Property Revaluation 101: the Equalization Ratio

This the first post in a series about property revaluation in Jersey City. Jersey City has been growing at a breakneck speed for the past fifteen years.  As a city grows, it is required to stop along the way and revalue its ...
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Property Revaluation 201: Quantifying Tax Inequity (A Simple Example)

This is part of an ongoing series about property revaluation in Jersey City.  In my last post, I explained how Jersey City’s low equalization ratio was a cause for revaluation.  The reason: when a city’s equalization ratio is low, its market values have ...
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Property Revaluation 301: Estimating Your Post-Revaluation Tax Bill

This is part of an ongoing series about property revaluation in Jersey City. Please note, an update given new state tax data reported in 2017: the 2016 equalized tax rate is reported to be 1.86%.  This is the best predictor of what ...
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Property Revaluation 401: Tax Appeal Math (Chapter 123 Law)

This is part of an ongoing series about property revaluation in Jersey City.  Note: this post presumes an understanding of the equalization ratio, which I previously wrote about in “Property Revaluation 101: the Equalization Ratio.”  With Jersey City officials recently announcing that they would ...
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Property Revaluation 501: Mapping & Color Coding Jersey City Home Sales by Assessment-Sales Ratio

This post is part of an ongoing series about property revaluation in Jersey City.   I partnered with CivicJC to create an interactive map to help residents visualize 2015 property sales in Jersey City and their corresponding taxes. Recent property sales are informing because they are used ...
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Who/What/When/Where/Why of Property Revaluation

WHO conducted Jersey City’s property revaluation? In 2016 Jersey City hired Appraisal Systems, Inc. for $4.4 million to conduct the revaluation. Here are some helpful links about the firm: ASI’s website page for Jersey City residents here. ASI’s generic powerpoint that ...
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Why Property Revaluation is a Social Justice Imperative in Jersey City

Jersey City property taxes, as seen through state compliance data: Jersey City’s last citywide revaluation was in 1988. Jersey City’s 2017 equalization ratio is 23.66%. Jersey City’s 2017 coefficient of deviation is 35.66%. On this map: Green = under-taxed |  Red = ...
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Property Tax & Revaluation Workshop: WHAT is Revaluation? (YouTube Video)

Learn the basics about property revaluation in this 8-minute CivicParent tutorial: ...
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Property Revaluation 701: Property Tax Appeal Math...Are You Over-Assessed? A Tax Math Explainer

This post is meant to help a taxpayer get a jump-start on determining: is my property over-assessed? This post is not intended to cover all nuance that may arise for a particular taxpayer. Nuance abounds, which is why I’ve provided ...
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/ Property Revaluation 101

Open Letter/Comments to Mayor Fulop & City Council: What is being done to pressure-test the need for another citywide revaluation?

Sharing an open letter and thoughts that I read into the record at the City Council meeting on Oct 7, 2020. I’m publishing it on CivicParent as part of a new area of content related to Jersey City’s increasingly outdated ...
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Demand Fair Property Taxation: Using the Equalization Ratio as a Civic Tool

How can taxpayers ensure that local municipal and county governments are keeping property taxes fair and balanced? This excerpt is from the “Standards for Valuing Property” pamphlet published by the NJ Treasury. One suggestion: make sure that assessed values, i.e ...
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Jersey City Property Tax Appeals: A Civic Step-by-Step Overview

For the past 4 years I’ve been researching and writing about property taxes and revaluation (among other topics) on CivicParent. In the past year I’ve also written about tax appeals and I also served on a team of Jersey City ...
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Making Sense of Your New Tax Post Card

I received my new tax postcard in the mail yesterday so I figured I’d share a breakdown of how to read it. This is very similar to the former tax post card, with some notable exceptions: You can now see ...
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Property Revaluation Update: 202 out of 206 Homes on Neptune Ave in Greenville #JerseyCity were Over-Taxed.

I've got another Revaluation update, this one focused on Neptune Avenue which is an East/West street that stretches pretty much across Jersey City's south Greenville neighborhood.  Similar to other Greenville Revaluation-related updates, this is a story of systemic overtaxation that ...
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Country Village Revaluation Update: $3+ Million Estimated Tax Expense Reduction (and counting...)

Country Village / Our Lady of Mercy Revaluation Update: $3 million tax expense reduction (and counting...) for selected blocks March 18 2018.  Appraisal Systems released a new batch of assessments on March 16th - the same day Jersey City's public ...
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Quick Analysis: Tax Expense Change on the West Side, south of Lincoln Park

February 27, 2018.  Appraisal Systems released a new batch of assessments this morning and I was most curious about tax change in systemically over-taxed areas.  I was hoping streets in Country Village would be listed because, per estimates released by ...
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Property Tax Rate Math: A Quick Breakdown

Understanding the Tax Rate that Drives Your Property Tax Expense General Tax Rate = Total Levy / Tax Base. February 25, 2018. I got a question recently about the tax rate as it relates to property taxes. It prompted me ...
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JerseyCity Revaluation Update: Society Hill Highlighted

Updated: Feb 19, 2018.  Appraisal Systems today published on its website an updated assessments file with about 1,950 new properties added (note: I won’t be updating this page with every single new release from Appraisal Systems…but I have a property ...
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Property Tax Revaluation: Will my property tax expense go up or down? (YouTube Video)

Learn how to compute if your property tax expense will go up or down in a citywide revaluation. It’s helpful to have a calculator, pen, and paper on hand while watching this video ...
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Property Tax & Revaluation Workshop: WHAT is Revaluation? (YouTube Video)

Learn the basics about property revaluation in this 8-minute CivicParent tutorial: ...
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Jersey City 2017 Sales for Class "2" (1-4 Family) Properties, Mapped

This post is part of my effort to share information about Jersey City’s Property Revaluation.  I wrote a Revaluation series last year which you can read  here.   In a citywide revaluation, your new assessment should equal your market value.  When ...
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Am I Paying Too Much in Property Tax?

Figure out your ASSESSED value ASSESSED Value = Your home’s value according to the GOVERNMENT. Your assessed value is what the city thinks your property is worth for property taxation purposes. It is the basis on which your tax bill ...
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Why Property Revaluation is a Social Justice Imperative in Jersey City

Jersey City property taxes, as seen through state compliance data: Jersey City’s last citywide revaluation was in 1988. Jersey City’s 2017 equalization ratio is 23.66%. Jersey City’s 2017 coefficient of deviation is 35.66%. On this map: Green = under-taxed |  Red = ...
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Who/What/When/Where/Why of Property Revaluation

WHO conducted Jersey City’s property revaluation? In 2016 Jersey City hired Appraisal Systems, Inc. for $4.4 million to conduct the revaluation. Here are some helpful links about the firm: ASI’s website page for Jersey City residents here. ASI’s generic powerpoint that ...
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Jersey City Together Helped Homeowners Save $40,000+ via Tax Appeal Workshops

Jersey City Together Tax Appeal Workshop. In March 2017 I worked with a team of Jersey City Together leaders to provide a tax appeals workshop.  We invited homeowners to meet with us to determine if their homes were over-assessed which, ...
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Jersey City Revaluation: Interactive Map Now Available from ASI, Inc.

Jersey City is undergoing a multi-month Revaluation process and appraisal firm ASI, Inc. is currently assessing all properties throughout the city.  I wrote about the April 3rd Ward “A” revaluation presentation, hosted by ASI, Inc, and one promise from that meeting: that an ...
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Jersey City Revaluation: Intro from ASI Inc, the firm doing the Revaluation

I attended the Ward “A” revaluation meeting on April 3rd and had a chance to listen to a representative from Appraisal Systems, Inc., the third-party appraisal firm hired by Jersey City to conduct the revaluation.  Mark Duda presented; he is an ASI ...
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Fulop's Spokesperson Wrong on Property Tax Appeals Logic

Steven Fulop’s press person, Jennifer Morrill, made an egregious error on the record this month when she characterized tax appeals as not being based on sales prices.  Tax appeals are, in fact, based explicitly on recent comparable sales prices. Ms. Morrill’s ...
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An Analysis of 2015 Jersey City Property Sales - by Ward

This is a guest post from Jersey City resident and mortgage industry professional Susan Kulakowski.  Susan reached out to me after reading my last post, “Property Revaluation 501: Mapping & Color Coding Jersey City Home Sales by Assessment-Sales Ratio.”  She analyzed the ...
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