About Michael R. Franklin
A property owner tax advocate: a check and balance on the assessor and the Board of Assessment Review, working for an equitable distribution of the tax burden.
“I win because I know what I am doing.”
Who I am
What the video covers
Why an old assessment roll shifts the tax burden onto whoever bought most recently — “welcome stranger” assessing, which New York courts have rejected. Four years deciding these cases as a Small Claims Assessment Review hearing officer, and what that taught me about what actually persuades. The free analysis, how the fee works, and why I will tell you when you are not over-assessed.
My name is Michael R. Franklin. I am a former Small Claims Assessment Review Hearing Officer for the New York State Unified Court System, appointed in the 4th and 5th Judicial Districts and serving four years across six counties. I now represent property owners on the other side of that table.
I am a licensed New York State Real Estate Broker and I have challenged property taxes since 2012. I have advocated for taxpayers in 43 counties to date, all over Upstate New York, and I have handled cases in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Judicial Districts of New York — including every county of the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th.
I have participated in approximately 500 such cases, resolving assessments with the assessor, the Board of Assessment Review and in Small Claims Assessment Review. I have been valuing Upstate New York property since 2001 — what it lists for, sells for, assesses for and appraises for. I am an expert in assessment valuation, and I handle both residential and commercial assessment challenges.
Since 2001
valuing Upstate New York real estate
~500 cases
assessor, Board of Assessment Review and SCAR
43 counties
in six Judicial Districts — every county of the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th
4 years
as a SCAR Hearing Officer for the NYS Unified Court System — 4th and 5th Judicial Districts, 6 counties
Why I can value property with no comparables
The hardest property to assess fairly is the one with no twin — a landmark, a waterfront estate, an Adirondack camp, a church, a mill. There is nothing to compare it to, so the assessor falls back on what it would cost to build, and cost does not tell you what a buyer would pay. That is the property I have spent my working life valuing and selling.
- In 2006 I co-founded Thousand Islands Life with Paul Malo — preservation architect, professor emeritus of architecture at Syracuse University and author of the Thousand Islands trilogy — and built the original publication with him. It has published continuously ever since.
- My aerial photography was commissioned by the Wall Street Journal and published in Harvey H. Kaiser’s Great Camps of the Adirondacks, the standard work on the subject, and in Private Islands Magazine.
- Properties I have marketed have been featured in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal Mansion section, Architectural Digest and on NBC’s Today Show with Barbara Corcoran.
- I have built roughly 250 property-specific websites — a dedicated site, photography and media for one building rather than a listing on a portal — and flown about 400 photography flights over Upstate New York.
None of that reduces your assessment by itself. It is the reason that when an assessor tells me a property has no comparables, I can say what it is actually worth and show the work.
The courts I work in
New York's trial courts are organized into 13 Judicial Districts. Appeals from them go to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, which sits in four Departments. The Department your county is in decides which Appellate Division hears an appeal from your case, and whose decisions carry the most weight in your local courts.
I have handled cases in the 3rd through 8th Judicial Districts — the outlined counties below. Hover over or tap a county to see its district and Department.
Districts and Departments: NYS Unified Court System. County boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau.
What I know, and where I work
I am not an attorney. But I am knowledgeable in New York State's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) and Real Property Tax Law (RPTL), because I deal with them every day.
The assessment review process — the grievance to the Board of Assessment Review (BAR) and Small Claims Assessment Review (SCAR) — is set by New York State law. I cover every county in New York State except New York City and Nassau County. Those two are the State's “special assessing units,” with their own review bodies and rules: the NYC Tax Commission and Nassau's Assessment Review Commission. See every county and municipality I cover.
I am also not an accountant. When I represent you in an assessment challenge I do not act as a real estate broker, and no agency relationship is created. That is set out in the written agreement before we start.
What I believe
I am not against property taxes. I am against some owners paying more than their share so that others can pay less. The law requires every property in a town to be assessed at the same percentage of its value; my work is making that true for your home.
I only take cases I am confident in, and I tell you about every error I find in your property record — including ones that would raise your assessment — so you decide what goes to the assessor.
More video
I explain assessments, FOIL requests and hearings on my YouTube channel, AssessorAudit.
Contact
Phone: 315-876-2262
Email: info@thepropertytaxguy.com
Mail: 1406 North State Street, Syracuse, NY 13208
The first telephone consultation is free.