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Grieving taxes?

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IVFmiracle
Complete

Member since 12/12

4088 total posts

Name:

Grieving taxes?

Has anyone done this? DH and I were thinking about doing it this year but are a little hesitant after doing the research. Any experiences to share???

Posted 1/26/13 8:49 AM
 
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jlk51496
Mom of 3 - YIKES! =)

Member since 10/09

6758 total posts

Name:
Katie

Re: Grieving taxes?

every year we do it...this year they were successful and it went down $1200...and the agreement is 50% of what they save...so we haven't owed anything in years but this year we owe $600

Posted 1/26/13 9:15 AM
 

apb17
My guys

Member since 5/06

2173 total posts

Name:
Alli

Re: Grieving taxes?

We used Mark Lewis in Centereach and won. It took awhile as they went to small claims court. It saved me about $1400 (maybe a little more), then I owed them half of that.

Posted 1/26/13 10:51 AM
 

EatingMyVeggies

Member since 1/12

6667 total posts

Name:

Re: Grieving taxes?

Posted by apb17

We used Mark Lewis in Centereach and won. It took awhile as they went to small claims court. It saved me about $1400 (maybe a little more), then I owed them half of that.



Every year I fill out the info for mark Lewis (they say you should try to grieve each year) but never had any luck.

It's worth a shot and you pay nothing to try. Hopefully you will have better luck than I did!

Posted 1/26/13 11:40 AM
 

IVFmiracle
Complete

Member since 12/12

4088 total posts

Name:

Re: Grieving taxes?

Posted by apb17

We used Mark Lewis in Centereach and won. It took awhile as they went to small claims court. It saved me about $1400 (maybe a little more), then I owed them half of that.



When you say you saved 1400, do you mean you got a 1400 refund and then paid 700 of it to Mark Lewis? Or your taxes went down 1400? How long did it take all together to complete?
TIA

Posted 1/26/13 1:03 PM
 

ElizaRags35
My 2 Girls

Member since 2/09

20494 total posts

Name:
Me

Grieving taxes?

We used Mark Lewis and just got our judgment that we won. $432 for the year! LOL. And now we owe like $240. Eh, it's something!

Posted 1/26/13 2:01 PM
 

apb17
My guys

Member since 5/06

2173 total posts

Name:
Alli

Re: Grieving taxes?

Posted by IVFmiracle

Posted by apb17

We used Mark Lewis in Centereach and won. It took awhile as they went to small claims court. It saved me about $1400 (maybe a little more), then I owed them half of that.



When you say you saved 1400, do you mean you got a 1400 refund and then paid 700 of it to Mark Lewis? Or your taxes went down 1400? How long did it take all together to complete?
TIA



Our taxes were reduced about $1400 (maybe a little more) . For example, our taxes were about $12000, then they were reduced to 10,600. Altogether, it took about a year since they had to go to small claims court.

Posted 1/26/13 2:26 PM
 

VikingChick
LIF Adult

Member since 5/11

1024 total posts

Name:
Anna

Grieving taxes?

It isn't that difficult to do on your own. Here's a link to the info: http://www.nycourts.gov/litigants/scar/
Just make sure you meet the deadlines.

Posted 1/28/13 2:17 PM
 

Shroggie
Don't Worry...Be Happy

Member since 5/06

6261 total posts

Name:

Re: Grieving taxes?

Posted by anskiv

It isn't that difficult to do on your own. Here's a link to the info: http://www.nycourts.gov/litigants/scar/
Just make sure you meet the deadlines.



I did this myself last week. Not hard, just takes a little time.

Posted 1/28/13 3:06 PM
 

rojerono
Happiest.

Member since 8/06

13803 total posts

Name:
Jeannie

Re: Grieving taxes?

Posted by Shroggie

Posted by anskiv

It isn't that difficult to do on your own. Here's a link to the info: http://www.nycourts.gov/litigants/scar/
Just make sure you meet the deadlines.



I did this myself last week. Not hard, just takes a little time.



Do you have to pay for an appraisal? How much is it generally? Do you have to appear in person? If they don't find in your favor, do you have to appear in court as well?

I'm considering doing it myself.. but I'm concerned about costs and face time..

Posted 1/30/13 1:50 PM
 

Mill188
LIF Adult

Member since 3/09

3073 total posts

Name:

Re: Grieving taxes?

Posted by rojerono

Posted by Shroggie

Posted by anskiv

It isn't that difficult to do on your own. Here's a link to the info: http://www.nycourts.gov/litigants/scar/
Just make sure you meet the deadlines.



I did this myself last week. Not hard, just takes a little time.



Do you have to pay for an appraisal? How much is it generally? Do you have to appear in person? If they don't find in your favor, do you have to appear in court as well?

I'm considering doing it myself.. but I'm concerned about costs and face time..



Where is your house located? That makes a difference because some jurisdictions are more helpful than others and it will sway my opinion as to whether or not you can do it yourself. As always, if you have an appraisal, it's always helpful.

If not, you can use "comps." Some towns (Brookhaven, Huntington) will let you use their computer systems at Town hall to look at comps. Others (Babylon) will have the comps THEY used listed on their website and then let you search for others.

You do not need to appear in person. If they do not grant you a reduction at the grievance level, you will be given a hearing date and then you will have to appear in front of a hearing officer at a small claims proceeding at court.

On other thing that's worth noting, you can file the first step (the grievance) yourself and if it is denied, then you can hire someone to represent you (my recommendation is always an attorney instead of a "service). You will have plenty of time between when you find out your appeal was denied to having to file the actual small claims court petition to find someone to handle it for you.

Posted 1/30/13 2:29 PM
 

Goobster
:)

Member since 5/07

27557 total posts

Name:
:)

Re: Grieving taxes?

I wanted to ask about this also.

Do they need a current estimate of your home? Where does that estimate come from? Cost of house if you bought recently? What if you didn't buy recently, where do they take the estimate from?

Posted 1/30/13 2:38 PM
 

Mill188
LIF Adult

Member since 3/09

3073 total posts

Name:

Re: Grieving taxes?

Posted by Goobster

I wanted to ask about this also.

Do they need a current estimate of your home? Where does that estimate come from? Cost of house if you bought recently? What if you didn't buy recently, where do they take the estimate from?



If you bought within the last 18 months or so, you can use your sales price as your market value. Same thing if you did a recent refi.

If you haven't recently purchased or refinanced, you will use recent sales in your neighborhood for comps. As far as what the Towns use for their comps, well, lets just say that's why there are so many companies that do tax assessment appeals!
The various towns/counties actually use complicated computer models and outside companies to set their comparable properties. It's all very subjective.

The majority of homes on Long Island are either grossly over-assessed or under-assessed. Very few are spot-on.

Posted 1/30/13 2:59 PM
 

Lori11514
LIF Infant

Member since 11/10

229 total posts

Name:

Grieving taxes?

If you are organized and have a decent attention to detail, this is something you can do yourself. It's a matter of filling out a form and following up. We did it two years ago successfully and plan on doing it this year.

Posted 1/30/13 7:48 PM
 
 

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