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I filed an online property assessment appeal for NJ (hudson county jersey city) as after the re-evaluation they did my new assessment is much higher than the recent sold prices after plugging in the numbers.
However few weeks later, i received letter from jersey city attorneys stating "cross-petition" for appeal filed. In the appeal, it said reason for appeal: under-assessed. There is no other detail.
Does anyone know what this is all about, is my understanding correct that jersey city is filing a cross-appeal on my appeal, basically i am saying the assessment is too high and they are saying the current assessment is too low? What would be the next step, do i need to do anything.
If anyone went through this, any help will be appreciated. I paid 13k in property tax last year for a 750 sqf 1br condo in jersey city, and those guys are saying i am under-assessed? crazy.
I don't handle RE tax appeals as an attorney, but I've been involved in countless ones as a property owner and as a professional advisor. So, that said, I believe that your appeal -- which was denied -- opened the door and allowed the municipality to file a cross-petition for appeal. Once you file, they have the right to cross-file so to speak.
They may or may not have had the right to increase/or give a higher assessment this year...but you filing an appeal gave them the right to cross-petition for under-assessment. At this point, you should speak with a RE tax appeal specialist/attorney. They typically handle appeals on a contingency fee basis -- but now that the town is seeking a higher assessment, the attorney may not do a contingency fee because your chances of a savings are far lower.
Also, just as a side note -- everyone looks the value. Well, guess what -- the value could go up and the taxes due can go down! Why? Because of the tax rate! Yes, in NJ, real estate tax is according to value. If property values -- town-wide -- go up 12% for the year, that does not mean your taxes go up 12%. It simply means that the overall value of properties -- town-wide -- have increased for value purposes in calculating the real estate tax. The value of all properties in the town and the tax rate used are proportional. Thus, if property values increase, the tax rate decreases. So if property values increased, then the tax rate will be lower than the 2022 tax rate (due to these increased property values).
If your assessment has increased less than the baseline (for example, the 12% used as an example above), then you will less in taxes than you did the year before. Good luck!
Have you look at the Open Public Records System to see comparable tax assessment. Look at your immediate neighbors and particularly square foot of property and lot size.
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