You don't need an outside firm to challenge your tax assessment

Warwick — Homeowners who think their tax assessments are too high have always been able to go to their assessor and argue their point. Recently, Warwick homeowners - as well as those throughout Orange County - have been receiving mailings from a company called Assessment Correction Group of NY with a Goshen address. Inside, they are finding letters with their names and addresses listed next to the question: “Tired of high property taxes? Don’t miss your once a year opportunity to reduce your taxes!” ”Residents should be aware that a private company is mailing official looking notices telling you are over assessed and telling you they will get your property taxes reduced — for a fee, of course,” noted Warwick Supervisor Michael Sweeton in his Supervisor’s Corner. “You should know you can challenge your assessment yourself, free, by filing a challenge with the local assessor’s office.” Sweeton is right. Anyone can challenge their own assessment at no cost. The letters that have been sent have led to many calls at both the receiver of taxes and assessor’s offices at Town Hall. Some residents have called with concerns that they were being reassessed. ”I have assured people that unless they have made improvements to their property, they are not being reassessed,” said Brenda Faulls, the town’s receiver of taxes. Assessment Correction Group of N.Y. Inc. is headquartered in Point Lookout and, according to a person who answered the phone, has been doing business for 18 years, mostly in Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island. This is the company’s first year of doing business in Orange County. She said the values of the properties listed on the letters are from the Orange County Clerk’s office, which is public information. The letter says there will be no fee if you do not receive a reduction in your property taxes. If you do receive a reduction, you must pay them 50 percent of that reduction within 30 days of their notifying you of it. Penalties apply if you don’t. Also, a $75 market appraisal fee is collected if you don’t have a certified appraisal dated within the last year. According to the Office of Real Property Services of New York State, a taxpayer has four grounds on which to challenge a tax assessment: excessive assessment, unequal assessment, unlawful assessment and misclassified assessment. An excessive assessment occurs when the assessment exceeds its full market value because of the denial of all or a portion of a partial exemption. Unequal assessment occurs when a property is assessed at a higher percentage of its market value than other comparable properties. Unlawful assessment is when property should have no assessment at all, for example it is wholly exempt or is located totally outside the boundaries of the taxing authority. Finally, misclassified assessment is when a property is listed under the wrong class. If you feel you are paying too much in taxes, well, unfortunately that is not a relevant reason to challenge your assessment. That is an issue to take up with the taxing unit — the town, village, school district — when they are setting budgets. The assessor has no control over taxes or budgets. Instead, the tax burden is spread equally to all businesses and homeowners based on the assessments. If you meet one of the four criteria to challenge your assessment, you must gather information to prove your point — starting in the assessor’s office with his rolls. The Office of Real Property Services of New York notes that there is a presumption under the law that the assessment made by the assessor is correct. The burden of proof is on the property owner. The point is that any homeowner may file a grievance and have a hearing, usually informal, with their assessor. An outside party is not required, but if you want someone to do the legwork for you, there are companies out there willing to do it. For more information, contact the town assessor’s office at 986-1123.