Where do property tax assessments go wrong? So many ways...
From time to time you will see articles that suggest that small houses are over-assessed, and large houses are under-assessed. This usually provokes outrage - it seems like an attack on the poor being funded by the rich! But is that what is really happening
Read MoreIf current value is based on sales, does that mean that all sales are current value? If all thumbs are fingers, are all fingers thumbs?
Property tax assessments are often based on the mistaken belief that the assessor must blindly follow sales. This mistake could be costing your business. A good property tax consultant can find out.
Photo by Daniel Lincoln on Unsplash
Read MoreWe’ve been told for years by MPAC that high density development justifies sky-high property tax assessments. What happens when proposed developments start to fail?
Read More“He submits that it is the lawful right of the Board and the assessed person to question the accuracy of the data base and the interpretation of this data by MPAC. “
Read MoreIn this case all three parties seem to need (or want) more time. The Assessment Review Board was having none of it.
Read More“The City had the ability to appeal the 2013 assessment and chose not to do so. It is fair that they bear the cost of that failure.”
Read MoreLately, many property tax appeals have revolved around “Dark Store Theory”. Is this really a scheme by property tax consultants to evade taxes? Definitely not.
Read MoreOne of the most frequent issues identified in assessment appeals is functional obsolescence. In short, when the building you have is different from the building you should have, there is likely obsolescence. Has the use of your building changed since it was constructed? Is your building too big? Too small? Poorly laid out for your purpose? Do you have parts of the building that are unusable? Is your building taller or shorter than you need? The answers to these and other questions may indicate the presence of functional obsolescence.
Not every case of functional obsolescence looks like the picture below. In many cases the inefficiency is easy to miss - and may very well have been!
Properties like this have had property tax assessments based on full value.
e: mathias@hcals.com p:416 795 4105
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