The three words LI home sellers are using to advertise

When trying to seduce a home buyer, there are a handful of words – such as “granite” or “watefront” -- that can get house hunters excited. But this time of year, sellers hope to get lucky using another line: “Taxes being grieved.” At the moment, there are 43 homes on the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island that have this alluring phrase included in the text of their listings.

A tax grievance is a complaint homeowners can file with the assessor if they think their property is being overtaxed – a popular sentiment these days. Since most property values have taken a beating since the subprime mortgage collapse, many tax assessments are no longer in line with the market value of the homes. While nothing is guaranteed, in these cases homeowners have a more-than-decent shot at getting a reduction, said Cori Kaplan of All Island Tax Grievance in Huntington and an agent with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Huntington. “You have to prove it. But if it’s on the market for $500,000 and being assessed at $700,000, it’s very likely that the taxes will be reduced,” she said.

Mentioning in the listing that you’ve begun the lengthy grievance process is smart marketing for two reasons, Kaplan said. The first one is timing: The deadline to file in Nassau this year is March 1, and in Suffolk it’s May 18. Once the deadline passes, homeowners have to wait another year to file. Since the process takes eighteen months or so, a buyer would be stuck with the higher tax bill for quite awhile if the seller hasn’t gotten the ball rolling. The buyer can only file once the house is under contract.

And the second reason is to broaden the pool of potential buyers: The possibility of a tax reduction allows buyers to consider homes in a higher price range. “A buyer can theoretically afford more in purchase price. It makes a huge difference,” Kaplan said.
 

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