Aventineproperties

NOT IMPRESSED

I Hired Aventine Properties LLC on 04/18/2023 to submit a Property Tax Reduction/Refund petition claim on my behalf.

They did indeed get me a property tax reduction by settlement on 10/17/2023, in the total amount of 4.4%! They had requested a 25% property tax deduction. My total tax reduction amounted to $ 554.00 against a yearly tax bill of some $ 12,000.00.

Apparently, the first claim for a 25% tax deduction was denied by the town assessor. They then apparently filed a case in Small Claims Court in Ulster County; for that they charged a $ 30.00 fee.
They also charged a $ 75.00 appraisal fee; this was NOT for a licensed appraiser, but rather for someone in their employ to go on a computer and research comparable sales; so there is NO formal appraisal of my property to receive a copy of.

What ended up occurring, is that Aventine settled for a 4.4% tax reduction on my property on the premise that the "towns arguments were persuasive to the hearing officer" (mediator); therefore, my reduction was 4.4% vs. the 25% reduction that was initially sought by Aventine.

I had emailed Aventine 3X after I received their bill for $ 382.00; the second and third (same as the second email) asked for the following clarifications: 1) what arguments were put forth by the town that were "so persuasive" to hearing officer; 2) why was this matter not taken further i.e. Supreme Court to argue for a larger reduction; 3) in the hearing held with the Small Claims Hearing Officer, was there a transcript of the hearing or were their notes taken by Aventine as to the towns "persuasive arguments?; 4) I questioned the "appraisal fee" which was tantamount to their employee doing computer research on comparable sales.

They responded to my first email explaining the "persuasive nature of the towns arguments to the hearing officer (mediator)" and about the $ 30.00 filing and the $ 75.00 "appraisal" fees. They DID NOT respond to my two subsequent emails.

Yes, in the agreement I signed I was aware of the $ 30.00 filing fee and the $ 75.00 "appraisal" fee.

I believe, in my opinion, that the outcome was a sellout to obtain a quick fee and that they could have taken this matter to a higher court than to Small Claims than to settle for a 4.4% tax reduction.