Nassau County Property taxes are decided collectively by school boards, town boards, legislators, and councils. The tax rate is set by collating the amount of funds an area needs. This is then divided that by the “total taxable� assessed value of the area. The Nassau County property tax an individual pays is computed by multiplying the tax rate by the assessed value of your property and then deducting any applicable exceptions. Property taxes are at an all time high. Studies indicate that they have increased more than 35% in five years.

Property is assessed by determining property costs in any given area. Property is valued by studying: the current sale price of properties in the area, costs to be incurred to replace the property, potential realization of property if it is rented, sold, or gifted, and the historical value of a property.

There are a few ways in which you could save on taxes:

1.    Check if the state you reside in is offering any rebates.  For example, a money back rebate, energy rebate, capping of taxes, or home owners rebate where under certain conditions you may be eligible to claim a rebate.

2.    Ensure that the property is assessed right. This will ensure that you do not have to pay excess taxes. Assert your right to check you assessment report ensure that there are no miscalculations, mistakes, or assumptions. If in any doubt, do put in an appeal. According to statistics almost 50% of the cases win some relief.

3.    Check all exemptions allowed according to the law.

4.    Buy property jointly with a partner or family member. This way both owners become eligible for tax rebates.

5.    Check if your assessment is in according to other properties in your neighborhood. Check with the assessment office or with your neighbors themselves. It helps to know applicable laws. Use the help of a real estate professional to put together a file of properties similar to yours that have a lower assessment. Or, use the bank’s appraisal to support your case. Be sure that the case you gather together is water tight.

6.    Use a property consultant to help you save taxes. Some charge a flat fee while others just a percentage of what you save. A professional will check how assessment is done and also if there are any loop holes you can use.

7.    There is strength in numbers. Get together with other owners who are also checking or fighting assessments. Check on the National Taxpayers Union Web site http://www.ntu.org   for your rights.

8.    Ask you home loan provider whether you are eligible for refund of property taxes paid. Some agreements have a provision for this. Many mortgages have automatic escrow of taxes.

9.    Even before you buy a home find out what the property taxes are in the area and what have been the increases in tax rates.

10.    Be sure to read through assessment and tax manuals published by your local authorities. These will give a clear idea of what are the parameters used and what you must do to reduce or pay the correct property taxes.

In order to be money smart you need to get the help of an efficient and dedicated accountant, plan your tax liabilities well, known thoroughly all aspects of Nassau County Property Tax. If you are prudent, you can benefit by using ways and means to cut your tax burden and liabilities.

One of the best investments for your home and family is a fire escape ladder.  It can save your life, and should therefore be an integral part of your residential safety.  A fire at can completely engulf your home in no time at all, normally in less than a minute.  Even though you may have smoke alarms and fire extinguishers there, the fire can get out of control fast and surround you with smoke, making it impossible for you to get out.  To protect yourself and your entire family, you should always a fire escape ladder at your home at all times.

You don’t need to pay a lot of money for an expensive fire escape ladder; all you need is one that is durable and sturdy.  Fixed structure residential fire escape ladders are the best to get, simply because you don’t need to assemble then.  With a fixed structure ladder, all you need to do is climb down to safety.  They are permanently attached to your home – so they will always be there when you need them.

When you look for a residential fire escape ladder, you’ll find that there are several different styles to choose from.  There are chain and rung fire escape ladders that are designed for multiple stories, to those that reach even higher.  You can also get permanent interior ladders, exterior permanent ladders, collapsible fire escape ladders, and even retractable fire escape ladders.  Fire escape ladders are a great thing to have as a method of fire safety.

If you’ve ever lived in an apartment building or seen the outside of one, you’ve probably noticed their fire escape.  Fire escapes, depending on how many stories the building may be, will vary from simple ladders to steps.  The fire escape is very important, especially with tall buildings.  Those who live on the higher floors of apartment buildings absolutely must have a fire escape so they too can exit the building in the event of a fire.

For your home, you can also purchase a fire escape kit that includes a heavy duty escape ladder that can be assembled up to 40 feet in length.  These kits also include smoke hoods as well, in order to help keep the smoke out of your face.  Most come with chemical sticks and a horn as well, so you can let rescuers know where you are in the home when they arrive.

As you can tell, a fire escape ladder is very important to have with your home.  Homes that are 2 stories or more simply must have an escape ladder.  Fire escape ladders are perfect for safety, and may one day save your life.  Even though they may cost you a bit of money and time to install, they are one investment that you’ll never go wrong with.

Want a pretty Nassau County Garden with lush flowers and a green lawn?  Check out these tips:

Flowering landscape trees are the crown jewels of the yard.
Perhaps no other plants, individually, can have as great an
impact on how a yard looks in spring. Browse the articles to
which I’ve linked below for information on particular varieties
of flowering landscape trees. Pictures are included.

Crape Myrtles: Landscape Trees of the South

A popular choice in flowering landscape trees for Southerners,
crape myrtles have a long blooming period (mid-summer to
fall). The blooming clusters of these flowering landscape trees
come in pink, white, red and lavender. The clusters appear on
the tips of new wood. Northerners can sometimes get away
with treating these flowering landscape trees as perennials
that die back in winter but come back in spring.

Trees

Not all specimens with a weeping habit are flowering
landscape trees, but this article looks at several weeping
varieties that do bloom, headed by four types of cherry.
Saucer Magnolias

The size and shape of the blooms are what suggested the
common name for these flowering landscape trees. Want a
specimen with a brilliant bloom as big as a saucer? Access
information on these beauties here.

Rose of Sharon

Although some people think of it as a landscape “tree”
(because it gets tall and can be pruned so as to have a single
trunk), rose of sharon is, in fact, a flowering shrub. The fact
that it blooms relatively late — and for a long time — makes it
a valuable plant for those looking to distribute their yard’s
color display throughout the growing season.
Top 10 List of Flowering Landscape Trees and Shrubs for
Spring |

This article features information on ten flowering landscape
trees and shrubs that brighten our spring seasons. Included
are redbud, callery pear and crabapple.
Hawthorn: Late-Blooming Landscape Trees

This article offers information on Washington hawthorn trees,
which are perhaps most valued for the time at which they
bloom (late spring to early summer). Many of the popular
flowering specimens bloom earlier in the spring, and while
their blossoms are pleasant sights for eyes sore from winter’s
barrenness, they desert us too quickly!

With all the viruses, trojans and spyware out there, Nassau County Computer Repair Specialists offer several ways to help improve the speed of your computer without spending money on hardware.

One of the easiest is to uninstall any programs, games or utilities that you do not use.  Often thre are old games or applications that stay on your machine and take up space as well as use memory.  Users would be surprised what services load up when you turn on your computer.  By uninstalling these programs that are not used, it can also free up memory as well as disc space according to Nassau County Computer Repair Specialist Gary Pancamo Jr.

Next, install some sort of spyware blocker.  There are some that are paid and some that are free.  Spybot is one we use and is free just remember to keep it up to date as every day new threats come through the Internet trying to clog user’s machines.

Another one where you must have a program is Anti-Virus.  Most of these are paid and for good reason.  Threats come in so often that a company must have dedicated people in order to find ways to clean these viruses and trojans.  Companies like Eset, Norton and Kaspersky are top notch.  Remember to do at least a once a week scan of all your devices such as hard drives, memory sticks or removeable drives.  You never know where a problem could be.

The last resort if your machine is so slow is to reinstall Windows.  Many PC manufacturers offer a reinstall disc to bring your machine back to the original statebut with this you will lose all programs and files so be sure to backup or burn to CD/DVD anything you want.  Make sure also you have the programs original discs to reinstall any thing you want as this will wipe out your computer.

Added a new article about how you can better organize your office from the things that you most need at your fingertips to the ways to reduce clutter.  Everyone should have a clean, efficient place to work.  Share your tips now.

The article can be  found here – http://nassaucountybusinessdirectory.com/articleid-11/nassau-county-advertisers-help-organizing-your-office.html

Anyone living on long island knows the gas prices are much higher here than other areas mostly due to extra taxes on gas.  But from a high of $4.37 a gallon on average in July, 2008, gas seems to be on the decline with an average cost of $3.89 per gallon.  While not earth shaking, it will help many save a few dollars per fill up.  Why give more profits to these big oil companies who are reporting record windfalls of billions of dollars each quarter.

There are many ways to save on gas to keep the money in your pocket.  The first and most obvious is to slow down on the road.  Typically gas consumption  is increased 10% if you go from 60 to 70 mph.  Another helper is to keep your tires properly filled with air.  When tires are under or overinflated, this creates less miles per gallon efficiency.

Avoid slamming on the brakes or gas will help as well.  By hitting the gas at say a traffic light, the gas consumption is greatly increased as it takes such power to move a car from standing to moving.  Give your car a chance and accelerate slowly.  The people honking behind you will move over!

Using extras like air conditioning use more fuel but even alternatives like opening a window which creates drag lower economy so what are you to do?  Just try to reduce the use of control the speed of the a/c output.

A program discussed by the Nassau County Bar Association could help out residents by having lawyers in the area offer free help to people facing foreclosure. Most times, people facing foreclosures do not have the funds to hire a lawyer so they lose out on the best help available which could force them on the street. Some lawyers are trying to change this to bring free help to those who need it most.

Martha Krisel, an attorney from the Nassau County Attorney’s Office is behind this program and sees the need for this now in 2008 but also a much bigger need in 2009 and beyond. Krisel has already hosted training sessions for lawyers in the area. A requirement for lawyers practicing in Nassau is to have continuing education as a part of their career and is mandatory. Officials are trying to get it so that the free help these lawyers give to help foreclosure people will count towards those credits.

The foreclosure program has not been officially announced nor released but those interested can call the Nassau County Homeownership Office at (516) 571-HOME for more information.

With gas prices sky high, auto restorations on Long Island continue to roll in for Paul’s Restos in Deer Park. Contracted orders for classic car restorations are rising to transform those old cars to mint shape and the news could not be better even as gas hits almost $5 per gallon for these machines.

Many car buffs have reduced appearances at the big Long Island and New york car events due to the higher cost of gas. Many of the older vehicles especially muscle cars such as Mustangs, Chevelles, and Mopars require the driver to use a higher octane of fuel with many engines needing 93 octane or more. Several local car clubs are rethinking their cruises to more of a local hot rod spot as opposed to hitting major locations which could be many miles away.

Gas is not just affecting the cars themselves but suppliers of these high quality restoration parts that are being shipped to shops. “All products and supplies have increased just like gas has and is affecting the costs of our jobs.” said Paul DiMauro, an auto restorations of Long Island specialist and owner of Paul’s Rods and Restos in Deer Park, New York.

No matter what price gas or car washes hit, there will always be people who want to have their automobile brought back to original luster and shine. Many hold memories from their youth and younger years related to their cars and the good times with them. Even changes in the economy will have no effect on those looking to restore a part of their youth.

About Paul’s Rods & Restos
Paul DiMauro has been restoring classic cars and hot rods on Long Island for over 26 years specializing in original restorations as well as resto-mods to bring back cars to a solid and eye-pleasing appearance. Check out his work at PaulsRestos.com or contact him at 631-665-RODS.

In a stunning move, the New York Jets, once considered a longshot in the Brett Favre sweepstakes, have landed the potential Hall of Fame quarterback on their team in a trade that sent shockwaves through the National Football League.

Favre, a long time Green Bay Packers team member, was retired as of last year but was reinstated this week by Commissioner Roger Goodall. He returned to Green Bay but differences with the team forced the trade which New York fans are cheering about.

“Brett Favre is one of the best quarterbacks in the history of football and New Yorker’s are elated as to his playing for the Jets.” said Sammy Pino, a Long Island New York Football Coach.

The flipside to this story is the apparent departure of present quarterback Chad Pennington who has been the starter for many years in the Jets organization. No word from Coach Eric Mangini as to the status or expected use of Pennington is at this point.

Seems the Nassau County Plumbers are reading once again about stealing metals from installations at commercial properties for cash. Daring thieves stole the copper plumbing out from a radiation therapy clinic which disrupted the care of over sixty patients who had appointments scheduled that day. Workers and patients arrived to find the facility unable to operate or help patients. The value of the recycled metal was about $300.

An employee of the radiation clinic reportedly noticed that there was no running water at the facility. Upon further inspection, the worked noticed tools outside of the building where the copper plumbing parts had been removed. The plumbing was part of the cooling system of the building which made the radiation equipment useless for patients.

“Copper has gone up so much at the scrapyards that thieves are getting brazen when stealing these materials.” said John Anderson, a Nassau County Plumber. “But what they do not realize is how it affects the people at the buildings they are stealing from.”

Local contractors were working to restore the setup to regular operating standards.