December 11, 2018
NYREJ Ask the Experts: Nassau County revaluation figures have arrived with many questions from property owners
All property owners in Nassau County received new assessment notices this past November. These notices also contained new market values for each property. However, they did not contain the figure most important to both commercial and residential property owners: What are my new taxes going to be?
Nassau County has begun to address this concern with a second set of “tax impact notices.” However, these notices provide potential taxes if the assessments are implemented, but also provide another figure that assumes legislation will be passed to phase in any tax increases.
Additionally, the notices predict taxes for 2020 as compared to the 2017/18 tax year. A number of variables have yet to be determined for the 2020/21 tax year, including budgets and resulting tax rates which are sure to rise.
The data used to determine these figures has been reviewed for the past year and examined by consultants hired by the county to perform the revaluation. Under the law, the values must reflect the fair market value as of January 2nd, 2019. Even the most informed experts have acknowledged the difficulty in projecting residential values with rising mortgage rates and the cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions. Such a monumental change that led to thousands of taxpayers lining up to prepay taxes last December has only begun to effect purchase prices as the market adjusts to the reality of SALT. Taking prior year sales and applying recent trends may prove to be the exact opposite of the true state of the market on January 2nd, 2019.
Similarly, brick and mortar retail properties continue to change rapidly with the closings of major retailers such as Toys R Us and Sears occurring throughout the year. Retail continues to be a moving target with additional K-Mart’s and Bob’s Stores closing in just the past few weeks. These closings create thousands of square feet that must be absorbed or repurposed which directly effects the rental rates at those properties, but also for competitors as owners seek to attract the few retail tenants that are opening or relocating. All of these occurrences will have an impact on the market as January 2, 2019, but it remains to be seen if the revaluation figures will be adjusted to reflect that new reality.
The county executive has vowed to “fix” the assessment system, but has recently acknowledged that many taxpayers will be unhappy stating, “About half of Nassau’s property owners will see a decrease in their taxes, while the other half will experience increases.” In the same statement the county executive acknowledged the political risks of attacking such a lightning rod topic and the universal public hatred of property taxes. However, the only thing property owners dislike more than property taxes are property taxes coupled with additional uncertainty. The current set of circumstances result in new figures that cannot be entirely deciphered as of yet, which has caused alarm for owners.
Even with the best intentions, mass appraisal is a difficult manner in which to arrive at accurate values. Further complicating the process is the fact that Nassau County has also changed the assessment ratios, which have yet to be determined to be accurate. If the tax impact notices are based upon prior inaccurate assessment ratios this would result in misleading conclusions.
The uncertainty surrounding the true impact of the new assessments can have a chilling effect upon owners as they choose whether or not to invest in Nassau County or bring their business elsewhere. The effect will also snowball as existing homeowners allocate increasing amounts of disposable income towards their taxes as they brace for the impact of SALT on top of new assessments and potential increases. These changes in investment and spending have a direct and significant effect on sales tax revenue and local businesses.
Nassau County consistently ranks in the top five of property taxes nationwide by almost any metric. The fact that the underlying taxes are amongst the highest in the country still remains true even when the assessments are accurate or not. A redistribution of these taxes does little to alleviate that burden. Certainly the county should seek to have accurate assessments, but that does not solve the underlying issue of high property taxes which is the major impediment to growth and investment in the future in Nassau County.
Brad Cronin, Esq., and Sean Cronin, Esq., are partners at Cronin & Cronin Law Firm, PLLC, Mineola, N.Y.
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Brad W. Cronin, Esq.
Brad W. Cronin is the founding Partner at Cronin & Cronin Law Firm. He has over 40 years of Legal Experience. Brad represents a cross section of many of the largest New York developers, property owners, national corporations, REITs and retail chains. He has extensive trial experience having successfully litigated and resolved high profile cases throughout New York State which has resulted in a number of landmark decisions in the field of Tax Certiorari.
Over the years Brad’s reputation for honesty and integrity has led to long term relationships with municipal assessment officials. His expertise and extensive experience along with his reputation has resulted in some of the highest property tax reductions in New York State.
Brad has been selected as a Who’s Who of Long Island Business News for the past 7 years in the fields of Tax Certiorari law and Real Estate Law. Each year Long Island Business News honors business leaders whose creative approach to challenges and positive results help to make Long Island better.
For over 30 years Brad has earned the highest rating awarded by Martindale Hubbell in both competency and ethics in his field. This is an honor bestowed on him by his peers for his professional excellence.
Brad is a columnist for the New York Real Estate Journal’s “Ask the Expert” quarterly feature discussing current real property tax issues. Some issues addressed are Hurricane Sandy’s effect on property taxes, Nassau County’s Disputed Assessment Fund, emerging market trends, New York’s property tax rates, and how your purchase price can affect your taxes.
Brad has been an invited speaker and participant on various panels involving different subjects affecting tax certiorari and valuation of property such as condominiums, environmental contamination, and reviewing changes in the tax certiorari field. As a member of the Nassau and Suffolk Condemnation and Tax Certiorari committees, he has worked to implement changes to facilitate the timely resolution of commercial tax protests.
Brad currently serves as executive member of the steering committee and served as Co-President of the Long Island Real Estate Group for three years. This organization has supported various Long Island charities, as well as real estate related projects, educational real estate programs and networking events. He is Cofounder of the North Shore University Hospital Department of Medicine Leadership Circle Committee and serves on the Village of Plandome Planning Board.
Sean M. Cronin, Esq.
Sean M. Cronin is a founding partner at Cronin & Cronin Law Firm with over 20 years experience. He specializes in negotiating tax certiorari matters for prominent developers, national REITs and tenants in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties, as well as the five boroughs. He is responsible for successfully reducing the assessments, and thereby the real estate taxes, on many of the largest properties in New York State thanks to his expertise in property valuation issues and knowledge of market conditions and demographics. His clients include developers and owners of all property types, including office buildings, industrial buildings, shopping centers and retail locations, restaurants, apartment buildings and condominium complexes, golf courses and assisted living facilities.
Sean is an Executive Board member and past Co-President of the Long Island Real Estate Group, a charitable organization created to support local communities. He is an Executive Board Member of Vision Long Island which advances more livable, economically sustainable, and environmentally responsible growth on Long Island through Smart Growth. Sean is an Advisory Board Member of the Viscardi Center and on the Board of Advisors of the Energeia Partnership. He is an active member of the Chaminade Lawyer’s Association and Real Estate Group as well as the Washington & Lee Alumni Association.
Sean is featured regularly in the New York Real Estate Journal’s “Ask the Expert” section and has been quoted in various publications, including the Long Island Business News and Newsday. He has been recognized by the Long Island Business News as a “Who’s Who in Commercial Real Estate” multiple times, most recently in 2023 and by the Long Island Herald as the Top Tax Certiorari Attorney in 2023.
