Grievance Day - 4th Tuesday in May
On Grievance Day, the Grievance Board meets between 1 pm - 4 pm and 6 pm - 8 pm at Wawayanda Town Hall. Your assessment should roughly reflect the value for which you can sell your property. However, assessing property is not a science, and sometimes you may disagree with the assessor's estimate.
REMEMBER: The burden of proof is on the applicant/owner of the property, or the person authorized to file the grievance. You must provide documents, or recent sales, and pictures to prove your case.
Anyone who wishes to file a formal complaint on their assessment must apply for assessment review with the Board of Assessment Review (BOAR) Between May 1, 2024, and May 28, 2024. Completed applications (RP-524) should be submitted to the Assessor’s Office on or before this date with your supporting documentation.
If you have a concern, the earlier you meet with the assessor, the easier it is to make modifications.
The Assessor can review your property and make modifications, if necessary, before May 1st of each year. After May 1st, you must file a grievance. You may appear in person, and present additional documentation to the BOAR to support your opinion of the property value.
Watch a short video - Is Your Assessment Fair?
Watch a short video - Contesting your Property Assessment
Watch a short video - About your Property Taxes and Assessment
New York State Tax and Finance has put together an informational page regarding "Contesting your Assessment."
Supporting Documents:
Supporting Documents can be a recent appraisal of your property. Have you had an appraisal completed in the last 12 - 18 months? If you have recently purchased your property or refinanced your mortgage, you will have an appraisal. The appraisal may be used as supporting documentation to prove your grievance.
You can find homes like yours ( same size, same style, year built, school district, etc) that have recently sold in your area. You can search for home sales on Orange County Imagemate. On imagemate search for your property 1st, once you are in your property you will see a button on the left side that reads "Comparables", click comparable. At the bottom of the comparable screen click sales, the default search is set for assessment. Also, remove some default search criteria if necessary. If you need help, please call the assessor's office, 845-355-5700 ext. 9 or Orange County Office of Real Property, 845-291-2490.
**** Comparable sales must be dated between July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023****
****Appraisals must contain comparable sales between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023****
You may be able to find home sales information on zillow.com