Tax Information And Guide

Tax Software The owner of a property that sparked a heated townwide debate about development owes as much as $800,000 in tax liens and interest, which must be paid before the land can be developed or purchased as open space.

By purchasing a tax lien, you are essentially loaning money to the property owner to pay his or her taxes. In return, you can collect significant interest on your investment – up to 18 percent – if the delinquent property owner does pay his or her tax bill. And if the property owner doesn't pay his or her tax bill, you get to keep the entire property for the taxes and penalties owed.

Software Tax Mayor Gene Feyl, mastermind of a plan to develop Snake Hill while preserving the rest, said the tax liens will not affect the deal involving the property, also known as Lake Shore Estates. Taxpayers will not be forced to pay the outstanding taxes, he said. Others involved in the transaction also said they were unconcerned.

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Every Landlord Tax Deduction But because the planning board cannot legally hear plans for the development of the site, also known as Snake Hill, until the liens are paid off, the fate of the land could be delayed.

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Tax Help The deal may also come under additional scrutiny because of its owner, Morristown-based Lawrence Berger, a prolific developer who is notorious for being late on mortgage payments and property taxes. According to a list of the states top business debtors, Berger also owes the state more than $108,000 in back income taxes.

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Help Tax The plan calls for Berger to sell the property to developer Ray Rice, who would then erect 140 townhouses on 66 acres of the property for people aged 55 and older. Denville would buy the remaining 147 acres from Rice for $1.6 million in state and county open space funds.

Ernst Ernst Guide Guide Tax The plan was opposed last year by Feyls political opponents and a local environmental group, but was given the OK by the township council and planning board in hearings last year.

Tax Return Lawrence P. Cohen, a Hackettstown lawyer representing Rices company, 29 LLC, said the liens will be satisfied before the deal is finalized, and the unpaid taxes will not affect the companys intention to present development plans to the planning board "in the near future."

Return Tax As of this week, Berger owes the town $187,000 on a lien dating to 1991, according to the township finance office. Gus Holstein, who lives in a house on the property and whose father sold the 210-acre tract to Berger in 1972, holds two other tax certificates one for $415,000 and the other for $83,000, both dating to 1994.

Guide Guide Master Master Tax If the maximum allowed 18 percent interest were applied to all liens, Berger would owe $809,000.

Tax Preparation Feyl said the town was aware of the liens as it moved forward with the plan. "We are also aware that the cumulative value of the liens is far less than the value of the property," he said.

Preparation Tax Holstein said he is confident that he will be repaid and the deal will go through. "He (Berger) is always a last-minute person," he said.

Employer Tax Guide Feyl said it is possible that the money owed in liens could be deducted from the total sales price of the property, which he has estimated could be as high as $8 million. He said similar action was taken when Cooks Pond was purchased by the town for open space.

Tax Services Berger did not return calls for comment, so his plans are unclear. But he is currently battling other financial difficulties. A prime piece of downtown real estate he owns in Morristown is slated to be auctioned in March if he does not pay $5.8 million in back mortgage payments, interest and penalties.

Services Tax In 1996, Berger was sued by Chase Manhattan Bank, then called Chemical Bank, for defaulting on $6.2 million in loans. In 1995, he was put in jail for failing to maintain a Speedwell Avenue property in Denville.

Master Tax Guide Concerned Citizens of Denville, a group formed to oppose any development on Snake Hill, which abuts Morris Knolls High School, said the fate of the land is in question because of Bergers involvement.

Tax Attorney "Why Denville would even deal with a person with a fiduciary history like that, a track record like that, I think its dumb," said Polly Russ, president of the group. "There are too many loose ends here."

Attorney Tax Feyl disagreed, saying this was a business deal and the town was protected legally. "As long as the liens are paid it wont hamper the exchange of property," Feyl said. He also said the money earmarked to purchase the land $1 million from the county and $600,000 from the state would not be withheld if the deal is delayed.

Guide Law Tax Russ isnt holding her breath.

Tax Accountant "Were dealing with a wish and its not a fact yet," Russ said. "We dont know if we have a single foot of open space."

Accountant Tax By Matthew Katz
Daily Record - 1/31/2002

Topic: Highlands

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