Anyone else got screwed by misrepresentation of property taxes?

One more thought… not sure if you have looked… You may have been given accurate info as to what the prior owner was paying. The issue may lie in what the prior “assessed value” was. If the prior assessed value was way low, then the prior owner would have been paying far less in taxes than the now updated assessed value comes to. Sometimes the assessors office misses updating assessments for years, then when the property changes hands, it gets updated. You may want to save yourself some legal fees and see what the prior assessed value was, and do the calculation ($$$ per 1,000 times assessed value) yourself. I don’t know if there is something as simple as an assessors office in Brooklyn or if its more complicated than that. Hope this helps and best of luck to you. Matt R www.nyc-hs.com

mruby36

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mabes | 11 years and 10 months ago

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Hi There, My husband and I recently purchased a new condo in Brooklyn and received the shock of our lives with a tax bill double the estimate listed on the advertisement and offering plan. We wonder if there are any other folks out there who encountered the same issue, and how they’ve dealt with it? We are really pissed off with our broker and developers for falsely quoting tax prices that are just plain lies and wrong. They should not be allowed to do this. We understand that the language throughout reads “estimate” but to be 100% off is simply insane. I cannot believe there is really no recourse? Who is responsible for the interest of the buyer and clearly defining a potential disastrous outcome like this? I would appreciate anyone else to share similar stories or advice. Thank you.

mozeeatupu | 11 years and 10 months ago

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This would fall under the due diligence the buyer needs do before purchasing. It is essentially the buyer’s responsibility to confirm all the information given by a realtor. The buyer is ultimately responsible for their own interests. If its a resale, an abatement might have ended.

mabes | 11 years and 10 months ago

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How and where would someone even confirm this information? Is it not up to the lawyer as well to do the due diligence on this. I think brokers are simply negligent. Why aren’t they verifiying the information of the developers before they go off an advertise this and lure people in with an intentionally bad information. I am certain we are not the only people this has happened to, in fact my whole building is in the same boat and we are angry. If this were prescription drugs or the securities commission they’d have to list all the warnings, same should go for real estate!!

Augustiner | 11 years and 10 months ago

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If it’s a new condo and it was falsely advertised in brochures, there must be a way to put pressure on them with a lawyer. If this is a scheme the developer has going and a lawsuit against them would be potentially successful, they might offer you a deal just to keep you quiet. Get a lawyer involved.

housepoor | 11 years and 10 months ago

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If it is new development won’t the updated taxes reflect the improvements made, which in turn are a function of the tax assessor’s estimates? The developer (and realtor) may not have had that information — only what the taxes were. Take a look at the old taxes on the building and see if there might be some connection to those figures and the marketing numbers. You might be able to prove that they should have known their “estimates” would be off and have made that clearer — but it might be an uphill battle if they used the only hard information that they had available. It may be like what happens when you buy a brownstone and gut it. The taxes will go up (reflecting the increase in value), but you don’t really know by how much until you get the bill. And making comparisons from one building to another is informative, but never accurate. You may want to get a tax certiorari lawyer to look at whether protesting the tax assessment to the City makes sense. Good luck.

msiaintleavinbk | 11 years and 10 months ago

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I can just imagine the look on you and your husband’s face when you opened that statement! Like mozeeatupu stated, the buyer’s have to do their homework prior to purchasing an asset. Can’t really blame the broker & developer for free information that is disclosed on nyc.gov. Why don’t you try to appeal it? The process is called tax certiorari.

mabes | 11 years and 10 months ago

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Thanks everyone. We are trying to appeal the taxes. In the meantime, we are looking for other new condo buyers who’ve encountered the same issue, being misled by quoted priced on an offering plan or listing from a broker and developer. They had a tax assessor run the numbers and told us the numbers were accurate, so I feel they misled us and I think it’s wrong. I don’t think this type of practice should be allowed. Again, if anyone else out there has gone through a similar experience, please let me know, I’d like to reach out to you directly.

mortgagepro | 11 years and 10 months ago

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When financing is involved the appraisal will reflect the taxes currently reflected within the public record. However, more accurate and whether or not their is financing, a tax certification will be performed by the Title Company, confirming the current taxes, whether paid or open and when taxes are due. Any exemptions or abatement will also be reflected. New construction is always VERY difficult to estimate and I would turn to your attorney to see if there is any recourse if there truly appears to be deception on behalf of the developer/seller. As mentioned, due diligence by the buyer to confirm (or minimally have your attorney confirm) is always best. -Adam Roberts South Shore Mortgage 631-956-0111 x218 adamr@fast2fund.com

mabes | 11 years and 10 months ago

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Yes, it’s obvious too that our lawyer didn’t do an accurate due diligence on this. I understand now that it’s VERY difficult to assess, but that should have been stated upfront rather leading us to believe we were in the ballpark with their listed numbers. If you don’t know, say nothing. I really resent the brokers for even writing a figure down if in fact they don’t have any idea until after. It really would’ve changed our buying decision. Brokers and developers shouldn’t even speak to the matter if they are going to be so off. I know we are not the only people this has happened, and I am looking to find others to speak to.

boredatwork | 11 years and 10 months ago

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If there was misrepresentation in the offering plan, the Attorney General of the State of NY might be able to offer some help. Why not speak to some of your new neighbors in the building to see if they are in the same position and then approach the AG as a group. Didnt you learn of the actual taxes at closing (or hopefully prior)? As another poster mentioned above, your lawyer, who represents your interests, the bank’s lawyer ( assuming there is a mortgage), and the title company should have been able to ascertain the RE taxes. The broker, the developer and their “tax assessor” ahave NO OBLIGATION TO YOU and only have to operate according to the law. I think this is a case of buyer beware.

peace | 11 years and 10 months ago

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If you were represented by a broker, I really don’t think the fault lies there. The broker for the seller, however, may have erred. Certainly, your attorney should have done their due diligence and conveyed this info to you IF they were able to be aware of the impending increase. It may not be worth it financially for you to hire an attorney alone, but if you could group together with others in your building, then it may become a viable option.

mabes | 11 years and 10 months ago

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    string(19) "2017-08-10 13:41:18"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(5) "mabes"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(179814)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(1) {
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(1) {
    [0]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(1) {
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

Thanks everyone. Yes, going to take this up with the Attorney General. All the tenants in the building are in the same boat and interested in escalating. I am speaking about the seller broker and our lawyer in the this case. Fundamentally, the rules have to change, this is just bad business practice. Say nothing if you don’t know, don’t relay information based on really bad information.