Four apartment buildings win multi-year tax appeals

Continuing a trend in recent years, four apartment complexes won tax appeals totaling more than $54,000 across a number of tax years, ranging in reductions from 7 to almost 20 percent.

City Council approved a resolution (AR-211-14) at its meeting last week “authorizing the tax collector to credit overpayment of taxes due to a judgment of the Tax Court of New Jersey.”

The four properties are generally two stories and similar styles, built between 1952 and 1965, and vary in the number of units, with a total recent assessment of $2.717 million, paying at least $170,000 in property taxes annually. The credits total about 15 percent of the overall tax bills for the four properties over the various tax years. All four have separate LLC entities listed as the owner, with a common address of 1155 St. Georges Ave. Here’s a spreadsheet that breaks it down with totals by property and by year.

Tax appeal - West HazelwoodThe largest of the four properties appears to be 373-437 W. Hazelwood Ave. (Block 102, Lot 6) based on its assessment of $1,133,700 (reduced from $1,215,000). Built in 1952, the site paid about $70,335 in property taxes last year. The tax appeal authorized credits of $28,476.37 over three years — $12,590.76 for 2011, $10,969.40 for 2012 and $4,916.21 for 2013).

Tax appeal - St. Georges AveThe smallest of the four properties, at 2063-65 St. Georges Ave. (Block 244, Lot 20), had four years of appeals. Built in 1955, the property at the corner of West Scott Avenue paid about $15,510 in property taxes and was assessed at $250,000 (previously $300,000). The four years of credits total $11,390.50 — $2,564 for 2010, $2882.50 for 2011, $2,920.50 for 2012 and $3,023.50 for 2013.

Tax appeal - Seminary AvenueAnother of the properties is 337 Seminary Ave. (Block 164, Lot 2), which is assessed at $843,500 and typically paid about $52,331 in annual taxes. Built in 1965, the property will receive tax credits of $10,893, with $5,128 for 2010 and $5,765 for 2011.

Finally, there’s 39-24 W. Hazelwood Ave. (Block 84, Lot 24). The 1959 building was assessed at $490,000 and paid about $30,400 in taxes last year but won an appeal of $3,589.60 credit for 2013.

While tax appeals were generally down in 2013 with about 130, these appeals that advanced past the county level to the state Tax Court will add to the numbers, and that followed what appears to be a record year in 2012 was a record for tax appeals with more than 350. City Council approved a few other  tax appeal last week and I’ll post about them when I gather more details.

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