The Process

If your property is over-assessed, Grievance Day may be able to help.  Grievance Day has helped other Albany, Saratoga and Capital Region area property owners successfully lower their assessments.

If retained I will prepare and submit all required forms and paperwork, interface with the Assessor and/or Board of Assessment Review and, if still necessary, the Small Claims Assessment Review Hearing Officers (you do not have to appear at any hearings if you don’t want to).  With the exception of a few signatures, I will handle all of the details involved in filing your petition.  My fee is reasonable and I provide prompt, professional and courteous service.

Once you decide to proceed I will begin the process. I keep you apprised of my progress and provide you with copies of all submitted paperwork. I have personally assisted hundreds of satisfied customers.

If you would like more information, or to retain my services, please feel free to give me a call at (518) 441-0508, or send an email at [email protected].

Estimate Market Value

How to Estimate the Market Value of your Homefiling a tax grievance albany county

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Why should I estimate my home’s market value?
Establishing your home’s market value gives you greater control over your property taxes, insurance premiums, and the sale or refinancing of your home. Many people hire professional appraisers to estimate their home’s market value. However, there’s no reason why you can’t do it yourself by following a few simple steps outlined below.

What is market value?
Market value is how much a home would sell for under normal conditions. This excludes sales where the buyer or seller is under pressure to act, perhaps due to career relocation, death of a family member, or divorce. Market value is basically an educated guess, but it can be fairly accurate if you apply the right method and consider all the important details.

A number of factors may affect your home’s market value, including:

  • External characteristics – “curb appeal,” home condition, lot size, popularity of an architectural style of property, water/sewage systems, sidewalk, paved road, etc.
  • Internal characteristics – size and number of rooms, construction quality, appliance condition, demonstrated “pride of ownership,” heating type, energy efficiency, etc.
  • Supply and demand – the number of homes for sale versus the number of buyers; how quickly the homes in your area sell.
  • Location – desirability for a particular school district, neighborhood, etc.

How do I estimate my home’s market value?
We recommend you use the sales comparison approach to estimate your home’s market value. This is the primary method used by professional appraisers and real estate agents to determine the market value of homes.

Begin by researching recent sales of similar properties in the local area. The sale prices of these properties will provide a good place to start with in estimating your home’s value. Try to find sales of least three properties that are comparable to your home. If possible, make sure these properties were sold under normal conditions. You only want properties sold at market value.

Filing a Tax Grievance

Understanding The Property Tax Grievance Process

The property tax grievance process is complicated. You need to complete research, fill out the appropriate forms correctly and write a supporting letter. You also need to get all your paperwork submitted by deadline to your town court. 

The Assessment

Your municipality’s assessor does not determine your property taxes, the assessor’s role is to determine what the market value is for your property. The assor performs a comparable sales analysis, similar to a real estate agent or appraiser, when determining the value of your home.

The Assessment Roll

Your tax assessor will determin the assessed value of all the properties in a municipality and publish the tax roll. The roll is a comprehensive listing of all properties, including market value and assessed value. For most municipalities, the roll is published in the first week of May, a few weeks before grievance applications are due.  The purpose of the roll is to provide property owners with fair notice to see the assessor’s determination of their market and assessed value. The tax roll provides the market value and assessed value upon which taxes will be based.

Researching Grounds for a Grievance

A property owners can make a distinct claims for a grievance. Most Grievance Day filings are for Improperly classification or Unequal Assessment.  A claim of “Unequal Assessment” is the most common. It is a contest against the over-estimated the market value of your property, resulting in a higher assessment than other comparable properties. 

If the review of your property’s market value compated to the comparable properties demonstrates that your market value was too highly assessed, then you may have grounds for filing a grievance petition.

Grievance Day

To file a complaint grieving your property taxes you must submit appropriate paperwork and supporting documentation by the deadline established by your municipality. The deadline is usually a few weeks after the roll is published in May. This is “Grievance Day” for the Greater Capital Region.   On Grievance Day a Board of Assessment Review (“BAR”) will meet to start the process of evaluating grievance petitions.