Seems Kansas City, MO has also been hit hard with their reassessments this year.
https://www.kmbc.com/article/what-missouri-law-says-about-major-increases-to-property-values/27981337
So not just a local problem, seems to be a state-wide problem.
Thursday, July 18, 2019
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
The Continuing SAGA ...
As I prepare to appeal my 2019 reassessment, I am, of course, back in the cluster-#!^*# of data that is the result of the efforts of the St. Louis County Assessor's office.
And, no surprise to me, I can't seem to help but stumble across more examples of..... hmmm, I don't even know what to call it. Incompetence? Delusion? Or perhaps something more nefarious in nature, like.... Collusion? I'll present the data and you can decide yourself.
So let me start by showing you another curious scenario. This is the type of example where I start to suspicion that there's something more nefarious in nature with some of these scenarios.
Below is the bottom portion of a "comparable sales" sheet for a property in west county. This property sold in 2014 for $535,000. Clearly, at that price, it's neither a small nor inexpensive property. In spite of selling for $535k in 2014, more than 5 years ago, and in a reassessment year when Mr. Zimmerman claims home values have jumped on average 15%, this property seems immune to the reassessment woes that some of us have experienced in great quantity.
If you look at the Cost Value for each of the the comparable properties, notice that the subject property is the most expensive of the properties, and more expensive by far than at least two of the others. However, thanks to the magic and wonder that is the St. Louis County assessor's office, this property is not only valued (Market Value Estimate) at less than it sold for 5 years ago, but less than all of the other comps used to determine the assessed value, even though the Cost Value Estimate is the highest. In fact, its assessed value is more than $120k below it's Cost Value Estimate. No other comp in the list varies this much.
I'm also curious about the third comp. I'd like to know what adjustments needed to be made on a sale of a property from 2016 that warranted an adjustment in sale price of almost $100k. Seems like if the house is that different that it requires that much "adjusting," then perhaps the county needs to pick a better comp.
Except.... it actually IS a good comp. It's located on the lot immediately next-door. It was built the same year by the same builder, same-sized lot, same number of bedrooms and baths, etc. So now I really want to know the reason for the $100k adjustment....
Sure, a couple of the other houses indicate a remodel date, which might account for some of the undisclosed "adjustments." But what about the subject property? If you read the realtor description, there are "TONS of updates," including things like granite counter-tops, stainless steel appliances, and remote-control window blinds. Why isn't there a remodel date on the subject property?
Further, if you look at the property description online, for some reason, the drawing for this property is "unavailable."
This whole property scenario is fishy.
And, no surprise to me, I can't seem to help but stumble across more examples of..... hmmm, I don't even know what to call it. Incompetence? Delusion? Or perhaps something more nefarious in nature, like.... Collusion? I'll present the data and you can decide yourself.
So let me start by showing you another curious scenario. This is the type of example where I start to suspicion that there's something more nefarious in nature with some of these scenarios.
Below is the bottom portion of a "comparable sales" sheet for a property in west county. This property sold in 2014 for $535,000. Clearly, at that price, it's neither a small nor inexpensive property. In spite of selling for $535k in 2014, more than 5 years ago, and in a reassessment year when Mr. Zimmerman claims home values have jumped on average 15%, this property seems immune to the reassessment woes that some of us have experienced in great quantity.
If you look at the Cost Value for each of the the comparable properties, notice that the subject property is the most expensive of the properties, and more expensive by far than at least two of the others. However, thanks to the magic and wonder that is the St. Louis County assessor's office, this property is not only valued (Market Value Estimate) at less than it sold for 5 years ago, but less than all of the other comps used to determine the assessed value, even though the Cost Value Estimate is the highest. In fact, its assessed value is more than $120k below it's Cost Value Estimate. No other comp in the list varies this much.
I'm also curious about the third comp. I'd like to know what adjustments needed to be made on a sale of a property from 2016 that warranted an adjustment in sale price of almost $100k. Seems like if the house is that different that it requires that much "adjusting," then perhaps the county needs to pick a better comp.
Except.... it actually IS a good comp. It's located on the lot immediately next-door. It was built the same year by the same builder, same-sized lot, same number of bedrooms and baths, etc. So now I really want to know the reason for the $100k adjustment....
Sure, a couple of the other houses indicate a remodel date, which might account for some of the undisclosed "adjustments." But what about the subject property? If you read the realtor description, there are "TONS of updates," including things like granite counter-tops, stainless steel appliances, and remote-control window blinds. Why isn't there a remodel date on the subject property?
Further, if you look at the property description online, for some reason, the drawing for this property is "unavailable."
This whole property scenario is fishy.
Townhall Meetings
A few of the County Council members arranged several townhall meetings so that Jake Zimmerman could address the flood of complaints being lodged to their offices.
I attended 3 of those meetings. Not so much because I felt I would glean some important information, but just because I wanted to see how Mr. Zimmerman would answer the questions that were asked.
I formed two opinions.
1.) Jake Zimmerman is a politician, and he's good at it. He maintained a calm and cool demeanor in the face of some pretty hostile residents. He responded to questions in a manner that didn't necessarily answer the question, but seemed to appease the room in general at least, if not the person that asked the question. If the question was too specific, or possibly too incriminating, then he would simply direct the person to go speak privately with his staff over in the corner, and he would move on to the next question.
2.) Jake Zimmerman is either lying through his teeth, or he is grossly misinformed about what is going on in his office. Numerous statements were made by him which I could easily prove to be inaccurate, and with numerous examples.
At least sort of. Remember, he's a politician, so he knows how to make a statement that isn't really true but neither is it a bold-faced lie. For example, I believe he claimed in each of the three hearings that I went to that he has "put an end to drive-by inspections." Well.... Yes, perhaps he has put a stop to "drive-by" inspections simply by forcing his inspectors to get out of their cars. Apparently to deliver a postcard. Because he HASN'T addressed the problem that inspections are not being done, which was the problem in the first place that warranted the implementation of the Missouri Statute.
He also stated repeatedly that they just want to "get it right." That has not been my experience. Everything I've attempted to get them to correct has been rejected. Even my property description is still inaccurate to-date, in spite of multiple attempts on my part, and even having one of their appraiser's at my house with a tape measure.
And I'd still like to hear the answers to the other questions asked.
The biggest problem I see is that Mr. Zimmerman is refusing to even acknowledge that there's a problem. And so he's not going to make any effort to correct anything because he doesn't think there's anything to correct.
I want to hear YOUR stories, because I know I'm not the only one that has encountered noteworthy situations. Tell me about your reassessment. Tell me about your appeal experience. I'm going to compile as much evidence as I can and then we, as a community, can evaluate our options and work to get this clearly-broken system corrected. With enough documented evidence and a crowd that is unwilling to walk away quietly from this, perhaps then -- just maybe -- we can get Mr. Zimmerman to acknowledge that there's actually something wrong with the system.
I attended 3 of those meetings. Not so much because I felt I would glean some important information, but just because I wanted to see how Mr. Zimmerman would answer the questions that were asked.
I formed two opinions.
1.) Jake Zimmerman is a politician, and he's good at it. He maintained a calm and cool demeanor in the face of some pretty hostile residents. He responded to questions in a manner that didn't necessarily answer the question, but seemed to appease the room in general at least, if not the person that asked the question. If the question was too specific, or possibly too incriminating, then he would simply direct the person to go speak privately with his staff over in the corner, and he would move on to the next question.
2.) Jake Zimmerman is either lying through his teeth, or he is grossly misinformed about what is going on in his office. Numerous statements were made by him which I could easily prove to be inaccurate, and with numerous examples.
At least sort of. Remember, he's a politician, so he knows how to make a statement that isn't really true but neither is it a bold-faced lie. For example, I believe he claimed in each of the three hearings that I went to that he has "put an end to drive-by inspections." Well.... Yes, perhaps he has put a stop to "drive-by" inspections simply by forcing his inspectors to get out of their cars. Apparently to deliver a postcard. Because he HASN'T addressed the problem that inspections are not being done, which was the problem in the first place that warranted the implementation of the Missouri Statute.
He also stated repeatedly that they just want to "get it right." That has not been my experience. Everything I've attempted to get them to correct has been rejected. Even my property description is still inaccurate to-date, in spite of multiple attempts on my part, and even having one of their appraiser's at my house with a tape measure.
And I'd still like to hear the answers to the other questions asked.
The biggest problem I see is that Mr. Zimmerman is refusing to even acknowledge that there's a problem. And so he's not going to make any effort to correct anything because he doesn't think there's anything to correct.
I want to hear YOUR stories, because I know I'm not the only one that has encountered noteworthy situations. Tell me about your reassessment. Tell me about your appeal experience. I'm going to compile as much evidence as I can and then we, as a community, can evaluate our options and work to get this clearly-broken system corrected. With enough documented evidence and a crowd that is unwilling to walk away quietly from this, perhaps then -- just maybe -- we can get Mr. Zimmerman to acknowledge that there's actually something wrong with the system.
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