| Author |
Message |
    
Thomas
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 24, 2001 - 12:08 am: |     |
We need to let other towns know what Certified Valuations Inc. has cost us.
They will be doing the Re-val in Newark.
They did the Re-val in Madison 1 year ago and many people there were outraged then.
I wish we would have known.
I was outraged that Certified not at tuesdays meeting. |
Ffof
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 24, 2001 - 7:12 am: | |
Let's not forget our own TC who helped to lead CV down this garden path. |
Cfa
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 24, 2001 - 7:24 am: | |
Did our TC truly try to get Certified to the meeting like the Mayor stated? Didn't Certified have a (and I use the term loosely) MORAL obligation to be there? |
Lizzyr
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 24, 2001 - 7:48 am: | |
I bet Certified wishes they had never heard of Maplewood. Assuming the contract was $400k and there are 7500 locations in town, that's $53/unit. If they spend on average 3 hours/unit for the initial visit, follow-up, paperwork, additional meeting and then appeal, that's realizing under $18/hour. It's my understanding that they're responsible, under the contract, to represent Maplewood at all tax appeals for 2 years. |
Euclidean
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 24, 2001 - 8:55 am: | |
Lizzyr, If Certified had spent an average of 3 hours/unit for this assessment, I am willing to bet that the revaluation would have been of much higher quality and much less vulnerable to challenges. Instead, they cleverly combined sloppy work with very poor communications and thereby fueled a fire which is now hurting the entire town.
I hope Newark is taking notes from the Maplewood experience and will be monitoring Certified very closely. |
Njjoseph
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 24, 2001 - 9:44 am: | |
I did the math, too, to come up with $50/unit, and wondered why they took the contract for such a low amount. I wouldn't work for $50 an hour, especially if I knew that I would be needed on an ongoing basis for tax appeals. If you consider your attorney or your CPA, you don't may either such a small wage.
I believe Certified did what they needed to do and may have spent less time evaluating houses than they should have. It probably could have taken 15 minutes each.
However, I have heard stories from homeowners, where homeowners would not make reasonable accommodations for Certified to enter their houses. One person on the jitney last night refused to allow Certified into her house when they arrived they first time. However, once she got a high valuation, she definitely made sure they came again, and she allowed them in.
I'm not defending Certified, but how can we expect them to do a good job with all the hassles that we gave them?
Some of us should be taking more responsibility for our incorrect valuations. It's not all one-sided. |
Hobsonschoice
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 24, 2001 - 1:09 pm: | |
I heard the City of Newark was considering Certified but after hearing the Maplewood Horror Stories they will not offer them a contract. Just a rumor, but I am sure there is some truth. |
Eliz
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 24, 2001 - 1:52 pm: | |
Just a guess but ....I'm pretty sure they tried to get CVI to attend the meeting (why wouldn't they?) and also pretty sure relations between the town and CVI have likely significantly degenerated in the last while and they just decided they would rather not have the headache. |
Thomas
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 24, 2001 - 11:01 pm: | |
Give me a break njjoseph
Now your blaming the towns people for Certified's blunder. |
Ihateice
| | Posted on Thursday, January 25, 2001 - 6:15 am: | |
Thomas....I sort of think Njjoseph is right...if I worked for Certified and if I wasted my time going to many houses that would not let me in, believe me, I would say "screw you, you won't let me in, you're paying more!" and then I would up their assessment. You see it happen all the time. |
Njjoseph
| | Posted on Thursday, January 25, 2001 - 8:28 am: | |
Thomas, I'm not defending Certified, but I know of instances where someone refused to let them in, another where someone lied about 3rd floor usage (attic v. finished), outbuildings (i.e. sheds), etc.
All I'm saying is that WE have some responsibility in our own valuations. If the rep came to your house and spent 3 minutes, it is YOUR responsibility to ask the right questions before he leaves to make sure he/she has the right data.
In my case, I can't say whether Certified ever came into my house. I moved into my house in August and received my letter in early November. Hopefully, they came in July while the prior owner was still there. However, I know they had me down for a modern, upgraded kitchen. It leads me to think they didn't come in and only peered through a window. My cabinets had been refaced, and the appliances were over 15 years old! The only way you could know about the cabinets was to open one of the doors. Thomas, did they do this in YOUR house? The stove is another story, but I hope it has since been corrected after my appointment with them. Once I can review my property card, I'll be able to verify that corrections were made.
But, Thomas, you see it is MY responsibility to make sure the valuation is based on correct information. |
Ffof
| | Posted on Thursday, January 25, 2001 - 8:54 am: | |
Njjoseph, certainly everyone must take responsibility for checking their own valuation and i don't think anyone would disagree with this, but i think it has become clear that there was a two-fold problem that led to the debacle we have been going through...1)Certified definitely bungled a lot of the job (whether they were let in to homes or not), they've been rude and not forthcoming in many instances etc etc etc AND 2)the TC most certainly put the pressure on in the fall for Certified to get the job done already because they were feeling the deadline pressure of getting the reval finished before state deadlines were due.
It's just a shame that the TC (and Galante) did not see what was coming down the pike. (Or maybe they did see?!) |
Njjoseph
| | Posted on Thursday, January 25, 2001 - 9:12 am: | |
Ffof, I agree! I was only responding to Thomas' comment, which I thought needed more explanation from me. Sorry to have wasted so much more of your time! :-) |
Thomas
| | Posted on Thursday, January 25, 2001 - 9:56 am: | |
Njjos
I'm sure in a town of 7,000 homes a few people did not allow Certified access and if they did not they deserve what they got. At this point I wish I did not let Certified in. How much worse than 170k over value could they have come up with. Than I would be blaming myself for not letting them. But this really has nothing to do with the problem here. |
Njjoseph
| | Posted on Thursday, January 25, 2001 - 11:44 am: | |
I didn't say it did. |
Ffof
| | Posted on Thursday, January 25, 2001 - 1:25 pm: | |
Njjoseph - WHERE IS YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR! C'mon!
Fickle Finger of Fate (Ffof) |
Njjoseph
| | Posted on Thursday, January 25, 2001 - 2:01 pm: | |
I have a sense of humor, but didn't see any in your last posting.
Maybe I'm dense. :-) |
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