Albany Assessment 10

This morning the Albany Assessment and Taxation Commissioner Keith McDonald told me that many properties in Center Square may have underestimated SFLA because property owners would not permit inspection (why should a property owner be rewarded for non-cooperation?), and that the Board of Assessment Review was aware of this. How to use this acknowledgment of underestimation is another matter. I asked for “Residential Building Updates” on a number of properties. Tomorrow I'll pick the RBUs up and discuss with Mr. McDonald if the information in them can be used in my complaint.

Meanwhile, needless to say, many property owners are “blinding” their basement windows, so that one cannot visually ascertain if the basements are being used as “living area.”

It all seems very unfair.

Related to SFLA, Mr. McDonald confirmed that it is measured from the outside, and therefore includes exterior walls, hallways, stairs, closets, chimneys, etc.