Property Assessment

Real Estate Research Simplified

More than 30 Top Internet Sites for Real Estate Research

Appraisers, assessors, investors, real estate industry experts, and tax policy researchers.  Primary Property Assessment author Richard Sanderson has updated his popular Selected Internet Resources: Real Estate Research Centers (click here).  Originally posted on this blog on September 6, 2008 (Monitoring the Pluse of Real Estate), the updated listing includes 10 new Internet sites.  Each link was tested and updated where needed.  A thorough search was conducted to find similar Internet sites.  Updated sites include the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Mays Business School Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.  New sites include the recently established Old Dominion University (Virginia) Center for Real Estate, the Tax Policy Center, and the Office of Tax Policy Research at the University of Michigan.

Recommended Website of the Week: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

An occasional series that recommends useful websites to our readers as discovered by Property Assessment authors or suggested by readers.

 

Here is Exactly Where Land Policy and Property Tax Policy Intersect

 

Typically immediately after a new employee to property assessment administration is told about the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO), and perhaps the IAAO state chapter or affiliate, they are introduced to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.  Lincoln Institute of Land Policy publications and educational courses consistently get high marks from professional property assessors.

According to their website http://www.lincolninst.edu/, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, as a leading resource for policy makers and practitioners, addresses issues involving the use, regulation, and taxation of land. The Lincoln Institute seeks to improve the dialogue about urban development, the built environment, and tax policy in the United States and abroad.

I highly recommend this website for professional property assessors and those interested in property tax policy.

 

Lay the Groundwork Now for your 2010 Property Assessment

Working with Your Local Real Estate Assessor
An occasional series for property owners concerned with expenses associated with property ownership, one of the largest being property taxes.

November is the time of year to contact your local assessor about possible changes in assessments and real estate taxes for the upcoming year.  If the effective date for 2010 property assessments is December 31, 2009, or January 1, 2010, your local assessor has probably considered residential sales through September 30 and may have forecast how assessments may change.  Assessors have also monitored non-residential property rents, vacancy and expenses and may be considering these factors for 2010 assessments.  It's at this time of year that local assessors begins to seriously think about assessment changes for the upcoming year, but is typically not so busy that they are reluctant to take the time to meet with you.  A matter a fact most assessors want to hear from you so that they can take your concern's into consideration for the new assessments.  Here are just few things that you can share with your local assessor at this time of year:

 

• A recent independent appraisal of your property that may have been performed at purchased or part of refinancing your property;
• Any unusual conditions involved in the recent purchase of your property (Typically local assessors will assume a sale is a valid indication of market value unless they are aware of unusual conditions that affect the sale.);
• The status of construction-in-process (this applies to residential as well as non-residential property);
• The status of fire, flood or other physical damage your property may have incurred since the last assessment; and
• For owners of income-producing properties, current income and expense experience of your property.

Don't wait until you receive your 2010 assessment to communicate your concerns to your local assessor.  While the assessor may not be able to change the current assessment there is time to lay groundwork for nest year's assessment.  Establishing good relations with the assessor will also give you a better idea of how the assessment system functions, including the timing for filing an assessment appeal if you are dissatisfied with the 2010 assessment.   

Recommended Website of the Week: Bloomberg News - Real Estate

An occasional series that recommends useful websites to our readers as discovered by Property Assessment authors or suggested by readers.

Finding the Best the Internet Has to Offer

Bloomberg News, Industries, Real Estate
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/industries/real_estate.html

Professional property assessors are required to keep current with an ever changing real estate market.  While that last three years have emphasized this fact, monitoring real estate trends and markets is a tradition in property assessment where cyclical reassessments are mandated by state tax law.  Keeping up with changing markets is a challenge during normal market conditions, and exceptionally time consuming in today's market.  At the present time we find ourselves concerned with residential property foreclosures and declining values for income-producing properties where vacancy rates, rental concessions, capitalization rates, and other factors must be carefully observed.  Bloomberg News - Real Estate has proven to be a reliable source for monitoring the market. 

Accessing their website on October 27, 2009, featured news included Case/Shiller, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., and Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research reports on the residential market, and two stories related to the commercial property mortgage market.

Stand on the Shoulders of Giants

According to their website, Bloomberg News has more than 1,500 professionals in 145 bureaus.  They publish over 6,000 stories on the average day, syndicating to over 450 newspapers worldwide.

I highly recommend this site to the busy property assessor who wants to keep up with key issues affecting real estate valuation in today's market.