Board of Review sessions begin
Photo
Janesville homeowner William Hesser, left, questions his raised home assessment with Richard Haviza of the Janesville Assessor’s Office during a Board of Review hearing at the Janesville City Hall.
JANESVILLE — The first three residents to appear before the Janesville Board of Review on Thursday will not be happy to hear the board found in favor of the assessor's office in all three cases.
The five board members said the residents appearing mostly did not submit proper comparable property values. In one case, they said an auction—even though it wasn't the result of a foreclosure—didn't set a fair sale price.
The value of the property is presumed correct unless it is rebutted by sufficient evidence. The assessing department uses comparables and a mass appraisal software program in its assessments.
The taxpayers appearing before the board brought their own spreadsheets and documents. In the end, it wasn't enough to convince the board.
Residents who remain unsatisfied can take their cases either to the circuit court or the state Department of Revenue.
The three residents left council chambers before the board deliberated.
Board of review members are Edward Chady, Thomas Parsons, Brian Laatsch, Nancy Kimball and Joe LeBeau.
Board members have a long road ahead, with 292 objections filed after the recent citywide revaluation. Those represent 65 individuals because some filed on multiple properties. The city has 140 objections from developers who own vacant lots. Another property owner filed 51 objections for a condominium complex.
The board is meeting again this morning and on Saturday. It will meet multiple times in the coming weeks.
Clerk Jean Wulf hopes it can finish by the end of October.
The presentations lasted about 45 minutes each. The board deliberated at the end.
All participants are sworn in, and testimony is taped.
Resident William Hesser, 2436 Oak Brook Court, was the first to present evidence to bolster his claim that his $545,700 assessment should be $411,000.
Hesser questioned how a fair assessment could be made when only one house that sold last year was even in the same range, and that one was not comparable.
Hesser said he didn't believe he could sell his house for $411,000 but was willing to settle for that.
After the hearing, Hesser said he might take the case further as a matter of principle, especially after seeing the evidence the assessor's office presented Thursday.
Mike Hanna represented Simon Hanna. Hanna bought a house at auction last summer for $115,000. Mike Hanna said he lost his mind when the assessment showed $156,000.
Hanna said an appraisal he had done privately put the value at about $148,400.
The auction was not the result of a foreclosure. Still, the board said such an auction doesn't show fair market value because so few people can finance homes bought at auction.
Alexander Ulbrich, 4109 Huntinghorne Drive, brought in a thick bundle of statistics showing what he thought were proper comparables.
It wasn't enough to convince the board that his assessment should decrease from $264,600 to $245,000.
After the hearing, Ulbrich said he had the feeling at the hearing that he was "running into a brick wall" and said the assessor was hiding behind complex statutes and statistics.
Rather, common sense should be used, Ulbrich said. Assessments should reflect the recent drop in property values. Even though values had increased for several years, much of that disappeared during the recent economic troubles.
His refrain was similar to the others heard Thursday.
"I don't think I can sell it for $264,600," he said of his house.
Sep 17, 2011 at 3:12 p.m.
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KLC: I think your comment is a little too simplistic. Yes, the levy is key in determining the amount of tax. However, when a revaluation is done it is suppose to reflect the market value as of January 1st. As we've seen overinflating the price of real estate creates a bubble / false sense of worth. If the jurisdiction is going to bother doing a revaluation it should be accurate or else what is the point? They can then adjust the levy as appropriate. That's what my city did. Not exactly rocket science.
Sep 17, 2011 at 2:46 p.m.
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The thing to keep in mind is relative value. Maybe my house is assessed at $10,000 more than "I could sell it for," but if all my neighbors are in the same boat, it doesn't matter. Why? Because the tax levy is the same either way. To make everyone happy the assessors could lower everyone's assessment by $60,000 - but what you pay in taxes won't go down as the tax levy will stay the same.
Sep 17, 2011 at 9:24 a.m.
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While "credit scores" don't keep values high, it's another one of the banking cartel's tools for ripping people off..Scam.
Sep 17, 2011 at 9:20 a.m.
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west- I agree 100%..Add "credit scores" to that list too.
Sep 17, 2011 at 7:20 a.m.
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In the end, mortgage and home values are semi fraudulent ventures perpetrated by the banking industry, assessors, and local governments to artificially keep values high.
Sep 17, 2011 at 6:54 a.m.
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The foxes are guarding the chicken coop
Sep 16, 2011 at 8:46 p.m.
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kangaroo court
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