Real Property Valuation and Tax Certiorari

Attorney's Practicing in this Area: Dennis G. O'Hara, Managing Partner
James J. O'Connell, Partner
Stephen Ciotoli, Partner
Thomas J. Franta, Associate

A recent independent report from the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax research group based in Washington, D.C., confirmed what many of us living in upstate New York already know - real property taxes along the I-81 and I-90 corridors, from Binghamton to Watertown and Rochester to Utica, are among the highest in the United States.  While there are many root causes for this reality, there are few options available to property owners and managers to reduce that burden.

The process for reducing real property taxes in New York State is a "tax certiorari" proceeding, which gives property owners the right to challenge the assessments of their property.  Following a successful challenge, a reduced assessment will generate both a refund for past overpayments of taxes and future tax savings.  On the other hand, an unsuccessful tax certiorari proceeding will not result in a higher assessed value.

Our real property tax certiorari attorneys have handled tax certiorari matters throughout upstate New York for more than 30 years. We believe that our clients deserve professional and prompt attention, and we put significant effort into evaluating each potential case on its merits before recommending that a property owner challenge their assessment.  By doing so, we seek to reach a fair assessment as early as possible, saving the client time and money.  A surprising number of commercial properties are over-assessed merely because of inaccurate recordkeeping and missed exemptions.  Working with our team of reputable appraisers, we strive to quickly recognize and resolve such discrepancies and errors.

Our Firm represents a wide variety of commercial and industrial properties in tax certiorari proceedings including, but not limited to, apartment buildings, mobile home parks, hotels, golf courses, banks, office buildings, environmentally distressed properties, and manufacturing facilities.  Our geographic practice area covers the Southern Tier, Finger Lakes region, Central New York, the Mohawk Valley and the North Country west of the Adirondack Park. We also accept a limited number of commercial properties outside this area on a case-by-case basis.  Furthermore, to limit the financial risk to property owners, we handle these cases on a contingency basis based on taxes saved and avoided.  No legal fee will be charged unless we achieve a reduction in the assessment and, thus, a decrease in the real property tax.

There is a narrow window of opportunity to evaluate and initiate real property tax certiorari cases.  Thus, if you wish to challenge your industrial or commercial property assessment, it is imperative that you contact our Firm as soon as possible for a free consultation.