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Negotiating a lease is like a game of chess. Move, countermove - offer, counteroffer - both chess and negotiation depend on the ability to read and adapt to a changing situation, carefully positioning your assets while thinking several steps ahead. A well-executed gambit can win a game - or result in a great deal. Here are seven “strategies” to help guide your commercial lease negotiations. 

 1) “Know thyself” – formulate a budget and know what you can afford.  

In a chess match, if you’re unfamiliar with how your own forces move and work together, you’re going to have an uphill climb towards victory. You need to know the basics of what you can do and what you want to do before you begin. In leasing negotiations, even before bidding on

To rent or not to rent – that is a good question.

You won the mortgage game. You refinanced your loan when rates were in the 2% range, and your monthly payment is super low. As time passes, you find that your home is getting a little too cramped, or a little too big. You might find out that you need to move for work. You hate the idea of losing that low rate. What do you do?

If you can buy your new home without selling your existing property, one option is to rent your home. More and more single-family homes are being rented out as owners look to hold onto the value in cheap loans. 

Still, renting is a scary thought - you’re bringing in a total stranger to live in your home. What if they won’t pay rent? What if they trash the house? These are

I was at a county tax board hearing recently waiting for my case to be called. As I waited, the board heard an appeal by a taxpayer representing himself. There were renovations to the home, and his assessment was increased. The increase was much more than just the cost of the renovations because the town appeared to take into account a recent sale.

 The town had made a lowball offer to settle (less than $500 in tax dollars), but the taxpayer didn’t want to take the offer. His property’s assessment went from under $900,000 to over $1.2 million (about a $6,200 increase in taxes).

 The taxpayer presented evidence of the value of his property, but there were two big problems. First, his sales were rejected, because they didn’t fit into the board&rsq

It’s time to review your property’s assessment for a 2023 tax appeal. What does that process look like?

Because it’s the taxpayer’s job to prove that the tax assessment is too high, we’re looking to see if there is evidence of over-assessment. In other words, could you sell your property for what the tax assessor says it’s worth?

Residential property is usually valued by comparing your home with others that have sold recently, so we usually just ask for the property address. However, if you recently purchased your home, or if you know that a home (or homes) similar to yours sold in your area recently, or if you’ve had the property appraised recently, providing that information can help smooth the review process.

For a commercial property, we look at the

How often have I seen this: New Jersey commercial and residential real estate sale and lease listings sitting on the market getting lowball offers (or no offers) because of high property taxes? Even once is too often. I’ve seen it more than once.

With the highest property taxes in the country, New Jersey buyers and tenants have to be property tax savvy, so it’s no surprise these listings sit for hundreds of days with no movement. So, what’s a seller or landlord to do?

Normally, if the property’s assessment is too high, the simple answer is to file a tax appeal. However, when you’re selling or leasing real estate, every dollar counts. If you file an appeal, spend money on professionals and then sell or lease, will you see any of the tax benefit? Even if the asse

Perhaps you’re ready to take the leap and purchase your first investment property. Or it could be an expansion of your portfolio. Maybe your business has outgrown your leased space, and the best option for you is to buy a new place. Here are five things to know about commercial property taxes in New Jersey when investing in New Jersey real estate:

OK, so maybe this is an obvious one, but it bears repeating and emphasizing. For many New Jersey commercial property owners, property taxes are the single biggest annual expense item. Particularly for investment properties where your NOI determines how much the property is really worth, failing to consider the impact of property taxes

It is common for a New Jersey tax assessor to increase your assessment after buying a property. If you question the higher assessment, you might be told that there is nothing you can do about it. After all, a tax appeal argues that the property is worth less than its assessment. And you just paid about as much or more to buy it. Many, if not most, tax appeal attorneys focus solely on “regular” appeals challenging the assessment based on the property’s value. These attorneys might say that they can’t help you, or that you don’t have a case.  Perhaps they don’t even know that your increase was a result of an illegal spot assessment. Therefore, they’ll say there isn’t anything that can be done. Not so fast.

A New Jersey spot assess

In tax assessment terms, Monmouth County, NJ is a world unto itself. For many property owners, filing deadlines are different. Assessing practices are different. And assessments rarely stay the same from one year to the next. Let’s break down some of the most important ones.

First, assessment notices and filing deadlines. In most New Jersey counties, you can expect to receive your notice of assessment in early February of the tax year, with a filing deadline of April 1. However, in Monmouth County, the same notice would be received in about November of the prior year, and your filing deadline for a county appeal is January 15th. This means that an important notice ab

The assessment of real estate for taxation is the main way NJ allocates the cost of local government among those who share in its benefits.

The intent and goal of tax laws is (or at least should be) the equal distribution of that cost. However, no government system is, or can be, perfect. Some level of inequity is virtually inevitable.

If that is the case, which risk is preferable – the risk of compelling one individual to pay more than their fair share of taxes, or the risk that many people are paying a little more because an individual is paying something less than their fair share? Or put differently, do you favor the right of the individual to not pay more than their fair share, or the right of many?

For many fundamental freedoms, the right of the

New Jersey law provides exemptions from property taxes for properties used for a wide variety of activities beneficial to society. A non-profit organization whose purpose is categorized as tax-exempt by New Jersey law may be eligible for a property tax exemption, provided the property is actually used for that purpose and the activity on the property is not conducted for profit.

​For example, exempt activities of a religious organization may include:

1. Conducting worship services and/or prayer meetings
2. Conducting religious rituals or rites;
3. Storage of documents and artifacts of a religious nature; and
4. Providing a residence for an officiating clergyperson.

​There is no minimum level of exempt activity re

Jersey City recently authorized its Tax Collector to mail out estimated property tax bills that include a significant rate increase. How significant? The rate was raised up to $1.889 per $100 of assessed value, from $1.604 per $100 in 2021.
 
According to the Division of Taxation, the average residential assessment in Jersey City in 2021 was $461,925. At last year’s tax rate, that assessment would yield an annual tax bill of about $7,400. With the new tax rate, that same property owner would pay about $8,700 annually, an increase of about $1,300, or almost 18%!
 
This will also hit homeowners hard this year, because the first two quarters are calcula

New Jersey tax assessors often send information requests to real estate owners in their town. These requests could look like anything from a form letter to a complex form. Regardless of the form, it asks for leasing information, expense details, and particularized property descriptions. Commonly called “Chapter 91” requests, responses to these requests are time-sensitive, can affect your right to appeal your property tax assessment, and should not be ignored. I’ve counseled clients on such requests many times during my 15 years of practice in this field. Accordingly, here are a few answers to some common questions about these requests.
 
WHAT IS A CHAPTER 91 REQUEST?
 
A Chapter 91 request is made by your local tax assesso

A classic spot assessment is the reassessment of a single recently-sold property that isn’t part of a larger scale reassessment or municipal-wide revaluation.
 
It is Illegal!
 
Spot assessments are illegal in New Jersey because the state constitution requires uniform treatment in taxation. In general, reassessments must be performed on all properties as part of a larger reassessment cycle, or else because a single property has been significantly improved upon, to comply with this constitutional requirement. However, when the assessor increases the assessments of only a handful of recently sold properties, he or she has violated this constitutional requirement, and you can seek relief from the increase.
 
There are unscrupulous asses

By now, most every New Jersey real estate owner should have received their property tax assessment postcard. For some reason, if you have not received the postcard, or lost it, call your municipality for a replacement. The postcard tells you the assessed value of your property which is used to determine your property tax bill. This assessment can be wrong. And in New Jersey, every property owner (and some tenants) has the right to appeal their tax assessment. If your assessment is $1,000,000 or less in Monmouth County, it’s already too late - the January 15, 2022, filing deadline has already passed. But the deadline to file an appeal in most locations is April 1st

​It’s that time of year again. If you haven’t already, you will be receiving your New Jersey Property Tax Assessment postcard from your local tax assessor. Keep an eye open for it – it looks something like this:

If you do not receive a postcard or misplace it, you can contact your municipality for a replacement.

What Does the Postcard Say?
​
The postcard tells you the assessed value of your property. Your municipality calculates how much you owe in property taxes using your assessment and the local property tax rate. The assessment is just the local tax assessor’s opinion of your property’s value. Because many factors affect a property’s value, assessments can often be wrong. When the

As a New Jersey property tax appeal attorney, I spend significant time explaining the tax appeal process to clients. This blog is intended to answer some of the most common questions about appeals to the county Boards of Taxation, a.k.a. county tax boards. Appeals to New Jersey’s state Tax Court are different in some ways. Thus, we will address them in another blog post. 

When do I have to file my property tax appeal?

For most of New Jersey, tax appeals must be filed on or before April 1 of the year on appeal, or within 45 days of the bulk mailing of assessment notices. However, the deadline is May 1 when there is municipal-wide revaluation or reassessment.

For counties participating in the “

To function, local governments collect property taxes from commercial property owners and homeowners within their borders. The amount of taxes a property owner pays depends on the assessed value of the property and the local tax rate.  A tax assessment is an opinion of value from the local tax assessor. Because there are many factors that affect a property’s value, assessments can often be wrong. Consequently, the resulting assessment can be excessive or discriminatory.

Excessive/Discriminatory Assessments

Your assessment may be excessive or discriminatory if it meets one of these two standards:

1. True Market Value Standard. In a tax year where the municipality conducts a district wide revaluation or reassessment, all assessments are 100%

Four New Jersey municipalities, a deputy tax assessor and a handful of individual taxpayers have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn a recently-enacted law. The law grants hospitals a tax exemption in exchange for a direct per-bed payment to the municipality. This exemption is in lieu of traditional property taxes.

The case was filed in Mercer County Superior Court. However, Mala Sundar, Presiding Judge of the Tax Court, was temporarily transferred to the Superior Court. Understandably, the court desires expertise in taxation in this case. Thus, it triggered the Tax Court’s limited jurisdiction. The parties have filed cross-motions for summary judgment, with a hearing scheduled for mid-November.

The Issue

The plaintiffs’ primary argument is that the

In a recent unpublished opinion, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court affirmed the dismissal of a complaint seeking leave to impose omitted assessments on Riverview Medical Center, now owned by Meridian Health Corporation, in Red Bank, New Jersey. This unusual situation grows out of a 2015 Tax Court decision entitled AHS Hospital Corp v. Town of Morristown. In that case, an exempt hospital had its exemption revoked due to an alleged change in use and lost its challenge to the assessments imposed by the municipality thereafter. 

In this case, the municipality filed petitions at the county board of taxation, and later at the Tax Court, seeking to impose omitted assessments for 2014 and 2015. Notably, the petitions were filed after