BLOG: Property Tax Appeal
Tax Court: Town’s Assessment of Beach Property is a “Lot” of Baloney!
A recent decision by New Jersey Tax Court Presiding Judge Patrick DeAlmeida, highlighted the lack of credibility of a creative valuation approach by the Borough of Bay Head. The appeal concerned a large single family residence with ocean views, for which scant comparable sales evidence existed due to the unique nature of the 5,000 square... Read More
To Conquer, Taxpayer Must Divide
A New Jersey appellate court recently affirmed the decision of Presiding Tax Court Judge Patrick DeAlmeida, in which the Tax Court affirmed multi-year assessments on six commercial condominium units owned by the same party. The units were located in a five-story building in the Township of Lyndhurst, all of which were owned by the taxpayer,... Read More
Harrison’s defense denies Red Bulls for a third time
The owner of Red Bull Arena is unable to break through Harrison’s defense in its pursuit of a property tax exemption for its arena that is home to the New York Red Bulls Soccer Club. In two separate 2012 opinions dealing with the 2010 (see Red Card for Red Bull Soccer Stadium) and 2011 (see Red... Read More
A Taxpayer’s Burden
In Hertrich v. Township of Middletown, a copy of which may be found here, the plaintiff challenged the assessments for tax years 2009 through 2013 on Chevrolet car dealership located on Route 35 in Middletown. While the appraisal experts for the plaintiff and the defendant agreed that the optimal size of an automobile dealership is... Read More
No Relief for Castle on the Sand
In this appeal challenging the assessment of an 8,772 sf residence on nearly 2 acres overlooking the Atlantic Ocean with 8 bedrooms, 6 full and 2 half baths, solarium, salon, billiard room, exercise room, limestone patios, a pool and two pool houses, the New Jersey Tax Court found that the owner lacked one thing: credible... Read More
Tax Court Requires Inspection Despite Owner’s Prior Protests
The discovery rules for residential tax appeals in New Jersey are very simple. Basically, the municipality must provide a property record card, and the home owner must permit an inspection of the property, and provide a closing statement if there has been a sale within the past three years, any income and expense information is... Read More
Limited sales data and lack of reasonable adjustments does not doom plaintiff’s appeal
In this appeal, Belview Crossing v. Lopatcong Twp., the court considered a challenge to the assessments on 32 vacant building lots. The Township of Lopatcong did not submit any affirmative proofs, but instead, it rested on the assessment, meaning that it relied on the doctrine under the law that all assessments are presumed to be valid. Under... Read More
Comparable Sales From Neighboring Town Not Persuasive Evidence
A Tax Court judge affirmed a property owner’s assessment because the owner only provided comparable sales information from a neighboring municipality without demonstrating how the real estate markets in the two municipalities were either alike or different. Specifically, the property owner presented four comparable sales from neighboring Ocean Township, which was “six steps” away from... Read More
Town Gets Taste of Own Medicine: Not Permitted to Pursue Counterclaim After Deadline
In an unusual case, a Tax Court judge denied a municipality’s attempt to file a counterclaim in a tax appeal almost two years after the statutory deadline for filing such a claim. Typically, municipalities file motions to dismiss taxpayer appeals with citations to case law and court rules which strictly enforce the prescribed filing deadlines. ... Read More
Correction of Errors Statute Wrong Way to Correct County Tax Board Judgment
Several property owners recently asked the Tax Court to correct judgments entered by the Middlesex County Board of Taxation after receiving judgments showing a different value than the County Tax Board commissioner hearing the matters had determined. Specifically, the commissioner indicated that he had determined the market value of the properties was $420,000, which placed... Read More
