Stan Belenky

Revaluating and Reassessing a Real Estate Property

Konstantin “Stan” Belenky is the chief appraiser at Pyramid Consulting Group, LLC. He has served as the tax assessor for East Hanover, Berkeley heights, and Franklin in NJ and the chief residential appraiser for Certified Valuations, Inc. Stan Belenky has been involved in several property evaluations and reassessments in the state of New Jersey.

Revaluation is a periodic program undertaken in order to appraise all real property in terms of its full market value (bringing all properties to 100% of their true market value and by the same standard.) Market value is defined as the price a purchaser who is willing but not obligated to buy, would pay an owner, who is willing but not obligated to sell, taking into consideration all uses to which the property is adapted and might in reason be applied. Also known as tax equalization, revaluation ensures that all property owners pay their fair share of taxes based on the actual true market value of the property they own.

An updating of all real property values as of October 1. It consists of appraising the value of the properties, both taxable and exempt, using recent sales, building costs, and income and expense information of similar properties. All residential, commercial, apartments, industrial, vacant land, churches, school buildings, and all other real estate are valued.
The property tax is designed as an “ad valorem” tax, which means it is a tax based on the value of the property. The premise is that if someone owns a $1,000,000 property, he or she would pay twice as much in taxes as someone who owns a $500,000 property. Therefore, the market value of the property is the standard that is used to determine one’s fair share.

The following definition of a Revaluation program is described in the “Handbook for New Jersey Assessors.”

“A revaluation program seeks to spread the tax burden equitably within a taxing district by appraising each property according to its true value and assessing it based on such value. This is accomplished by the mass appraisal of all real property in the taxing district by an outside professional appraisal or revaluation firm. A revaluation program includes a contract between the firm and the municipality. The contract must be approved by the Director of the Division of Taxation, and both the contract and revaluation firm must meet certain standards which have been established and set forth by the Director in a body of regulations. The revaluation contract is also subject to review by the county board of taxation who may make written recommendations to the Director.”

How a Condemned Property Is Appraised

Active in the real estate sector since 1997, Konstantin “Stan” Belenky is an accomplished NJ real estate appraisal expert. In his present position, he serves as the chief appraiser of Pyramid Consulting Group LLC in East Hanover, New Jersey. In the course of his career, Stan Belenky has conducted numerous appraisals for market value, real estate taxation, insurable value, mortgage value, and condemnation value.

Condemnation is a legal process (eminent domain) that enables a government to seize private property for purposes of public use such as the construction of power lines, roads, airports, or pipelines. According to the law, the government must provide fair compensation to property owners for seizing their property. To determine the condemnation value, appraisers use three different approaches, which are the market data (sales comparison) approach, the cost approach, and the income capitalization approach. The market data approach is the most common and involves appraisers analyzing the recent sale of properties based on size, location and zoning that can be compared to the same property being condemned. The appraiser performs an adjustment to take into consideration a property’s unique features in order to come up with a market value of the condemned property.

The cost approach is generally used to appraise special-use and unique properties and is ideal for appraising properties whose market data may be difficult to obtain. This approach calculates a property’s value based on the individual value of its components such as land and property improvements. Finally, the income capitalization approach is applied for income-generating properties such as rental apartments and some commercial properties. This approach estimates a property’s value by examining how much income a property can produce.

Konstantin “Stan” Belenky – Stamp Collecting

Konstantin “Stan” Belenky, Chief Appraiser of the Pyramid Consulting Group, LLC, was a tax assessor for the townships of East Hanover, Berkeley Heights and Franklin, New Jersey. At Pyramid Consulting Group, LLC, Stan Belenky is responsible for conducting various appraisal reports for financing, tax litigation, condemnation, and more. In his free time, Mr. Belenky enjoys traveling and collecting stamps.

Stamp collecting is a hobby typically enjoyed by people who like to explore the history, artwork, and culture of many diverse countries.

Stamp collecting is generally accepted as one of the areas that make up the wider subject of philately, which is the study of stamps. A philatelist may, but does not have to, collect stamps. It is not uncommon for the term philatelist to be used to mean a stamp collector. Many casual stamp collectors accumulate stamps for sheer enjoyment and relaxation without worrying about the tiny details. The creation of a large or comprehensive collection, however, generally requires some philatelic knowledge and will usually contain areas of philatelic studies.

Postage stamps are often collected for their historical value and geographical aspects and also for the many subjects depicted on them, ranging from ships, horses, and birds to kings, queens, and presidents.

A few basic items of equipment are recommended for proper stamp collection. Stamp tongs help to handle stamps safely, a magnifying glass helps in viewing fine details and an album is a convenient way to store stamps. The stamps need to be attached to the pages of the album in some way, and stamp hinges are a cheap and simple way to do this. However, hinging stamps can damage them, thus reducing their value; today many collectors prefer more expensive hingeless mounts. Issued in various sizes, these are clear, chemically neutral thin plastic holders that open to receive stamps and are gummed on the back so that they stick to album pages. Another alternative is a stockbook, where the stamps drop into clear pockets without the need for a mount. Stamps should be stored away from light, heat, and moisture or they will be damaged.

Stamps can be displayed according to the collector’s wishes, by country, topic, or even by size, which can create a display pleasing to the eye. There are no rules and it is entirely a matter for the individual collector to decide. Albums can be commercially purchased, downloaded, or created by the collector. In the latter cases, using acid free paper provides better long-term stamp protection.