Given there are very few remaining shopping days before Christmas and we all are facing various issues including but not limited to remarkably cold weather, finding those last few gifts, COVID around the City and beyond, and the specter of soon-to-be released 2022 real estate taxes, we want to wish you happy holidays to you and your family and loved ones!
Each year, the City of New York calculates the assessment (value) of a property on which they base your property taxes. This number almost always varies from the City’s officially-stated “market value.” Because this number — the assessment — is the basis for your real estate taxes, the assessment of your property/properties is the figure we work so hard each year to reduce. Assuming we’re successful in getting the City to reduce your assessment, that property’s real estate taxes will, by definition, decrease as well.
The City calculates the assessment for – literally – every property in the five boroughs; by January 5th of each year, which the City refers to as the Taxable Status Date, these numbers are finalized. Approximately ten days thereafter (January 15th) the City publishes these assessments; we obtain these figures and compile them and prepare the paperwork which we subsequently send to you for review and execution/signature.
Since many of you have been remote – because of COVID, weather, vacation or a combination thereof – and we typically send these papers to you by US mail, we want to make sure the papers are being sent to the correct address. We make sure to send this paperwork out as soon as possible to allow you as much time to review and address any questions or issues inherent in these materials. If we send them quickly but to the wrong place, they might get lost, ignored or never reach you.
Please contact us and let us know if you’re not at your typical address – if you’ve temporarily relocated or are somewhere you normally don’t spend much time, please email or call us and let us know you’re somewhere else. There’s no way to know when the City will specifically release this information but it’s usually around January 15th so the sooner you let us know where you expect to be and will ideally receive mail from us, the better.
If you’d prefer we send you the paperwork by email please let us know. The papers need to be printed double-sided so if you have access to a double-sided printer we can accommodate that.
Either way, please let us know and don’t hesitate reaching out to us if you have any questions.
We wish you a happy, healthy and safe holiday season and a productive, enjoyable year going forward.
Richard Chernoff
New York Advisory Services, Inc.