Appraisal Matters

Key 1 – Know the Rules Before You Play

Although this may seem cliché, not knowing the jurisdiction’s tax assessment and appeals rules can derail a tax appeal well before it even has a chance to be heard. It is important to get a copy of the law and recent court cases to see what is required at each stage of the tax appeal process. The law needs to be adhered to and recent cases show how other judges have ruled on similar property types and situations.

Example: We have had the opportunity to see what happens when the rules aren’t followed. We were hired to appraise a large hotel and provided the appraisal to the client twenty days before the final deadline for the state. The client delivered it to the Assessor and did not get a receipt. The appraisal was misplaced and the Assessor claimed no recollection of having received it. Without the appraisal, the board would not hear evidence and since the burden of proof was on the property owner, no reduction was given. The jurisdiction also changed its long-running stance on tax appeal documentation submission, stating that the appraisal and all documentation had to be filed at the time of the tax appeal application, not five days before the board hearing, which was the policy for many years. This policy was contradictory to the written law, but had been practiced for years. As a result, only a small percentage of appeals are being settled at the board level and the case load for state court has become excessive, slowing the entire process immensely.

John Simpson, MAI