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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM071888 JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF EQUALIZATION A. C. DALGLEISH DAVID G. DOUGLAS ARCHIE BARBER, JR. CHAIRMAN VICE-CHAIRMAN MEMBER ALTERNATE M I NUT E S J U L Y 1 8, 1 9 8 8 MEETING CALLED TO ORDER by CHAIRMAN A.C.DALGLEISH at 9:00 a.m. Vice~chairman-David G. Douglas, Member-Archie Barber, Jr., and Clerk- Dierdrei Whiteford were present. BOE-88-009-LO PETITIONER: ASSESSOR: Office, was present. Parcel number: 001--181-022 MR. STANISLAW LORECKI was present. MR. ROBERT BARRY representing the Assessor's Mr. Lorecki was sworn in before giving his reasons for desiring a lower valuation. He stated that this land on Crutcher Road -L~ undeveloped and is used only for reforestation. The real estate agent told him there was too much land around for him to expect the assessed valuation of $21,825.00 for this 4.85 acre piece. This is $4,500.00 an acre. It is at present not listed with ERA Realty or any realty as his ex-wi fe It\li thdre'i-.ol it t-lhen the property did not sell. Mr. Lorecki received the property in lieu of a cash divorce settlement. He claims that there is swampy due to lots of standing water in the winter time. The best offer his ex-wife had was for $15,000.00 through ERA, which she declined in 1987. The petitioner would like to see the land re-valued at $3,600.00 an acre for a total of $17,500.00. He stated that he knew of no comparable property sales in the area. He sees no future for building on this land after ten years of ownership. He questions why the increase in valuation when nothing has changed and there are no improvements. Mr. Barry gave a history of how he arrived at the valuation: 1) The area was re-valued in 1984, most of the five acre parcels valued at about $5,500.00 per acre based on sales in the area through 1984. 2) The ten acre parcels were valued at $4,000.00 per acre. At this time the 4.85 acres of Mr. Loreckils were part of a ten acre piece with a house on it. 3) This acreage being segregated from the ten acre piece in 1987, there were no previous land sales to base valuation on. 4} As a result of this, the land was valued on the ten acre valuation rate of $4,000.00 an acre, the rate it was valued at before, creating a total valuation for the parcel of $19,400.00. 5) January 1, 1988 a re-valuation was completed and the property was re-valued for $21,825.00, the present valuation. This is an adjustment, the increase based on his size parcel, not the ten acre rate. 1 M I NUT E S for J U L Y 18th, 1 988 Mr. Barry gave a list of four properties which were Jlmore or less11 comparables, they being located on a paved road with power available: 1) A property on Nelson Landing Road sold for $5,090.00 per acre. The parcel has the road running through it, when the right of way is subtracted the acreage is 5.7. This sold in March of 1987. The seller held a contract on that. This same parcel sold in October of 1985 for $3,800.00 an acre, cash. 2) At the intersection of Cape George Road and Crutcher Road. Acreage of 3.54 sold in June of 1987 for $3,760.00 an acre. The seller took a contract. Inferior to Lorecki1s property for residential purposes being irregular shaped parcels on the road. 3) At Crutcher and Cape George Road again. Acreage was 4.96 which sold in September of 1987 for $3,780.00 an acre. Inferior to Loreckils property due to irregular shaped parcels and high traffic on the road. 4) Acreage 4.56 located on Loftus Road, north of Loreckils property with one property in between. It sold in August of 1986 for $5,700.00 per acre. It had a good well, a pump house, electrical service. It is superior to Mr. Loreckits property as it has nice trees, a good clear area and it is better drained. The Board determined to look at the comparable properties and Mr. Lorecki's property before making their decision. BOE-88-010-R Parcel Number: 001-171--014 s~'lorn in, PETITIONER: STANISLAW LORECKI was present this property being heard right after his ASSESSOR: ROBERT BARRY was present for and previously last petition. the Assessor' s Office. This five acre parcel at the end of Jolie Way t,..;as valued by the Assessor for: Land $15,000.00 Improvements $ 2,950.00 Total $17,950.00 The petitioner desires a lower valuation of: Land $10,000.00 Improvements $ 600.00 Total $10,600.00 The petitioner bases this on the parcel being located 1 1/2 miles off the county road with the only access being a private, unimproved, not maintained, dirt road. The access is really difficult. There are no water, phone or electrical lines and no septic tank. The building itself is only for storage, no furniture and partially finished. No insulation. The building was built from scraps and is only 121 by 20'. He set it on concrete blocks for ventilation. The power ~~ around 1000 feet away. He cannot bring the power to his property by himself and his neighbors will not cooperate in bringing in the power to make it less expensive. He plans on putting a 19 foot trailer on the property to live at a later date. ~.1r. Barry last appraised the property in February of 1985, the previous value being locked in at $1,750.00 an acre based on a 40 acre parcel from which Mr. Lorecki1s parcel was segregated from. Jolie road has been upgraded, but the road does not extend to Mr. Lorecki's property. The access to the property is a privately maintained road, not a county road. Primary power service goes to the end of Jolie Way which is 980 feet from Mr. Lorecki1s land. Comparables presented: 1) $2,400.00 an acre at end of Jolie Way, was the lowest priced acreage, sold in 1987. This was a five acre parcel. 2) The highest price was $3,700.00 an acre on a five acre parcel, sold in 1985. This land in 3011e Way area. 3) This property is a five acre parcel which sold in February of 1985 for $10,000.00. This is $2,000.00 per acre. This is the same price Mr. Lorecki had purchased his property for a few " , M I NUT E S for J U L Y 18th, 1 9 8 8 months earlier. This same property sold in September of 1987 for $18,250.00 which is $3,650.00 per acre. This is right next to power and the main road. This property loses roughly two-thirds of an acre to easements. 4) This is a ten acre parcel, sold in July of 1986 for $3,200.00 an acre. This property is right on power and access to the main road but does have some easements. The terrain is similar to Mr. Lorecki's. Mr. Barry states that the big question is whether or not he allowed enough differential for the fact that Mr. Loreckils parcel is a fair distance from power and access. With respect to the storage structure his impression when he was there was that there was insulation and wall board inside, so he worked it as a partially completed cabin without plumbing or power. The Board will view this property, notifying Mr. Lorecki of the date and approximate time of day, before making their decision regarding re-valuation. i j BOE-88-014-R Parcel Number: 921-094-002 PETITIONER: NANCY TURNER BUTTS did not appear before the board. ASSESSOR: MR. ROBERT SHOLD \V'as present representing the Assessors office. This property is located at 131 Lip Lip Lane, Nordlandr Washington and it consists of an one acre homesite with a five room house, a metal building, a garage and a shop. Currently this property is appraised at: Land $42,850.00 Improvements $37,585.00 Total $80,435.00 In her opinion the true and fair value should be: Land $35,000.00 Improvements $37,585.00 Total $72,585.00 She has not had this appraised and she does not give comparable properties or when she purchased this property and for how much. She does not appeal the valuation of the improvements, only the land. She states on her petition that she feels that the raised assessed valuation of $12,000.00 is too much, in as much as there have been no changes or improvements. Mr. Shold states that the parcel in question is on a Senior Citizen one acre homesite exemption. Her parcel is 1.72 acres so the valuation is split. She only gets the exemption on the one acre. The procedure is to create another, separate parcel to assess valuation on, over and above the one acre exemption. The assessor included the 135 feet of high bank waterfront (on a bluff) in the Senior Citizen exemption. This one acre piece only exists for exemption purposes. It may not be sold as a separate piece ~f property. This footage is normally assessed at $350.00 a foot, being $47,250.00 for the water frontage. The amount of taxes she pays after her exemption on the assessed valuation is considered confidential information. The determined adjustment is not in the Board of Equalization files. The Board only equalizes the True and Fair land value, not taking into consideration the Senior Citizen exemption. The Assessor's Office has its own personnel apply the authorized exemption. Mr, Shold states that this is a beautiful view property. Because of the configuration of the parcel and its being an homesite, they take the whole front footage including the .72 acres not allowed on the Senior Citizen exemption and assess the valuation based on the $350.00 a foot waterfront, then they take the .72 acres at $7,500.00 an acre, which gives us the $5,400.00 valuation and they deduct this from the total valuation of $48,250.00 with the improvements on it, giving us the $42,850.00 land valuation figure. The valuation of the improvements 3 M I NUT E S for J U L Y 1 8 ... ....n, 1 9 8 8 are not considered in this petition since they are not being questioned. Mrs. Butt's last evaluation was in 1985. It was $35,435.00 for the whole parcel. The land only, escalated from $35,435.00 to $48,250.00. Just the one acre portion was calculated at $30,000.00. This is the portion she is contesting, it went from $30,000.00 to $42,000.00. This $12,000.00 jump in value is justified by the land being valued too low in the previous valuations. This is a 40 percent increase due to an equalization of the parcels based on sales of adjacent properties. Comparable Properties: 1} The parcel north of hers was 110 feet. it was assessed at $350.00 a front foot for $39,500.00 for acres. This property has a 1 i ttle less frontage and is smaller. In 1983 the 1.45 a little 2) One just south of hers has 135 front feet. 1983 it was assessed at $47,250.00 at $350.00 per front foot. This is approximately the same size parcel. Mrs. Buttrs parcel was not equal to any other parcel when he went to make his assessments. The Board having no advisement. They will regarding the property further questions. notify the appellant in question. they took this under and review the situation BOE-88-011-R Parcel Number: 990-660-350 PETITIONER: DIMITRI H. KYRIAKOS was not able to appear before the board. ASSESSOR: MR. SHOLD ......tas present on behal f of the Assessor I 5 Office. r.1r. Kyr iakos bought the property June 14, 1971 for $3,950.00 cash. The assessed valuation of the property, lot 50, is: Land $ 36,000.00 Improvements $ 69,760.00 Total $ 105,760.00 The new construction valuation of $30,640.00 raised it from the previously assessed valuation of: Land $ 36,000.00 Improvements $ 36,720.00 ~otal $ 72,720.00 As stated in a letter submitted with other exhibits regarding his petition, Mr. Kyriakos states that he will not dispute the improvement taxes, though they increased dramatically, for he made a number of improvements. However, he does dispute the land valuation based on his original purchase price of $3,950.00. The taxes for this same property have been increased to $36,000.00 even though the property remains the same as when it was purchased in 1971, with only a very small portion of it suitable for building purposes. He states that the property east of his, lot 49, was valued at $18,000.00 when he purchased his property. The lot west of his, lot 51, was valued at $16,000.00 in 1971. Both of these lots increased to the value of $36,000.00 at present. His lot, inferior for building purposes, was also assessed at $36,000.00. He states that the property has not increased one iota in value and that it would still be considered unsui table for building purposes. Mr. Kyriakos mentions that the property was divided into three separate lots by the developers so that they could obtain their "yearly dues" and that these developers were certain that lot # 51 would eventually buy lot #50 to secure the green belt. He included receipts of his purchase and proof of the land valuations of lots #49 and #51. He believes that a physical inspection of his property would clarify his position as to the value of lot #50. He respectfully requests a sizeable reduction in the taxes charged to the land: 4 M I NUT E S for J U L Y 18th, 1 9 8 8 Land $ 8,000.00 Improvements $ 69,760.00 Total $ 77,760.00 Bob Shold was asked ho~'.[ Mr. Kyriakos could build on this "unsui tabler: land. David Douglas answered when Mr. Shald stated that he had the same question. It was stated that it was a precipitous terrain with a severe ravine. Mr. Kyriakos built what started out to be a weekend cabin. Hers built in front of the ravine. He does not have full use of the lot, The point is, according to Mr. Barber, does the ravine detract from the value of the lot? Mr. Douglas states that he only has full use of a very limited portion of the lot. On the basis of this petition, Mr. Douglas suggests the Board look at it. Mr. Douglas also points out that what Mr. Kyriakos stated regarding the developers breaking up the lots is correct in that any developer tries to break up the land into as many buildable lots as possible in order to profit. There being nothing further, the Board determined to conduct an on- site inspection of the lot before making any determination. BOE-88-008-LO Parcel Number: 940-800-069 PETITIONER: J. ALDEN ATWOOD was not present at the hearing. ASSESSOR: ROBERT BARRY representing the Assessor's Office was present. According to Mr. Atwoodfs petition the current valuation on this Cape George Village, Division 4, Lot 73 is: Land $6,000.00 Total $6,000.00 He purchased this lot for $3,950.00, cash, in May of 1978. He currently has it listed for sale at $2,000.00. It has been listed since 1986. No comparable properties listed. She states that the property does not pere, so it cannot be built on, so it is worthless. The Atwood's had an opportunity to sell the property in 1986, but the I'Boardl'(assumed to be a Board of Architects or an Health Board), not the Board of Equalization, refused to allow a large camper to be placed on the property. As a result of this, the sale fell through. It was listed at that time for $3,500.00. On the basis of these facts, the peti tioner requests that the property valuation be adjusted to: Land $4,000.00 Total $4,000.00 Mrs. Atwood submitted three letters to the Board of Equalization: 1} Addressed to the County Commissioners, June 16, 1988, stated that since the lot did not perc and that it cannot be built on, that it was worthless and a IIwhi te elephant II on their hands. She also stated that her husband who broke his back falling from their roof onto cement is paralyzed and unable to attend a hearing. 2) Addressed to the Board of Equalization, July 8, 1988, stated that she would notify her husband of the specified hearing date, (sent to her in order to follow appropriate procedures) t but that he was definitely paralyzed from the chest down and would never be able to walk again. Her husband ~'.;ill be in the hospital for another three to four months and when he gets out he will require full time care. She stated that she would be unable to attend the hearing. She said the property was listed with ERA realty in Port Townsend for less than the purchase price, and that they1ve been paying taxes on it for the past ten years. 3} Addressed to the Board of Equalization, July 12, 1988, stated that the enclosed contract from when they purchased lot 73 in the Village showed on it that the property did not perc. As a result of this I there was no reason to believe it would perc or to incur expenses to test it for the ability to perc. (Please note, this letter was not read during the hearing as it was not received prior to her hearing. It is entered in these minutes to show she has sent as much 5 M I NUT E S ..~- .v. J U L Y 18th, 1 9 8 8 information as she had available on the pere denial request}. The specific dimensions of this lot were unavailable. The clerk requested the pere denial information on July 11, 1988. Mrs. Atwood was unable to provide anymore than the contract on which she purchased the property in question. The assessor, Mr. Barry, suggested they be made aware of Senior Citizen exemptions. Due to their not living on the property or in this county, they would be unable to quality for such an exemption. He mentioned that this property was consistent with other lots in dimensions, though specifics were not available. He went on to state later that the $6,000.00 evaluation was arrived at by it being 50 percent of the perc property market valuation of $12,000.00. He says that he goofed and that the valuation should have been 50 percent of $11,400.00 after adjustments. It should have wound up at $5,700.00 instead of $6,000.00. He had intended on correcting this error Friday, but did not at that time. This corrected valuation would make it consistent with the other non~perc lots in the area. Mr. Barry1s recommendation would be that it be at most, $5,700.00. He did suggest that in order to secure the perc denial, we could call the Health Department, but the Board deemed that unnecessary. Mr. Barry stated that there t-'Jas a notation that the property had not passed its perc test. Mr. Bar~y suggested we listen to a short presentation on non~perc lots which would help clarify this situation as well as several other non- perc petitions we have received this year. This presentation follows: On the larger issue of perc denied lots, which we have been provided documentation of, there are a total of 73 such lots in the two divisions of the Colony. Thirty-six in Cape George Colony, thirty-seven in the Village. There are more than 300 lots with houses on them. Cape George is contemplating a sewer system at this time. More will be said on that later on in this presentation. In 1984, when the re-valuation was done, most of the no-perc lots in this area were left at the previous, 1980 valuation, in spite of the faet that there were some changes in the market value of lots that do perc, around them. As a result, Mr. Barry found that the assessments the assessors have had since 1984 varied anywhere from 25 percent of the value of comparable lots that would perc to 52 percent. There didn't seem to be much variability 01:' equity there. One particularly startling situation was between two lots side by side on the waterfront in the Village. Both were no-pere lots, one valued at about $8,000.00 and the other at almost $16,000.00. So it was obvious that there 'Y'lere some problems on which Mr. Barry needed to move towards some equity. He did some research on sales of no-pere lots in the last three or four years. He came up with three sales at that time and he heard about a fourth one: 1) The first sale, Colony, Division 2, Block 3, Lot 22. This sold in April of 1987 for $22,500.00. This waterfront lot sold to an owner of an adjacent non-pere lot. With the combined lots he was able to build a mound system. The sale price was exactly double what it 'V'-las assessed at. It is now assessed at $22,500.00. The price of $22,500.00 would have been roughly 70 percent of the market value it would have been assessed at had it been a pere lot. 2} The second sale, Colony, Division 3, Lot 75 sold for $3,000.00 in December of 1986. This is a very steep lot at the back end of the Colony wi th no view. In 1984 it was valued at $5,000.00. This last valuation was $3,750.00, it was done before he even knew it had sold for $3,000.00. That valuation is roughly 35 percent of what a good no-view lot would be and 50 percent of what this lot would sell for with its steep topography, if it perked. 3) The third sale was in the Village, Division 3, Lot 75. It sold for $3,000.00 in March of 1987. This was an Estate that was selling it. It was assessed in 1984 at $6,250.00, he now has it assessed at $8,500.00. The owner of this lot contacted Mr. Barry 6 M I NUT E S for J U r v ~ . 18th, 1 9 8 8 for appeal forms, which he sent out. So far he has not petitioned the Board. 4} The fourth lot, just heard about from a reliable source, a Colony lot, Division 3, Block 5, Lot 38. An elderly lady who does not live in the area, had no further use for this lot. She sold it to her Real Estate agent for $2,000.00. Right now, if someone is in the position that they must sell, they are in tough shape. Short term, it is hard to sell these lots even at their assessed valuation. If you are not in any hurry to sell, your position is better. The owners of any of these lots would all have to pay the same amount for the sewer system if it goes in. A brief explanation of what Mr. Barry did then. He chose to value all the non-pere lots at 50 percent of their value IF they did perc. Other lots in the area that are non~perc lots have been valued at 50 percent ~ Someday there should be a sewer system going in. The philosophy is, if you make a mistake, make a correctable mistake. If 50 percent is too high, he'll hear about it. He doesn't feel that he has heard that loudly from the owners, only 11 of the 73 lot owners have complained. As of this date, only five appeals have come through. At least three of these are from people who were previously valued in the low 30 percent range. He has no really strong feelings about the sacredness of 50 percent. If the Board wanted to come up with a figure to apply to all no-pere lots he would be glad to apply it. If they just want to deal with these five, that is alright too. This should be good for most no-pere lots we come across. There are lot sales ranging from $2,000.00 a lot up to $22,500.00 a lot for non-perc lots. The Board determined to take this above presentation under advisement as well as the Atwood's petition. BOE-88-012-LO PETITIONER: REBECCA M. Petition Number: 995-600-012 LUNDY was not able to be present as she lives in Michigan. ASSESSOR: ROBERT SHOLD represented the Assessor's Office~ This Port Ludlow property is assessed at: Land $22,950.00 Total $22,950.00 Ms. Lundy has attempted to sell this property every year for the past five years for a period of six months each year {April through October}. She has asked anyv.;here from $19,500.00 to $27 r 500.00 dur ing these years. She attached a Real Estate Listing sheet noting that the view was of the prestigious, Port Ludlow golf course. It overlooks the seventh fairway. The property has not been appraised by any assessor besides the county assessor. She does not list her purchase price or any comparable sales. In 1987 the lot was offered for sale for $22,800.00 and there wasn't even an offer. The adjacent lots are also offered for sale below the assessed valuation. Her lot is presently offered for sale for $19,500.00 with ERA Olympic Real Estate. She would like the assessed valuation dropped to: Land $19,000.00 Total $19,000.00 Petitioner is unable to sell the property at the present valuation. Mr. Shold stated that there were not a lot of sales in the area. In 1983 it was assessed at $27,500.00. This time since there weren't many sales, only one of a bare lot r he adjusted many lots down, including hers, down to $22,950.00 as of January 1, 1988. He does not believe there are any sales there this year either. She purchased the property for $19,000.00 in 1978. There QJ..C; very fet.'l sales to substantiate an assessment on. 7 M I NUT E S for J U L Y 18th, 1 9 8 8 The Board decided to take it under advisement and make an on-site inspection before making its decision on this petition. BCE 88 013-R Petition Number: 990-300-104 PETITIONER: FRANK A. DVORAK was unable to be present for the hearing. ASSESSOR: ROBERT SHOLD represented the Assessor1s Office. This is a Port Ludlow, Admiralty # 1, condominium 1 Unit 4. The petitioner owns this condominium and he receives a portion of the income generated by its being rented. It was assessed at: Land $ 9,355.00 Improvements $ 74,195.00 Total $ 83,550.00 Mr. Dvorak purchased the property in December of 1987 for $59,500.00 cash. He has not offered the property for sale. He states that the property was recently purchased for less than the assessorls valuation and on that he wishes a reduction of valuation to: Land $ 8,000.00 Improvements $ 61,500.00 Total $ 69,500.00 Mr. Dvorak enclosed a copy of his Real Estate Excise Tax Form, which is not dated, and a letter from the Association of Co-Owners regarding his purchase of this unit. Mr. Shold stated that this was a sale. It sold in 1977 for $63,000.00 and in 1982 for $89,000.00. This unit went up in value and now it apparently dropped in value. The December, 1987 purchase price being $69,500.00. The assessors have noticed that they lowered this and most of the units at the Admiralty by $10,000.00 at the last evaluation in 1987. There were few sales at that time. Four sales in Admiralty #1 and a number of listings. This one was listed at $90,000.00 at the time of the re-valuation, so they thought this one should be reduced in valuation to $83,550.00. The land remained the same and the building was reduced. Comparables have a different number of bedrooms which make them not really comparable so they are recommending that they reduce all the units at the Admiralty by Ten Percent. The assessors recommend that the Board go ahead and do this based on the ne~'l sales. These units V-lere previously a tax shelter deal, but do to the Tax Reform Act, these units are now declining in value. All of these are rental properties, both Admiralty #1 and Admiralty #2. Dave Douglas felt that the Board should be aware of two factors influencing the valuation of these properties: 1} The interests of the investors in these properties have dwindled since much of the value has been extracted in regard to depreciation value. 2) A period in 1986 a resort owner shut down the resort for six months in the winter time while the owners still had to carryall the upkeep costs. The facili ties were no longer available to them, there was no operation at all of any amenities and no attempt to rent the units during this time. The owners lost a great deal because they had no revenue at all and there were no units rented. The word has gotten out among the investors that the owners shut it down at their own discretion with no potential revenue. The investors feel they have no protection from it happening again. Chairman Dalgleish suggested that Mr. Shold go about reducing these units ten percent, based upon all the information received. Vice-Chairman Douglas stated that he had some reservations about this precipitous action due to other factors in the community. They are e ; . M I NUT E S ,,~- .v. J U L Y 18th, 198 8 putting in the first secondary treatment plant at the expense of several million dollars. There is a lawsuit going on now about the utilities companies charging for sewer and water. In the next month or so with the law suit as it is, the results of this may change valuations in Jefferson County. Chairman Dalgleish stated that we can only deal with the facts we have at this time. He asked if Mr. Douglas felt we had all the factors at this time. Mr. Douglas stated he was not sure. He feels we should consider doing this, but we should not take any action until we have had a chance to really look at the situation. The Board agreed to review the recommended reductions ~u a short period of time. Mr. Dvorak r s re~~valuation request will be considered at the same time. They plan to do this evaluation within two to three lro-1eeks time. OTHER BUSINESS OF THE BOARD The Minutes of July 15, 1988 were approved with the correction word on the second page I from ltpropertyll to II improvements II . being no other corrections, addi tions or subtract ions, the motioned to accept the Minutes. of one There Board There being no further business before the Board, the board adjourned until July 22, 1988. APPROVED BY: f1 (1 DATE APPROVE~xLdf:Jd5;fli?g4k/ t./-- v ~ ~~{f:?_____, , __._ A.C.DALGLEIc , CHAIRMAN fij .. OAVm o. -iiOiiOLA'~iiiiAn"",' ~ ATTESTED (\ L i 6~ t' -,.,<~-,_.._-"-"''''_..,''---"'<..,--''''---'''''----,,----,,.,--"" ARCHIE L. BARBER, JR., ,EMBER 9