Brookfield being sued over Boston Store property taxes City, Bonstores Realty in litigation over 2009-12 assessments

Brookfield and Bonstores Reality One, owner of Boston Store at Brookfield Square Mall, are bumping heads over property taxes. The retail giant filed a Claim for Excessive Assessment and a refund for a portion of the 2012 property taxes paid to the city for its location at the mall. According to the claim, the property was assessed at $23.6 million by the city for the tax year 2012. Bonstores appealed the assessment, contending that the fair market value for the property as of Jan. 1 2012 was $15.7 million, a difference of $8 million. "The city of Brookfield assessor made jurisdictional errors in the valuation of this property," the claim reads. "These errors include consideration of improper sales and rental comparables and improper consideration of the purchase price and rental rate of the subject property established in a non-arm's length transaction." Robert Scott, director or finance for the city, said Robert Lorier, the city assessor, has more than 35 years of experience, and has been recognized by the state in the commercial assessment area. "I am confident the value that was placed on the property is fair and equitable in accordance with the law," Scott said. Lorier was not available for comment. Bonstores paid its first installment of the $391,230 tax bill - $195,600 - on time, but said that amount was $65,570 more than it should have been, the claim said. "Should the city of Brookfield fail to grant this claim by July 31, Bonstores will be required to pay the second installment of an additional $195,600, resulting in total damages of $131,140," Bonstores said in the claim. The assessment appeal was denied at the Board of Review, and the company filed a claim thereafter. The claim was denied at the city's Finance Committee meeting Feb. 19, and the resolution denying the claim was passed by the Common Council the same evening. "The city's legal counsel in the assessment litigation has advised the city should deny the claim," a memo by Robert Scott, director of finance, said. "The city will then look to add the 2012 claim to the existing lawsuit for the 2009, 2010, and 2011 assessments." The city and Bonstores are in litigation in Waukesha County Circuit Court regarding the assessments for the past four years. A trial scheduled for March was delayed at the request of Bonstores due to one of its key witnesses being unavailable. Scott said Claims for Excessive Assessments are rare in Brookfield. "I've been here 13 years and this is the largest claim I've ever seen," Scott said. Bonstores Realty filed a similar lawsuit against the city of Wauwatosa in Milwaukee County Circuit Court in 2011 for 2009 and 2010 property assessments, and the assessments were upheld. The company also filed Claims of Excessive Assessments for its other Boston Store properties throughout the state, including in Racine and Eau Claire, during the same time period. Should the city lose the case, the city would have to refund the excess taxes that were collected, including interest back to the date the tax payments were received. Since the property in question is part of a tax-incremental financing district, the city would not have to collect money from its taxing jurisdictions, like schools and the county. The attorney for Bonstores Realty was not available for comment.

Does Paying Overdue Property Tax Mean You Can Get a Title?

Even after the crash in the mid-2000s, there are still plenty of opportunities to make investments in real estate. Aside from bank foreclosures, property is also sold at discounted rates resulting from delinquent property tax bills. The revenue generated from property taxes are vital to every city, town and county in the United States. Tax collectors will foreclose on properties if the taxes have not been paid. If you pay overdue property taxes, you can get the title to the property through an auction sale. There are different auction formats throughout the country, but they are generally advertised in local papers beforehand. Taxes are imposed on real property, including vacant land and lands with homes, across the country. The taxes are assessed and collected at local levels, such as the county or city. Tax rates vary drastically among different locations, but in general bigger cities have much higher taxes than rural areas. If a land owner fails to pay his property taxes, the tax collector will attempt to collect the past due amount. Ultimately, the property could end up in a foreclosure auction if a payment is not received. Tax Lien Sales Some taxing authorities choose to sell tax lien certificates to make up for the financial loss resulting from unpaid property taxes. Once the tax collector determines the property owner is delinquent on the tax payment, a lien is filed on public record. An interested buyer can then buy a lien certificate, making him the lien holder. The specific terms of the tax lien sales vary by location, but they are commonly held like an auction. The certificate is placed up for sale in the amount of the unpaid taxes plus penalties and fees. The attendees bid not on the price of the certificate, but on the interest rate charged on the lien. Lein Holder Options The winning bidder is issued the lien certificate. After that, the interest rate that was bid on will be applied to the unpaid tax amount for a certain amount of time, usually a few years. If the property owner pays the past due amount, he'll be charged the interest rate. The certificate holder will make back his investment, plus interest. If the property owner fails to repay the unpaid taxes within the specified time frame, the certificate holder has the right to initiate foreclosure through the court system. If successful, he would then become the legal owner and title holder of the property. Tax Foreclosure Sales Tax foreclosure sales, sometimes called tax deed sales, are more similar to a mortgage foreclosure. Once the property owner is in property tax default for a specific period of time, the tax collector has the right to enforce its power of sale right. These sales are held in an auction format as well, and bidding typically begins at the amount of the past due taxes plus the acquired fees. The property is sold to the highest bidder, who will be issued a deed by the tax collector once payment is received. Payment is generally due the day of the sale. Taking Title Unlike mortgage foreclosures, most tax foreclosures do not have a right of redemption period. This means that the previous owners don't have any time after the sale to come up with the money to pay the taxes and reclaim ownership. The winning bidder is given the deed within a few days or weeks of the sale, depending on how fast the tax collector processes the foreclosure sales. At this point the bidder is the legal owner, however, there may be other complications such as the previous owners refusing to vacate the property. In cases like these, legal action might be necessary to evict.