Property Assessment

The Go-To Organization for Property Assessment Training

Any membership organization that’s been around for more than 80 years must have a winning system for satisfying the needs of its members.  One way that the IAAO achieves this winning system is to re-invent what they offer to members in the way of educational courses and training.  

The annual conference demonstrates the IAAO commitment to educational sessions that attendees can benefit from and put to immediate use in their jurisdictions or organizations.  As the “internationally recognized leader and preeminent source for innovation, education, and research in property appraisal, assessment administration and property tax policy” as the IAAO vision statement reads, that’s no small task.

This year’s conference includes educational sessions that are timely.  How technology is impacting assessment administration, property tax policy reform, changing trends that must be considered in developing property valuations, and evolving technical standards are just a few topic categories for the 81^st conference.

The conference is being held September 13 to September 16 in Indianapolis, Indiana. More details about the 81^st conference, including the educational schedule, can be viewed at http://conference.iaao.org/. 

If you think that this is just a gathering of local assessors and tax administrators reinforcing their own ideas on one another, you would be wrong. The annual IAAO conference is a place where property assessment administration specialists, private industry experts, and academic authorities meet to share best practices, new ideas, lessons learned, and successful practices and methodologies.

This year’s educational session presenters include the following companies and organizations:

Access Valuation, LLC
Almy, Gloudemans, Jacobs & Denne 
American Valuation Group, Inc. 
Appraisal Research Corporation 
Bloom, Sluggett, Morgan Law, PC 
Bose, McKinney & Evans, LLP 
CourtHouseUSA, LLC  
Don R. Scheidt & Co., Inc.  
ESRI  
International Property Tax institute  
Josh Myers Valuation Solutions  
Marshall & Swift  
Marvin F. Poer & Company 
Nexus Group  
Pictometry International Corp.  
Property Valuation Services Corp. of Nova Scotia  
Sunbelt Rentals, Inc.  
Tax Management Associates, Inc.  
TEAM Consulting, LLC  
The Appraisal Foundation 
The TrU Group  
Thomson Reuters  
Tyler Technologies, Inc.  
Walmart Stores, Inc. 

Although the IAAO is an educational organization, its leaders understand that they can’t always provide the range of topics encountered by its members solely with their own offerings. The IAAO listens attentively to and involves academic institutions and organizations.

This year’s educational session presenters include the following academic institutions and organizations:

Indiana University
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Marshall University
Oklahoma State University
Riga Technical University, Latvia
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of New Hampshire
University of North Carolina

Through a combination of actions during the last several years the IAAO has focused on international topics that are especially beneficial to those that are improving their property tax assessment systems and setting up new systems in developing countries.

In 2013 the IAAO officially established an International Committee after an ad hoc committee spent several years supporting the mission of IAAO by increasing global awareness of programs, education, and networking opportunities.

In 2014 the IAAO adopted the “Global Guidance on Mass Appraisal and Related Tax Policy.” This guidance document “provides guidance on mass appraisal of real property at market value. The primary focus is on mass appraisal for value-based recurrent property taxes (also known as ‘rates on property’). However, the principles presented here are also relevant to mass appraisal for other governmental and public purposes.” 

This year’s educational sessions include a number of presenters from local assessment jurisdictions and state departments of taxation or revenue from the United States – particularly from Indiana where the conference is being held - but also from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the World Bank Group. While the number of countries that will be represented by attendees is not known at this time, educational session presenters include people from the following countries:

Canada
China
Granada
Hong Kong
Latvia
Lithuania
Spain
The Netherlands

I began this by saying that the IAAO is successful at re-inventing what they offer to members in the way of educational courses and training. IAAO leaders and staff are continually looking for ways to improve their offerings. The theme of this year’s conference is “Racing Toward Assessment Innovation.” A pre-conference education one-day workshop entitled “Reviewer and Developer's Workshop” will be held both September 12 and 13, 2015. IAAO has developed this workshop to train members who are new to course development or want to sharpen existing skills.

As the IAAO continues to improve its educational courses, workshops, and webinars, I hope you’ll take the opportunity to look closely at how these opportunities can benefit you personally, your jurisdiction, or your company or firm.

Best Online Newsletter for Keeping Informed About Property Taxes

PROBLEM

As a property tax consultant I need a reliable source to keep informed of changes in property tax laws and policies. For the last several years I've found the online newsletter by the National Association of Property Tax Attorneys (NAPTA) to be the best source. Oh I've tried Google Alerts and other sources, but the NAPTA daily Update is the most comprehensive and they've done the hard work for me. 

If you've used Google Alerts you know that it's difficult to tell which country, state, or province the news story is from.  I typically have to take time to follow the link, and even then many writers of news articles assume you know the state where the newspaper is reporting from.  I have to click around the site to the "contact us" webpage before I can identify the location.  But the NAPTA Update is neatly laid out from international issues to state issues in alphabetical order.

SOLUTION

The NAPTA Update newsletter is the best source to keep informed of changes in property tax laws and policies.

Emerging trends, critical issues, and the application of best practices in property taxation are being carried out in real time.  As local government operations property tax assessors don't have competition like the private sector.  But local assessors must track the progress being made by those heading the operations in comparable jurisdictions.  How are they responding to property tax law changes and what new tax policies are being proposed?

We learn from each other. This is critical for big assessment offices as well as small offices.  For example, as property assessors we need to look at the bigger picture to observe minor changes in property valuations.  But if you've been in this field long enough you learn that market indicators are everywhere. 

Property owners, investors, and attorneys who represent them, are all active participants in the markets that property assessors monitor, measure, and report on.  Property tax attorneys are professionals that influence the environment that assessors must operate in.  You have a choice.  You can wish they would just go away or you can embrace them.

According to the NAPTA website: The National Association of Property Tax Attorneys is a nonprofit organization of ad valorem tax and property tax attorneys throughout the United States who are committed to increasing awareness and understanding about property tax issues, educating the public about this specialized area of law and uniting competent tax specialists throughout the United States.

Timing of Real Estate Market Trends Matter

By Guest Author Stephen K. Hachey

For some people, understanding their property taxes can be very difficult. This article explains some of the more frustrating aspects of the property tax statement.

In Hillsborough County, Florida, property taxes are paid for the previous year, rather than in advance for the coming year. The TRIM (Truth in Millage) notice is sent out in late August to show the proposed property taxes. The TRIM notice shows you the assessed value of the property plus the millage rate for the taxing entities.

Millage rates are the amount per $1,000 dollars that is used to calculate taxes on property. The expressed millage rate is multiplied by the total assessed value of the property to arrive at the property taxes due. The millage rate on the TRIM notice will show any proposed changes, which are voted on by the taxing entities in mid September, as well as the rate should the changes not be accepted.

Many people become upset when they believe that the assessed value of their property is too high, causing their property taxes to be higher than what they believe is fair. The assessed value of the property is based on sales data from the previous year, and with taxes being paid in arrears, the values used to pay the taxes are almost two years old by the time taxes are paid. 

For example, the TRIM notice that you received in August 2012 affected the real estate taxes that you paid to Hillsborough County by the March 31, 2013, deadline. However, the assessed value for your property had an effective date for valuation by the county property appraisers' office of January 1, 2012. And in estimating values for the 2012 assessments the county studied real estate market data and trends during 2011.

Although the time delay between market data, assessments, and when taxes are paid may seem unfair, for most people the assessed taxes work out fairly in the end, because the same system is used year after year to assess values. So, for example, the value of your home may go up this year, but your taxes will not go up right away, as the sales data used to assess that value is from the previous year. 

For those who feel that the value of their home is not low enough, they can contact the Hillsborough County Tax Appraiser at 813-272-6100 or by email at [email protected]. If you do decide to call, make sure that you are prepared with good comparable data for your area. Also, don't worry if you feel the assessed value of your home is too low. The Save Our Homes law in Florida keeps the assessed value of a home from increasing more than 3%, or the amount of the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever amount is lower. This keeps the assessed value of your home from going up drastically.

Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of Hillsborough County property taxes, and you can read your TRIM notice this year with a little less confusion or frustration.

This post was written for Property Assessment by Stephen K. Hachey. Stephen is a Tampa Foreclosure Lawyer specializing in loan modifications, short sales, foreclosure and much more. He is also the owner of his own practice, the Law Offices of Stephen Hachey, PA. This article is for general informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Please contact a licensed attorney in your state of residence. For more information on Stephen's services, please visit his website at www.floridarealestatelawyer.org/.

Who Says Assessors Are Always the Bad Guys

A Service to Those Serving Overseas

Senior Property Tax Consultant Richard Sanderson is offering free consultations for American Foreign Service Officers at the U.S. Tri-Mission in Rome, Italy, who own real estate in the U.S.  The Tri-Mission is made up of the U.S. Embassy to Italy, the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations of Rome.

According to Sanderson many states will begin notifying property owners of 2013 assessed values in the months ahead.  Property owner’s rarely have the time to understand why real estate assessments have changed, but this rings even truer for American Foreign Service Officers who are busy serving overseas and have likely lost touch with local real estate market conditions.

U.S. Foreign Service Officers include diplomatic positions with U.S. government agencies that serve overseas, including the Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Internal Revenue Service, and others.

Sanderson had been working in Rome since July 2012, when his wife, Christine Sloop, began serving a three year assignment as the Agricultural Counselor for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service. 

A senior property tax consultant with Local Government Services International, Sanderson has more than 30 years’ experience in assessment administration.  He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

List of More Than 275 Websites for Property Assessment and Valuation

 

Identified for Ease of Use by Busy Property Valuation Specialists

I just completed a list of more than 275 websites that I have been compiling since 2006.  Each website link was accessed and updated in September to be sure that there are not broken links. 

The full-text resource guide is free when you sign up to receive our Property Assessment e-Alerts.  A sample of the resource guide can be viewed by clicking here.  E-Alerts are sent about once every two months to subscribers to notify them of items of interest to real estate appraisers, assessors, and others interested in property valuation.  Of course you can unsubscribe at any time.

These websites shown in the resource guide will be very useful to:

• Academics in the field of local government administration and tax policy
• Appraisers
• Assessors
• Bankers, lenders, and mortgage loan specialists
• Commercial real estate developers and investors
• Property tax administrators
• Tax agents and corporate representatives
• Tax specialists

E-Alerts are sent about once each month to subscribers to notify them of items of interest to real estate appraisers, assessors, and others interested in property valuation.  Of course you can unsubscribe at any time.

Please let us know of additional websites that you would like to see added to the list in upcoming editions.  If you like the list let your friends and colleagues know about it.