ARE YOU OVER ASSESSED?
“I win because I know what I am doing” — Michael R. Franklin
Across much of Upstate New York the assessment roll has not been updated in years. When a home sells, the assessor often raises its assessment toward the sale price, while the neighbours who did not sell keep their old, lower figures. The new owner ends up carrying a bigger share of the tax bill than the law allows.
You pay nothing unless a reduction is secured.
In most New York towns, Grievance Day — the last day to file with the Board of Assessment Review — is the fourth Tuesday in May. The next one is . Cities and some towns set their own dates (in Syracuse, the last two weeks of January), so check yours — or ask me.
~500 cases
resolved with assessors, Boards of Assessment Review and in SCAR
Former SCAR
Hearing Officer
NYS Unified Court System, 4 years in 6 counties
42 counties
across Upstate New York, in six Judicial Districts
25 years
of what Upstate homes list, sell, assess and appraise for
Michael R. Franklin, licensed New York State Real Estate Broker. Residential and commercial assessment challenges. More about me.
Where I work
Every county in New York State except New York City and Nassau
Grievances to the Board of Assessment Review and Small Claims Assessment Review are set by State law, so I can take your case wherever your property is — from Chautauqua to Suffolk, from St. Lawrence to Rockland.
- 56 counties
- 1,036 cities, towns and villages that assess
- Every village within them
Click or tap any county on the map to see when its tentative assessment roll comes out and when Grievance Day is.
Got our postcard?
It was built from public records: your sale, your assessment, and the ratio the State publishes for your town. Here is what each number means, and a calculator to check it yourself.
How it works
A free phone call, a free look at your numbers, and a written agreement before anything is filed. Then the grievance, and if needed, Small Claims Assessment Review. The full process and fees.
Why it happens
Reassessing homes because they sold, while leaving the rest of the roll alone, is known as “welcome stranger” assessing. New York courts have rejected it. What the law says.
My objective: get the assessment right
I quantitatively and objectively analyze your property. My objective is to get the assessment right — nothing more and nothing less than what is allowed by law and is equitable.
A free analysis of your property
Call or email and I will generate a free analysis of your property.
- If you are over-assessed, I will show you what the potential savings are.
- If you are not over-assessed, I will demonstrate exactly why.
I will not just give you my opinion. I will calculate it for you quantitatively, so you know why you are either over-assessed or not. I can prove to you what the results are and how they were calculated.
Getting it right cuts both ways. If I find an error in your property record that would raise your assessment, I tell you before anything goes to the assessor, and you decide how to proceed.
In my own words: “I have won reductions in excess of 90% of my cases,” largely because I turn down the ones I would not win.
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