Death By Taxation:

You may have heard that there are two things in life that you cannot avoid: death and taxes. A property owner often feels that he has experienced both when he sees his latest tax bill. Real property taxes have become so onerous, in many jurisdictions, that they are slowly killing the profitability of real estate. You can justifiably say that we are presently experiencing death by taxation.

As a commercial property owner or decision-maker, you are well aware of the impact of high real estate taxes on your property’s annual operating income, its marketability, its leasing options and tenants relationships.

Money that should be flowing straight to your bottom line and bringing you a return via its investment in personal or technology or growth is instead being diverted to making tax payments.

The reality is, a significant percentage of commercial properties are over-assessed.
Over-assessments are not intentional. They result from assessor error, imperfect assessment systems, outdated valuations and rapidly changing real estate market conditions. But however they are caused, less profitability and less capital to invest in your business is their result.

Are you over assessed?

Some property owners are hesitant to challenge their assessments because they feel their property is worth more than the “market value” assigned by the government. While this may or may not be true, what a property could sell for on the open market is often legally irrelevant in determining its assessment value.

A property’s assessed value is determined by an evaluation of its income —– the “income capitalization” approach. Realty Tax Challenge will analyze your property’s finances – its income, its imputed income if you are the sole tenant, its expenses. The “net operating income” and the capitalization rates applied to that figure are the major factors behind a jurisdiction’s assessment calculations.

Through our years of experience evaluating commercial real estate – on behalf of buyers, sellers, lending institutions and the legal community — we will reach a conclusion as to whether you are over-assessed and by how much.