Residents Tell Assessors They’re Wrong About Rye Property Values

Property owners in Rye City and Rye Town who filed assessment challenges this year had a variety of reasons for doing so, from claiming that the city had unfairly assessed their property at close to $1 million above market value to arguing that taxes in general are just too high.

Residents filed this year. In the City of Rye, property owners filed 408 claims, an almost 40 percent increase from 2009. In the Town of Rye 607 claims were filed, a 27 percent decrease from 2009.

Many of the homeowners contacted from a random sampling of tax grievance claims refused to speak about their claims, but based on the filings the three largest overall complaints were: that the assessment was too high; that the value didn't represent what neighbors were selling their houses for, and that taxes are too high.

Tristram Baer and Lisa Wright-Baer filed a tax grievance using the second rationale as the basis for lowering their assessed value. The Baers asked the city to lower its assessment on their Oneida Street home by almost $300,000, from $1.572 million to $1.275 million. They cited two homes on a nearby street with the same acreage that sold for $1.37 million and $1.275 million, respectively. The Baer's home was purchased in 2009 for $1.74 million.

Emily Nachshen is challenging the assessment of her property on Grandview Avenue. According to the grievance filing, Nachshen paid $275,000 for her home in 1994 and believes her assessment of $516,000 exceeds the full value of the property and therefore should be lowered.

"Last year I tried to put the house on the market and the real estate agent said the house was worth $200,000 - $300,000 less than it was assessed," Nachshen said. "I took it off the market because it was valued too low."

The assessment value and the market value of a property are not necessarily equal. A number of factors go into determining assessed value, including market value, purchase price and land value.

The city's assessment level or equalization rate is 2.16 percent of the full market value of the home. Some of the property claims sought an adjustment of that rate to two percent or lower of the home's total market value, in some cases the adjustment sought was as low as one percent. Lowering that assessment rate could mean big savings for residents who live in the most expensive county in the country, where the average yearly tax bill is close to $9,000.

However, property assessment challenges pose difficulties for the city in preparing its budget and for the school system. Residential and commercial property owners can challenge their assessments by filing a small claim or a certiorari petition, which usually occurs after the Board of Assessment Review has denied their original claim.

Both the Blind Brook and Rye City School districts are responsible for issuing tax refunds to owners who win legal challenges to their assessments, and both Rye City and the Village of Rye Brook must take into account lower property tax revenues when preparing their budgets if a significant percentage of homeowners are successful in the tax grievance process. 

"The City was anticipating about a 50 percent increase so this is trending as expected," Mayor Doug French said of the 40 percent increase in assessment challenges. "There are two factors: One is the economy and the other is a cottage industry that has been born with individuals and companies from surrounding municipalities soliciting grievances to be filed."

The latter statement may be right. Several property owners in Rye are using companies—such as Empire Tax Reductions and Herman Katz Cangemi & Clyne, LLP in Garden City, Tax Reductions Plus in Mamaroneck, and Bruce Sokol & Associates in White Plains—to represent them during the grievance process.

For example, one Rye property owner, Donald Keller, filed a tax grievance arguing that the total market value of his home was significantly less than the city's $2.34 million assessed value. Keller, who is being represented by Bruce Sokol & Associates in the grievance process, said a 2009 appraisal performed by the company determined that the full market value of his home was only $1.4 million, almost $1 million less than the city's assessment. However, according to Keller's grievance filing, the purpose of the appraisal was to file a tax appeal. Both Keller and Bruce Sokol & Associates declined to comment for this story.

Other Rye property owners, like Nachshen, who has challenged property assessments in both the city and the town of Rye, said it is sometimes necessary to hire an outside company to determine the true value of a home. 

"There is no system to make comparisons in Rye," Nachshen said. "It's harder to do unless you hire an appraiser."

Some Rye Town homeowners said the municipality's assessments are way off base.

Mary Lynn Begasse of Port Chester is seeking a reduction on the home she has lived in for nine years, saying it's more than $100,000 overvalued.

"Property taxes are ridiculously high," Begasse said. "I wouldn't be questioning the taxes if the school system was good. I've lived in three other districts and this is the most I've ever paid for the school system and I'm not happy with it."

Unlike the city, the town, which is responsible for collecting taxes for the villages of Port Chester and Rye Brook, has a fiscal year that begins in June and budget discussions begin in December, giving the town more time to see what happens with the property assessment challenges. However, both Rye City and Rye Town will be making decisions on assessment challenges in September.

"Just because someone filed doesn't mean that it will be successful, so it's premature. Rye Brook Mayor Joan Feinstein said. "We don't have to make determinations until we know what happens."