Bond, Schoeneck & King

Bond, Schoeneck & King represents a full-service approach to property tax challenges, combining decades of legal experience with deep knowledge of New York's assessment procedures. This established firm handles complex commercial and residential property tax matters for clients throughout the Rochester region and beyond. The firm's property tax practice benefits from their broader real estate and business law expertise, allowing them to address tax issues within the context of larger transactions and business strategies. They work with individual property owners, developers, and institutional clients who need sophisticated representation in assessment disputes and ongoing tax planning.

The firm provides comprehensive property tax services including formal grievance proceedings, small claims assessment review, and Article 7 proceedings for high-value properties. They handle complex valuation challenges for specialized properties like healthcare facilities, manufacturing plants, and mixed-use developments that require expert testimony and detailed financial analysis. For ongoing clients, they offer assessment monitoring and tax planning services, helping structure transactions to minimize property tax exposure. They also handle special assessment disputes, tax increment financing issues, and payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) negotiations with municipalities. Their commercial focus includes representing property owners in mass appraisal challenges and assessment methodology disputes that affect entire property classes or geographic areas.

Initial consultations focus on understanding your property's unique characteristics and tax history. The firm conducts thorough due diligence, reviewing assessment records, comparable sales, and market conditions. For commercial properties, they analyze income and expense data to support valuation arguments. Their approach emphasizes strategic case development, often engaging third-party appraisers or valuation experts when necessary. They handle all procedural requirements and represent clients at hearings, drawing on their courtroom experience for more formal proceedings. Post-resolution, they provide guidance on future assessment cycles and potential planning opportunities to maintain favorable tax positions.

The firm serves clients throughout New York State with particular concentration in the Rochester metropolitan area, Syracuse, Albany, and Buffalo regions. Their statewide practice allows them to handle properties across different assessment districts and understand regional variations in assessment practices. They also represent out-of-state clients who own New York properties, providing local expertise for national real estate portfolios.