Assessor’s Mistake
In Harbor Cove Marina LLC v. City of Somers Point, the Law Division of the Superior Court struck down a resolution by the City Council that increased an assessment in an attempt to cover the mistake of the City Tax Assessor. The City Council adopted the resolution increasing the assessment after the assessor realized that... Read More
Speedwell Redevelopment Plan Approved
The Morristown Town Council unanimously approved the Speedwell Redevelopment Plan last evening. This plan calls for the development of 650 new housing units and 40,000 square feet of retail space over three phases. The first phase of the project calls for the redeveloper to construct 268 housing units on a Morristown DPW property off of early... Read More
Star Ledger Reports: Finally Some Property Tax Relief!
The Sunday Star-Ledger reported yesterday its finding of an analysis of local property taxes in all 566 New Jersey municipalities that shows the average property tax bill was $7,758 in 2011, an increase of about $182 or 2.4% from 2010. (The Star Ledger article can be found here) This increase was at a significantly slower... Read More
Experts’ Opinions on Golf Course Valuation Not Up to Par
A Tax Court judge rejected the opinions of both parties’ experts after both failed to present sufficient evidence of value at trial. The property under appeal for the 2008 and 2009 tax years, the Bear Brook Golf Club, is a 183 acre 18 hole semi-private golf course in Fredon Township, New Jersey, with an assessment... Read More
Property Owner’s “False” Responses Lead to Dismissal of Tax Appeal
A recent decision by the Tax Court held that a property owner’s failure to include information concerning a concession lease for a 3,000 sq. ft. area within a skating rink was a “false or fraudulent account” under N.J.S.A. 54:4-34 (Chapter 91 Request). The property owner answered the Township of Mt. Laurel’s Tax Assessor’s request for... Read More
