Three questions for appraiser Jeffrey Jackson as NYC home tax challenge deadline looms

Jackson is the co-founder of appraisal firm Mitchell, Maxwell & Jackson. The firm, which covers New York and Connecticut, processes more than 30,000 reports annually representing over $3 billion worth of property.

The deadline to challenge a home’s 2010 assessed value in New York City is March 1. What are the major problems with tax assessments in a down market?  
The major problem is the ability of the assessors to capture the true market. The rate of change has been exceptional and unprecedented.

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How many appeals do you expect to file by March 1?
We expect to file a dozen or so.

In what neighborhoods are there the most assessment problems today and why?
The biggest problems are not neighborhood specific. Rather, they are with properties that were bought at the peak of the market. Many of the so called “trophy properties” are the ones that in retrospect over-sold and therefore have the most egregious assessments today.
 
Compiled by Lauren Elkies