Nassau County is planning a big shake up for the local property tax system. Sadly, it’s probably not going to bring the changes Long Island property owners really want. New assessments could compound high and incorrect tax issues even further, heightening the need to grieve local property tax bills.
Investigative reporter for Newsday Matt Clark says that “Former County Executive Mangano wanted to avoid having the county have to pay property tax refunds.” As well as “County Executive Mangano’s reforms or overhauls of the assessment system was intended to address that problem, but in the process it produced the most unfair and inaccurate assessments we’ve seen since before 2000.”
The ultimate findings of the investigative report were that “if you don’t file a grievance you’re probably paying too much.”
Even the Nassau County receiver of taxes Don Clavin has reiterated that “The assessment system has been broken for decades.”
According to CBS “County Executive Laura Curran is making good on a campaign promise to unfreeze property values and reassess every home and business.” That means “All of Nassau’s 400,000 properties will be reassessed at current and fair market value for the first time in almost a decade.”
While theoretically, not having to worry about so many refunds due to inaccurate bills and assessments could save the county and owners money, one of the biggest problems with this is that property tax bills could skyrocket. This reassessment seems to be coming right as the local real estate market has it a new peak in prices. According to Zillow county property values have hit a new average high of almost $100k more than in 2008, and almost $200,000 more than in the pit of 2012. At the same time there are signs of slowing grow in the property market, which could lead to lower real values in the next few years.
According to CBS, “Curran has agreed to honor — the state tax cap. Taxes won’t go up more than 6 percent in one year and 20 percent in five years.” That’s still a sizable jump, especially with the impact of the new tax bill. If this promise falls through, property tax bills could go up far, far higher.
While these reassessments may take into account new higher sales prices, where many of the problems really sit are in inaccurate county appraiser data in relation to square footage, room counts, condition and other improvements. If those aren’t fixed at the same time, then the same property owners are going to see their tax woes even more exaggerated by higher and more inaccurate assessments. Most will have to continue to grieve their taxes each year to be sure that assessments stay in line with changing values and property condition.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to save. Get pro help filing your Nassau County property tax grievance today…