Field and Goldberg, LLC is a boutique real estate law firm practicing exclusively in the areas of real estate taxation, real estate transactions, and real estate litigation.
Real Estate Tax Assessments
Our firm zealously represents owners, tenants, receivers and property managers in seeking reductions in real estate tax assessments on all types of commercial, industrial and high profile residential properties. The objective of our real estate tax department is to maximize reductions, minimize taxes and obtain the greatest savings for our clients for the longest period of time. We believe that many of the substantial tax reductions that our firm has obtained for clients are due to our firm’s experience representing a significant number of clients for many years in all aspects of real estate, litigation and real estate tax and the ability to develop creative strategies arising from such work.
Field and Goldberg prides itself on the fact that, unlike many other firms that handle real estate tax work, we have attorneys rather than paralegals who play the major role in analysis in the tax assessment and appeal process.
Timing of Appeals
Real estate taxes are a constant concern of any property owner or lessee. From the commencement of an acquisition of a parcel of property to its final disposition, real estate taxes must be actively managed so as to minimize tax liabilities.
All too often, this task is reserved for special occasions, such as a township or county wide reassessment. These occasions, although important, represent only a portion of the tax savings that can be achieved through a more proactive approach to real estate tax. At Field and Goldberg we put our experience to work to seek out every opportunity to reduce your property taxes throughout the life cycle of your property. Beginning with pre-acquisition planning, we continuously monitor the tax status of your property and take all necessary actions to obtain the maximum tax reductions available. Field and Goldberg constantly reviews each property file to determine if there has been any change to the property or the area of the property to justify a reduction or further reduction to the real estate tax assessment. As a result, we have achieved great success in non-reassessment years.
Field and Goldberg will typically help clients with issues such as allocation of personal property, goodwill and intangible property versus real property, and with tax proration provisions in purchase and sale agreements to insure that our clients are aware of future tax implications of their purchases and have the opportunity to negotiate the best possible tax treatment at closing.
Actions
Field and Goldberg carefully analyzes historical assessment data to assess trends in a property’s fair market value for assessment purposes. We then investigate current assessment data and current comparable property’s data to determine whether a property is currently over assessed. We routinely obtain preliminary opinions of value from appraisers of a property’s market value and run an extensive financial analysis of current income and expense information. Field and Goldberg carefully reviews the client’s income and expense statements to look for opportunities to extract business value or intangible value from a property’s financial statements for real estate tax purposes. Field and Goldberg provides a comprehensive review of past assessments and Assessor’s records as well as all current records to insure accurate and fair assessments long into the future.
Field and Goldberg typically provides the following services:
- Analyze data pertinent to the property to determine its fair market value.
- Investigate and analyze real estate tax assessments and the bases upon which the assessments have been arrived.
- File complaints, briefs and arguments, and supporting documentation with Assessors, and the Boards of Review, if necessary.
- Closely monitor the assessment process during administrative proceedings and request a re-review if dissatisfied with conclusions reached by the Assessor or Board of Review.
- If, after exhausting administrative remedies, the assessment results are unsatisfactory, file a complaint, brief and supporting documentation with the appropriate appeal board or file and litigate a valuation objection suit in circuit court.
- Obtain at the client’s expense, but subject to its prior approval, appraisals or other expert opinions, as needed, in support of our real estate tax reduction efforts.
- Provide annual estimates of taxes for budgetary and marketing purposes and update those estimates if assessments change materially.
- Advise our clients on a general basis regarding the impact of proposed actions on real estate taxes.
Hearings and Further Appeals
Often times, Field and Goldberg will be involved in oral hearings or phone hearings with Assessor or Board of Review personnel. Field and Goldberg has established a highly credible relationship with assessing authorities and tax appeal boards, thus providing our firm with unparalleled access to assessment officials. If Field and Goldberg is unsatisfied with the relief obtained at the Assessor or Board of Review, we will file complaints with further appellate boards or circuit court taking into consideration the possibility of interveners (third parties objecting to our current assessment and likely advocating an increase in assessment) and the degree of burden of proof. Thus, Field and Goldberg routinely balances these concerns to determine what venue of appeal is best for each client’s situation. Field and Goldberg attorneys are experienced in trial work and have a reputation of being unafraid to try cases and as a result receive excellent settlement offers.
Results
Field and Goldberg has saved its clients literally tens of millions of dollars in tax savings. Field and Goldberg has continually demonstrated success where others have failed. We believe that our creativity and persistence make us uniquely situated to achieve outstanding results despite difficult circumstances. At Field and Goldberg, only excellence is acceptable. We look forward to demonstrating our superior skills and tenacity on your behalf.